There are roughly five minutes left on the clock in the live quarter of the varsity football team’s scoreless scrimmage at Bastrop High School Thursday night. Junior quarterback Luke Dunham completes a pass to junior wide receiver Mark Sanchez. Dodging six tackles, Sanchez finds a hole in the field and runs 40 yards from the Knights’ 30-yard line to the Bears’ 30.
“I was proud of myself because I was able to show what I can do and what I can contribute to the team,” Sanchez said.
While the clock ran out before the Knights could take advantage of the field position Sanchez’ run afforded them, the play was an encouraging sign of the team’s offensive capability moving forward.
“That was an incredible run,” senior defensive end Calvin Cathey said. “He is definitely one of the best offensive players in the district. He has a lot of potential.”
Gus Ehlers left the game after suffering an injury on the first play of the scrimmage and did not return.
During the scrimmage junior Jaiden Booe scored a touchdown after being thrown to by senior quarterback Jack McGinnis. Cathey called Booe’s performance on the field “cold.”
“Jaiden is an absolute dog on the field,” Cathay said. “This is his first year playing football, and we didn’t really know what to expect from him, but I just remember the ball going up, and he was running. He readjusts perfectly, catches it, and takes it all the way to the house. He did his job perfectly.”
With only a week until the infamous Taco Shack Bowl, head coach Tom Gammerdinger is feeling confident in his team’s performance against Bastrop.
“There is so much effort and time that goes into it and I want these kids to have the success that I feel they deserve,” Coach G said. “We are real close to Taco Shack now, and we have good team chemistry. There is obviously some growth still to be had, but I like where we are at.”
When asked what stood out the most to him Thursday night, Coach G said Sanchez’s offensive run was “one heck of a play.”
The only voiced complaint Cathey had about the Bastrop game was the chlorine-tasting water, subpar to their accustomed House Park water.
“They got it straight out of some pool,” Cathey said. “They had to have.”
