Tigers roar past Hays Hawks

Both offenses were alive and well as the Dripping Springs Tigers hosted Hays High Hawks in the home opener for the Tigers. It was senior night and all got to celebrate the Tigers 70-42 win, which broke the three game losing streak to Hays. Each offense had the same strategy but came at it in different ways. Both tried to get the other in one on one situations where the defender could not get immediate help and each had success. One went at it methodically and the other by quick strike. Hays ran the slot T with a lot of deception which mandated the defense stay at home. The number of Tiger solo tackles shows how well they performed. The Tigers spread people out forcing the defense to spread out with them which opened up bigger gaps to cover and let their skill people go to work. The 70 points showed how well that worked for the Tigers. DS would score on 10 of 13 possessions.

Yes, the Tigers have some excellent skill people but most would not be able to show it if not for the very skilled people up front. There is no way the runners could go through gaping holes or the QB have the time to wait on downfield patterns to come open without them. On this given night they were certainly at their best and against a quality opponent. It is hard to do when watching a game but there is a whole 'nother game going on in the trenches that is interesting to watch. So many times we only notice when they mess up. Alford has the uncanny ability to time his burst of speed at the moment of the crease being made by the line and then it is simply a track sprint that he seldom loses. Line's prowess showed as Luke Hudson spelled Alford much of the second half and found gaping holes to rush for over a 100 yards as well. Austin Novosad had the time to be spot on for his passes.

The unsung heroes include Reid Robinson (63), McCander Evans (77), Brendan Kelly (76), Jackson Key (54) and Valentino Bacelis (55).

Hays, a 6A school, lost a lot of their depth with the addition of Hays Johnson to their district. They only had 44 players on their roster while the Tigers showed 74. It was evident on the sidelines.

Knowing the potency of the Hawk running game, the Tigers chose to receive the opening KO to make sure they scored first. Preston Alford made sure with his tried and true formula of the shortest distance is a straight line. Kyle Koch took the opening KO and returned it 25 to Hays 45. It was Alford for 14 and then the final 31. Walker Wright's toe made it 7-0 at 11.40 mark. Hays responded with their run game but surprisingly scored on a 27 pass. 7-7.

Alford scored on a tworun blast the next drive for a 14-7 first quarter lead. The next time he took it to the house 79 yards on first play. 21-7. To show he was human, a lost fumble stopped the next drive. Hays scored to make it 21-14. Up until this time Alford had scored all the Tiger TD's on the season. Noah Lawyer took exception along with a pass from Novosad, stiffarmed a would-be tackler and barreled over another to complete the 35 score. 28-14. Hays responded with another 27 TD pass to get within seven.

An interception by Shel Hudson gave the Tigers the ball at the 37 with 31 seconds remaining. Enough time for a 2-play, 63 drive and to hit Koch and let him leg it 55 yards for the score. Halftime 35-21.

Each team would match their first half scoring in the second. Alford would score from ten. Luke Hudson a 26 run followed by Koch's 33 pass score. Novosad's fourth TD pass went to Wright for 23. Hudson would score the final from 13.

Tomorrow night the Tigers have invited the Lockhart Lions over for a little football. It will be the final non-district game before heading to Canyon next Friday night. Kickoff will be at 7:30pm.

Game stats (DS first): First Downs: 22-26; Rushing: 28-368, 52-360; Passing: 300-206; Passes: 13-22-0, 12-19-2; Punts: 2-39.5, 2-44; Penalties 9-71, 5-43; Fumbles lost: 1-1, 0-1.

Individual stats: Rushing: Alford 13-264 4TD; L. Hudson 11-110 2TD; Blake Walling 4-(-) 4. Passing: Novosad 13-22-300 4TD. Receiving: Koch 4-132 2TD; Greyson Jones 3-55; Wright 2-48 TD; Lawyer 2-53 TD; Alford 1-8; L. Hudson 1-4. Int: S. Hudson, Keller Stafford. KOR: Koch 2-58; S. Hudson 1-15.

Tackling (Unassist/Assist): Luca Picucci 9-4, Bryson Amrine 7-5, S. Hudson 6-6, Stafford 8-3, John Martinez 5-5, Wyatt Leschber 3-5, Derek Edgar 4-3, Luke Gonzales 3-3, Chase Whisenant 4-1, Gunnar Betts 4-1, Parker Cooke 4-0, Gabriel Quintana 1-3, Caden Tracy 2-2, Blake DeSilva 1-1, Joseph Drummond 1-0, Raphael Siewen 0-1, Nathan Prehar 0-1.