The 7th Grade Blanco football team hosted Natalia for their final game of the season on Thursday, November 6. The 7th grade Panthers did not disappoint, as the defense dominated and the offense rolled, defeating the Mustangs 36-0.
The Panthers started strong scoring in only 3 plays with a 34 yard touchdown run by Clayton Brown, followed by the 2 point conversion run by Gunnar Granberg. On the next offensive play by Natalia, Bowie Crofts stripped the ball and Hunter West fell on it to bring out the Panther offense again. On second down, Granberg ran through some big holes in the Ntalia defense, provided by the offensive line, for a 49 yard run. Brown scampered the final 6 yards for another Panther score. The 2 point conversion was good on a pass from Brandt Wagner to Crofts, putting the Panthers up by a score of 16-0.
After the Panther defense forced Natalia to punt, Wagner returned the punt 11 yards. Brown and Granberg combined for running yardage followed by an impressive run of 29 yards by Crofts for the touchdown. Wagner hit Aaron Daniels with the 2 point conversion pass. The Panthers took a 24-0 lead. In the next Natalia offensive series, Crofts cut in front of the would-be receiver for an interception that he returned 36 yards. Four plays later Daniels caught a well-thrown pass in the endzone from Wagner. The PAT failed, leaving the score 30-0 at the halftime break.
Brown returned the second half kickoff 16 yards, and then followed that with a 59 yard touchdown run on first down. The PAT attempt failed. The Panthers held onto their 30-0 lead to become the undefeated district champions with a 5-0 record and an 8-1 season record.
The offensive linemen Jonathan Gonzalez, Kelton Marek, Brayden Hodge, Seth Blakeslee, and Ruben Gonzales, completely dominated the line all night long. Brown led the team with 162 yard rushing and 3 touchdowns. Crofts rushed for over 30 yards, scored one touchdown, and caught a 2 point conversion pass. Granberg ran for nearly 80 yards and a 2 point conversion. Wagner completed 3 of 5 passes and 35 yards rushing. Defensively, Brown made 5 tackles, with Granberg making 10. Crofts had a forced fumble, an interception, and 9 tackles. Wagner added 12 tackles. The defense was outstanding as Kanyan Braun, Ruben Gonzalez, Jonathan Gonzalez, Adrian Campa, Alex Andrade, Tucker Kneese, Emmett Hardin, and Hodge shut down any attempts by Natalia to score. The linebacker corp of Kade Kneese, Marshall Symons, and Granberg held the line of scrimmage. The rest of the defense, Cade Calhoun, Christian Flores, West, Crofts, Wagner, Brown, Brown, and Daniels kept the Mustangs from going outside or downfield.
The 7th grade Panthers championship team should be exciting to follow in the coming years.
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