Bastrop Wins District 11-5A D2 Championship
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Updated: November 12, 2024
photos: Steve Thomas
Bears win thriller over Liberty Hill
For the first time in 15 years, the Bastrop Bears are district champions. The Bears beat the Liberty Hill Panthers in a de facto district title game Friday night 35-31. “This is for Bastrop,” an emotional Head Coach Jake Griedl said after the game. “The last time we (Bastrop) did this, these guys were in diapers.”
In his third year as Head Coach at Bastrop, Griedl had already made significant strides in turning the Bears around. At 7-2 overall and 6-0 in district, the Bears were already guaranteed to finish with their best record since 2014. In Griedl’s first two years as Head Coach, the Bears finished with records of 2-8 and 5-5. The district title was even sweeter for the Bears because of the challenges Bastrop had faced in previous years. “It’s been a rough go,” Griedl said, “We got laughed at. We got ran out of stadiums. We had injuries…but we did it.” In the postgame huddle, Coach Griedl told his players, “You guys are no longer the laughing stock of Central Texas.”
Entering the game, Liberty Hill was 8-1 overall and also 6-0 in district. The Panthers featured their famous slot-T offense and a tradition of winning. The Panthers had won three-consecutive district titles since moving up to class 5A in 2020. Last year, Comal Pieper broke that streak.
With so much at stake for both teams, the game was set up to be a thrilling clash; and it lived up to the hype. Liberty Hill struck first when running back Bryce Muchaw broke free for an 80-yard touchdown run; but Bastrop running back Ladanian Merino responded with a 31-yard touchdown of his own. The Bears later took the lead on a 17yd touchdown pass from quarterback Weston Nielsen to receiver Ramonz Adams.
In the second quarter, Liberty Hill running back Morgan Cairnes tied the game on three-yard touchdown run. Bastrop muffed the ensuing kickoff deep in their own territory, but the Bears’ defense forced the Panthers to settle for a 26-yard field goal. On the first play of the next drive, Moreno put Bastrop back in front 21-17 with a 68-yard touchdown run.
In the second half, the drama continued. Midway through the third quarter, Liberty Hill ran a pass on a fake punt and drew a pass-interference penalty on Bastrop for the first down. The Panthers then capitalized on the Bastrop mistake with a three-yard touchdown run. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Ladanian Merino broke free for his second touchdown of the night on a 14-yard run. Once again, Liberty Hill responded with a one-yard touchdown run.
On Bastrop’s final drive, receiver Brent Carter got his chance to shine. On fourth-down-and-two in Bastrop territory, Carter made a critical catch to get the first down. During the play, Weston Nielsen faced tremendous pressure from the Liberty Hill defense; and Carter found an opening to make the catch. Carter then capped off the drive with the game-winning ten-yard touchdown catch. After the game, Coach Griedl said that Carter had been asking him when he was going to get his turn to make a play; and Carter made the most of that opportunity.
With the win, Bastrop improves to 8-2 overall and 7-0 in district. Next week, the Bears will host San Antonio Lanier (5-5, 3-3) in the UIL 5A-D2 Bi-District Playoffs.
Liberty Hill, meanwhile, falls to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in district. Next week, the Panthers will host San Antonio Houston (5-5, 4-2) also in the 5A-D2 Bi-District Playoffs.
by Steve Thomas
Players Pictured
Bastrop
#0 Ramonz Adams
#6 Bryan Pauley
#7 Ladanian Merino
#9 Jayden Riley
#13 Weston Neilsen
#15 Andy McCarus
#23 Miles Johnson
#44 Austin Moilan
#51 Ethan Bulak
#55 Tiki Hola
#63 Keyv'on Thomas
#88 Wyatt Marshall
Liberty Hill
#2 Kendrick Hicks
#3 Reese Pestow
#4 Danny Rodriguez
#15 Brady Gage
#16 Carson Neilson
#21 Orrin Cole
#34 Morgan Cairnes
#52 Caleb Nicholas
#54 Parker Langwell
#88 Brayden Radziwon
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