Just six miles separate Thorndale High School and Thrall High School on Highway 79.
A year ago, Thrall earned bragging rights over its neighbor, knocking off Thorndale in a thrilling 42-35 overtime victory in the annual Battle of Highway 79.
It was a full house in Tiger Stadium in Thrall as Thorndale and Thrall went head-to-head for the 94th time on Friday.
Thorndale made sure there would be no such upset on Friday night in Thrall in the 94th meeting between the teams.
Behind 351 rushing yards offensively, Thorndale was in command throughout, finishing the night with a 46-14 victory.
The win improved Thorndale to 7-2 on the season, keeping the Bulldogs in second place in District 13-2A Division I. It also boosted Thorndale’s all-time series lead to 60-31-3.
Thorndale head coach John Kovar said that while the win was crucial for the playoff seeding, it was even more special coming against the Bulldogs’ archrival.
“It’s important for playoffs and things like that,” Kovar said. “But it does mean a little bit more because [Thrall’s] down the road and we lost last year.”
Thorndale senior quarterback Coy Stutts stole the show with 227 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. He also threw for 88 yards and another score.
After the game, Kovar said Stutts and the offense did a great job of taking what the Thrall defense gave the Bulldogs.
“He’s an equal runner and thrower for us, and they did a lot of stuff trying to keep us from throwing the ball, so we just ran it more,” Kovar said. “He’s a tough kid.”
Across the field, Thrall fell to 2-6 on the season with Friday’s defeat.
Thrall head coach Aaron Vanecek said the Tigers did themselves no favors on Friday playing against a talented Thorndale side.
“We knew we had to play a disciplined brand of football because we knew we were outmanned in different places,” Vanecek said. “In the first half, the first four drives, we had a penalty on every drive. We can’t overcome that right now. Second half, we give up some things defensively not lining up right, so we couldn’t play complimentary football tonight.”
But while Thrall was out of sync at times as it battled a plague of penalties offensively, Thorndale’s run game was rolling from the very first whistle.
Stutts picked up 51 yards on his first two carries, and his third one resulted in his first score of the night as he powered into the end zone from two yards out.
Early in the second quarter, Stutts found the end zone yet again as he followed his linemen for a one-yard score.
But just as the game seemed to be slipping away, Thrall got some momentum as the second quarter came to a close. With the Tigers mired back on their own side of the field, Brady Burlison broke free for a 29-yard gain into Thorndale territory. However, a couple of those aforementioned penalties and an incomplete pass on fourth down eventually thwarted the Tigers’ drive.
As the seconds ran down in the first half, Thorndale asserted its authority on the ground yet again as Noah Crabtree exploded through the Thrall defense for a 33-yard score to give the Bulldogs a 21-0 lead at halftime. Crabtree had a big night himself with 102 yards on the ground.
In second half, Thorndale continued to rely on a similar formula as Stutts added his third touchdown of the night on a one-yard run two minutes after halftime.
But as the clock ticked down in the third quarter, the Thrall offense finally came alive.
Thrall quarterback Jack Watson, who finished with 145 passing yards, completed touchdowns of 19 and 13 yards on two jump balls to Tyler Bonkowski on back-to-back possessions to bring the home crowd to its feet.
However, Thorndale made sure not to lose its grip on the game. In between Bonkowski’s scores, Stutts delivered a laser to Clason Beasley for a 67-yard score. Then, on the final play of the third quarter, he added his fourth and final touchdown on the ground on a four-yard run to give Thorndale a 40-14 lead.
Thorndale celebrates with its school song after the game.
In the final quarter of play, Jaylen Clawson added an eight-yard rushing score for the Bulldogs before the Thorndale defense denied Thrall one last touchdown by stopping them at the one-yard line on fourth and goal with just seconds remaining.
And after watching his team let big second half leads dwindle in their previous two games, Kovar said he was extremely proud of how his team finished Friday night’s game out.
“Finally, this time we got some stops and finished the game like we should have,” Kovar said. “For us to finish strong like that, that was a good deal for us.”
Despite the lopsided defeat, not all is lost for Thrall. The Tigers can still get into playoffs with two wins in their final two games.
Vanecek said he laid that challenge out in front of his team in a lengthy speech after the game.
“If we win both, we’re in, and they’re both games where we match up well in,” Vanecek said. “If we can commit to it, and be disciplined and accountable in everything we do whether that’s cleaning your locker, the way we show up to practice, or the way you handle your school, we’ll be in. If we can’t do that, we’re going to be out.”
Meanwhile, Thorndale can seal at least a second-place finish with a win over Hearne in two weeks’ time after its bye week.
Kovar said that after nine straight weeks of football, his team is ready for a week off ahead of a district finale that will likely have a direct effect on the playoff picture.
“Finally, we get a bye week; we’ve been needing that one for a long time,” Kovar said. “We got to heal up some stuff, and then go get after Hearne.”
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