The George Ranch Longhorns haven’t experienced much losing the past year.
Last year the Longhorns won the 5A D-I state title, then were realigned to 6A, and all was well last week when they won in the Valley against Weslaco. Tonight was a different story.
George Ranch looked like they were going to roll again when Alex Fontenot took the opening kickoff back 89 yards for a touchdown. That was all the scoring George Ranch would do until one minute left in the fourth quarter.
George Ranch hasn’t has this feeling since in the regular season since they lost to Friendswood in 2014. Myles Lewis tied the game up at 7-7 on a short touchdown run on their second possession. Adam Beck, a hard-commit to Texas Tech, stopped Dickinson on their second drive with a nice interception in the end zone on a deep ball intended for Kameron Johnson. The interception was the only play Beck really stood out on. Beck, a three-star recruit, de-committed from the University of Houston over the summer to commit to Texas Tech, a defense who is known for their struggles in the pass happy Big 12.
Jordan Grigg, the senior play-caller for the Gators, was in control all night. Grigg threw for 160 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night. The Longhorns had only 209 yards of total offense compared to 325 for Dickinson.
George Ranch scored late to make it 28-14, and even with everyone in the stadium knowing the Gators were looking to run out the clock with under a minute left the Longhorns let the Gators loose on a long run down the sideline on fourth down. Luckily for the Longhorns, and a instinctively for the Gators the runner stepped out, so the Gators could easily run out the clock.
The final was 28-14 and it really wasn’t that close. The Longhorns now see what a formidable 6A opponent is like. Last year the Gators lost to eventual state champs in the regional final. George Ranch moves to 1-1 on the season and Dickson moves to 2-0 after smashing Elkins last week 51-14. The Longhorns go international next week and take on Autonoma de Nuevo Leon from Monterrey, Mexico, and the Gators have 1-1 Texas City.