BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @Gosset41
FORT WORTH – For the past decade, the Glen Rose football team has shown complete dominance in district play. With one more win in Week 11 against FW Dunbar, it will be ninth straight undefeated district championships.
They’re one step closer to that after blowing out Benbrook 52-14 on Friday night at Clark Stadium. It did lock up the Class 4-4A Division 2 title and handed the Bobcats their first loss of the season (8-1, 3-1).
It also extended Glen Rose’s district winning streak to 40 games in a row.
Glen Rose (7-2, 4-0) led 31-14 at halftime and added three touchdowns in the second half. The offense was unstoppable in the first 24 minutes. Taking the ball first, the Tigers only needed two plays as QB Canyon Evans hit tight end Brodey Bowman for a 47-yard touchdown. The Bobcats went three and out and punted the ball back to Glen Rose.
Four more plays and another touchdown gave the Tigers a 14-0 lead.
Out of the wildcat formation, Keltyn Raymond scored on a 44-yard run.
Benbrook had the best start to the season and entered the night tied for its most wins in program history. The Bobcats offense got going with a 9-play 75-yard scoring drive. After facing third and 13 from their own 22, QB Brennan Barton hit Lucas Jackson for a 30-yard gain. Then on a third and 20 near midfield, Glen Rose was penalized which gave Benbrook a fresh set of downs.
Barton would find Jackson later in the drive for a 18-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7 with 3:56 left in the first quarter.
But the momentum was cut short when Glen Rose scored on the next play from scrimmage – a 62-yard touchdown pass from Evans to Bowman. The defense then got the first of two interceptions on the night – a Gabryel Diaz pick that turned into another touchdown.
The Tigers marched down field 52 yards on nine plays and Raymond capped it off with his second touchdown run from 4 yards out to extend the lead to 28-7 with 10:13 to go in the second quarter.
Benbrook would answer the bell on its ensuing possession – orchestrating an 11-play 75-yard drive that killed up over 6 1/2 minutes. The Bobcats only faced one third down and picked up six first downs. Carlos Harris scored from the 2 and it was 28-14 with 3:41 left before the intermission.
However, Glen Rose followed it up with its own long drive – 14 plays and 62 yards to close out the first half. The Tigers got a 34-yard field goal and took a 31-14 lead into the break.
Both teams averaged 10 yards per play in the first half (GR- 30 for 301; BEN- 28 for 284).
Benbrook took off in the third quarter – going from its own 30 to the Glen Rose 15. But the drive stalled when Kaiden Shannon returned an interception 85 yards to up the lead to 38-14. The Bobcats fumbled on the very next play and Evans hit Colton Andress on a 16-yard touchdown to make it 45-14 midway through the period.
Evans hit Adrian Sanchez for one final touchdown in the fourth quarter.
