BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
GODLEY— The Brock Eagles have been on a mission ever since joining class 4A. Their undefeated start quickly got the attention of many around the state, after several years of success in class 3A. However after a stunning defeat at the hands of district foe Graham, the Eagles have found a new purpose in proving they belong in the larger class.
That was on display Friday night when Brock manhandled the Benbrook Bobcats 56-13 in the regional semifinal, spoiling a magical season for the Bobcats and Fort Worth ISD.
“I thought our boys played really well,” head coach Billy Mathis stated after the win. “That’s one of the keys to winning football games. Playing disciplined, not getting into the after the whistle stuff that goes on, so I was proud of our guys. You get to this time of season and it’s tough and it gets frustrating, but I was proud of our guys for staying dialed in.”
The Eagles wasted no time getting on the board, taking the opening drive 54 yards to paydirt, capped off by an eight yard pass from Brody Woods to Jack Farhat. After a quick defensive stop Woods did it again by finding Cannon Stephens over the middle for an easy 47-yard scoring pass, quickly making the score 14-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Benbrook muffed the return and it was recovered by Brock. Three plays later, Bryer McDonald found paydirt for the first of three touchdowns he would score in the game from five yards away. That ended the first quarter with a score of 21-0.
The Bobcats finally found some rhythm at the beginning of the second quarter, and went on a long drive deep into Eagle territory. However, they stalled on fourth down at the Brock five yard line. That setup a counter attack for the Eagles that covered 95 yards over 13 plays, capped off with another eight yard touchdown by McDonald.
Another three-and-out on defense allowed Woods to create his own scoring play when he could not find anyone to throw to. The veteran quarterback scrambled and raced to the pylon where three Benbrook players were waiting to make a stop. Woods lowered his shoulder and extended to the endzone, just crossing the goal line to make it 35-0 just before the half.
The second half opened with more dominance, as Brock created three turnovers and capitalized on two of them. Colt Matlock came up with the first interception that set up his own touchdown reception from Woods to make it 42-0.
Cayden Hix came up with the second interception on the ensuing drive, but the Eagles were not able to respond as reserves entered the game and the Bobcat defense hit the gas pedal. However, Braeden Ray came up with the third interception in as many drives, allowing McDonald to find the end zone again from 44 yards out while carrying defenders.
Two plays into the following possession, Benbrook finally got on the scoreboard as Christian Gleason broke free against the Brock reserves. Taking the ball around the right side, Gleason outran the entire field and scored from 70 yards away to make it 49-7 after three quarters.
With the backup offense in, running back Dash Lindsey added one more Eagle score for good measure on a 50 yard drive in which he carried most of the load.
The Bobcat managed one more touchdown as time expired to salvage some pride and bring the final score to 56-13.
“We’ve just got to come out and have a great week of practice,” Mathis said, looking ahead to Graham. “Come out and be disciplined and play Brock Eagle football. Better than we did last time. Last time they jumped out and we didn’t respond well. We need to respond and play hard.”
Brock (12-1) will now get a long awaited rematch with its only loss in the Graham Steers at 7 p.m. Friday, December 6th at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville. Benbrook’s season comes to a close in the third round of the playoffs. A feat that has not been done in Fort Worth ISD since Wyatt reached the point in 2000. Their record was 11-2.
