3A Team of the Week: Grape Creek Eagles
Grape Creek had lost 19-straight games heading into its matchup against Brady last Friday. That losing streak looked set to continue as Dave Campbell’s Texas Football had Brady as 27-point favorites.
The Eagles had other ideas.
Grape Creek grinded out a 20-13 win over Brady, securing their first win since November 5, 2021.
Head coach Tanner Thiel praised his team’s ball control in the victory. Their first offensive drive lasted 20 plays and took over 12 minutes off the clock. Running back Sire Garcia helped lead the offense with 62 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
And when Grape Creek needed a big play, sophomore quarterback Braley Woods and junior receiver Angel Perez seemed to provide it. The two connected for a 29-yard gain on a 3rd-and-16 play as well as a 16-yard touchdown on 4th-and-7.
Defensively, the Eagles’ linebackers asserted their authority. Gavin Guerra had 12 tackles, Brayden Winans had 10, and Garcia finished with nine.
Thiel knew his Eagles might have some growing pains this year with just six seniors on their roster compared with seven sophomores.
However, he said Friday’s win was a weight off everyone’s shoulders.
“It was a relief more than anything,” Thiel said. We knew going into the season that we were very young this year. We had several games that we were very competitive in this year but struggled with turnovers. We’ve made a lot of young mistakes but have made a lot of progress and are currently playing our best football right now.”
That bodes well as the Eagles still have shot at the playoffs. They’ll face Ballinger this week. A win over Ballinger combined with a Wall win over Brady and a San Angelo TLCA upset victory over Early is the combination the Eagles will need to clinch the fourth spot in the district.
However, Thiel said his team isn’t dwelling on those scenarios. He said they’ll need to be locked in on Ballinger if they want to end their regular season on a two-game winning streak.
Previous 3A Teams of the Week
Week One: Blanco
Week Two: Malakoff
Week Three: McGregor
Week Four: Gunter
Week Five: Eastland
Week Six: Tarkington
Week Seven: Henrietta
Week Eight: Lone Oak
Week Nine: Lorena
