As a new high school football season officially kicked off Friday night, the Badgers once again were on the gridiron. They flexed their muscles in a 52-14 blowout over Fredericksburg on the road.
Apart from a sloppy start that saw the Battlin’ Billies get on the scoreboard first, the Badgers controlled the contest. They used a 31-point second quarter to separate and put the game away early, leading 38-7 at the halftime break.
The Badgers had an interception, and they were able to recover two consecutive kickoff fumbles during the second quarter. Lampasas converted those takeaways into 17 total points in the period.
Head coach Troy Rogers was very complimentary of the play from his team during that 12-minute span of football, and he acknowledged that as the key point in the game.
“The second quarter was a big momentum swing in our favor,” Rogers said. “The complimentary part about it was we turned all three of the takeaways into points.”
Coaches typically go into the first game with questions about their football teams until they are able to see play for the first time. Overall, Rogers said he was impressed with his team’s effort in the initial campaign.
“I was proud of how we played in the opener,” he said. “You just never really know what kind of team you have until they get to play a real game. I thought all three phases played well.”
The Badgers outgained Fredericksburg by more than 250 yards, with 493 yards of offense to the Billies’ 231. They did a lot of their damage on the ground with 276 yards rushing on 36 carries for an average of 8.1 yards per carry. That yardage came from four main contributors in the ground game.
Wesley Stephens had 11 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown. Bryson Roberts had nine carries for 74 yards and a touchdown. KJ Reed had six carries for 51 yards, and Antar Chestnut finished with eight carries for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Rogers spoke on the depth of his team on display in game number one.
“We have several weapons on offense,” the head coach said. “Our running back situation is really solid. I expect good things out of them all, and it is nice to be able to keep them fresh.
“Bryson had a good start to the season,” Roberts said. “He made some really nice plays with his feet as well as throwing some really good balls, and he will only get better and better, which is exciting.”
Through the air, one pass catcher really stood out among the rest, as Jaden McElwain was a big-play threat throughout the game. He finished with six catches for 169 yards and three touchdowns.
Rogers also had some good things to say about the senior’s effort.
“McElwain is an explosive player,” he said. “He runs good routes and has that extra gear to separate from defenders. His hard work is showing and will continue to show this season.”
Roberts was effective through the air, as he went 9-19 for 189 yards and four touchdowns. The lone TD reception that didn’t go to McElwain was caught by KJ Reed up the seam.
On defense, the Badgers forced several three-andouts, and they created two turnovers with interceptions by Sean Smith and Jonathan Bowling.
Defensive Coordinator Cory Warner applauded his group for being so coachable and executing the game plan.
“I feel the kids did a great job of being physical and playing fast, which in return allowed us to control the game,” Warner said. “Credit to the coaches for having them ready, and credit to the players for taking the coaching.”
He added that being able to put this game on film and study it going forward will pave the way for improvement for later games.
“It’s really nice to get some actual feedback from actual game film,” Warner said. “We will go back and study to see what we, or they did, that we can do better. Watch it, learn from it, and move on to the next one.
“This group is extremely coachable, so they trust what we are telling them as coaches,” the defensive coordinator said.
One thing the Badgers would like to clean up for next week is their own turnovers. One was a Roberts fumble early in the game, and the second was a Tripp Stinnett interception after he came in at quarterback in the second half. Fredericksburg scored its 14 points off those two turnovers.
In looking ahead to next week, the Badgers have their home-opener against Salado on the schedule.
The Eagles put up a whopping 59 points against Troy last week, and they definitely will present some challenges for the Lampasas defense.
“Salado will bring speed and confidence into Badger Stadium,” Rogers said.
That game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday on Badger Field.
