Denton County Football Roundup: Hebron, Flower Mound win close games; Lake Dallas dominates Greenville

Hebron junior linebacker Bo Onu had an interception return for a touchdown and a punt block return for a touchdown in Friday's 39-34 home win against Dallas Jesuit.

Hebron received contributions in all three phases, including a punt return block for a touchdown and interception return by junior linebacker Bo Onu, in a 39-34 home win over Dallas Jesuit at Brian Brazil Stadium on Friday.

Junior quarterback Patrick Crayton Jr. completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior Hudson Brock to open the scoring for a 7-0 Hawks (1-0) lead with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

Jesuit rallied with 17 unanswered points to take a 17-7 advantage on an 18-yard touchdown scamper by junior Zane Williams just seven seconds into the second quarter.

Special teams helped to turn around the game for Hebron. Less than four minutes after Williams’ score, Onu returned a blocked punt 41 yards for a touchdown to reduce the Jesuit advantage to 17-14. It was one of three defensive scores for the Hawks, who also got a 33-yard interception return by junior Josh Turner and a 35-yard interception return by Onu. Onu’s pick-six gave Hebron a 33-27 lead with 5:28 to go in the third quarter.

Onu finished with six tackles, one quarterback pressure and one pass break-up.

Hebron took its largest advantage at 39-27 when sophomore Ayson Jones darted 37 yards on a fourth-and-four play from the Jesuit 37 with 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Jones tallied 115 rushing yards on 17 carries to pace the Hawks’ rushing attack. Crayton Jr. threw for 113 yards on 13-of-22 through the air with one touchdown.

Hebron travels to Wylie next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Pirate Stadium.

Late score lifts Flower Mound

Senior quarterback Jake Watson completed the go-ahead 17-yard touchdown pass to senior wide-out Jason Welch with 4:07 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Jaguars escaped with a 38-31 win against Keller Fossil Ridge from Neal E. Wilson Stadium on Friday.

Watson’s pass to Welch was his fifth total touchdown. Watson completed 22-of-32 through the air for 224 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for a team-high 61 yards on 12 carries with one score.

Welch had six pass receptions for 116 yards and two scores, while Jaguars junior Cameron Bouck also had two receiving touchdowns in a winning effort.

Flower Mound appeared to be in cruise control after Watson ran in from the 2 to give the Jaguars a 28-14 lead with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter. However, Fossil Ridge scored the next 14 points to tie the score at 28 on an 8-yard touchdown run by Cameron Moran with 7:08 left in the ballgame.

The Jaguars answered three minutes later to take the lead for good on Welch’s second touchdown of the night and tacked on a Miguel Arenas 48-yard field goal for a 38-28 lead with 35 second to go in the ballgame.

Flower Mound will host Lake Highlands next Friday.

Lake Dallas dominates Greenville

Senior quarterback Cade Bortnem went 16-of-22 passing for 254 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons cruised to a 38-7 season-opening victory over Greenville from T.A. “Cotton” Ford Stadium on Friday night.

Greenville took a 7-0 lead just 24 seconds into the ballgame on an 88-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Johnson to wide receiver Dadrion Payton.

But Lake Dallas stormed back to take control of the game.

The Falcons outgained the Lions 505-209 in total yardage and had a big advantage in total plays, running 64 plays to the Lions’ 36.

Bortnem threw for touchdowns of 44 yards to Purdue commit Keonde Henry, 31 yards to junior running back Dylan Brauchle and 9 yards to sophomore Davin Hopkins.

Bortnem also ran for 50 yards on four carries, including a 6-yard touchdown.

Senior Sam McAfee rushed for a team-high 85 yards on 14 carries for the Falcons, who also got 73 yards on 12 carries by Brauchle, who scored on a 10-yard run.

Lake Dallas (1-0) returns to action Thursday at the Ford Center at the Star for a 7 p.m. kickoff against Frisco Centennial.

Red Oak edges The Colony

Tommy Briggs Cougar Stadium with brimming with excitement in Friday’s season opener against Red Oak – not just because the Cougars looked to avenge last season’s loss to the Hawks, but also a new press box.

On the field, The Colony worked hard to dig out of a 10-point first-quarter hole. But Red Oak held off a late charge by The Colony to earn a 19-16 victory.

Special teams played a huge factor. The Cougars rallied to within 10-9 after a 41-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Carson Cox to sophomore Xavier Green. But the Hawks blocked the PAT and a Red Oak player returned the ball 100 yards for two points for Red Oak, which took a 12-9 advantage in the third quarter.

Red Oak built a 19-9 lead in the fourth quarter after a 20-yard touchdown run.

The Colony answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Cox to senior Chase Glover to reduce the Red Oak advantage to 19-16.

Cox threw for 155 yards and two touchdown passes, and also rushed for 73 yards on 10 carries. Senior Harold Gibson led all Cougars in rushing with 83 yards on nine carries. Green caught three balls for 102 yards.

The Colony (0-1) will look to pick up its first win of 2023 next Friday at Royse City.

Arlington Bowie pulls away from Little Elm in fourth quarter

The Volunteers got an 18-yard touchdown run from Tavares Duckett and a 56-yard interception return by Khambrell Adams with 37 seconds to go in Friday's ballgame to earn a 22-7 victory over the Lobos from Lobo Athletic Complex.

Little Elm got as close as 9-7 after a 14-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Adams to Carlton Mims with 37 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Adams threw for 199 yards on 13-of-31 through the air.

Mims caught five balls for 100 yards.

Little Elm will look to bounce back next Friday against V.R. Eaton. The game will kickoff at Northwest ISD Stadium.

Highland Park proves too much for Marcus

The Mike Alexander era didn’t get off to the start that Marcus had wanted, as Highland Park put up 42 first-half points en route to a 56-24 victory from Marauders Stadium. Alexander is in his first season as Marcus head coach after spending the previous six seasons serving in the same role at Grapevine.

Scots senior quarterback Warren Peck threw a pair of touchdown passes and also ran for two scores. He completed 15 passes to eight different receivers and covered 265 yards. He also rushed for 81 yards on nine attempts for Highland Park (1-0).

Marcus (0-1) reduced Highland Park’s lead to 14-7 after a 3-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Keliikipi with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter. Keliikipi rushed for 93 yards on 15 carries.

It was all Scots the remainder of the way.

Marauders junior quarterback Dane Parlin was brilliant in defeat, throwing for 313 yards on 25-of-40 with one touchdown. Karic Grennan had 12 catches for 118 yards with one score. Cooper Campbell tallied six catches for 98 yards.

Marcus will look to rebound next Friday against Southlake Carroll. The game is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Dragon Stadium.

South Garland outlasts R.L. Turner

The Titans forced four turnovers to earn a 63-34 victory despite 400 rushing yards from the Lions.

Turner averaged 8.5 yards per rushing attempt.

Senior Edgar Castilla finished with 121 rushing yards on 12 carries. Senior Kaiden Rosser also brought triple digits in rushing, totaling 104 yards on nine carries with one touchdown. Senior quarterback Jonathan Moreno found the end zone once with 53 rushing yards for the Lions, who also got two rushing touchdowns from junior Edgar Cantu.

Turner (0-1) hits the road next Thursday at Diamond Hill-Jarvis.

Email David with sports story suggestions at [email protected].

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