By Clay Whittington
Messenger Correspondent
The Hornets delivered an almost flawless offensive outing.
Playing at Lacy Lakeview’s Mac Peoples Stadium in the District 13-4A, Division II opener against winless Waco Connally, Gatesville’s playmakers feasted, topping 600 total yards of offense enroute to a one-sided win.
Junior quarterback Elijah Phillips and Grady Keeton, a junior, accounted for 202 yards and three touchdowns in the first half before the Hornets ran for 217 yards after the break, and the end result was a 62-20 victory.
Phillips finished with only three incompletions, connecting on 14 of 17 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns with Keeton serving as his primary target, posting 212 yards receiving and three touchdowns on eight receptions.
Keeton had an 82-yard touchdown rushing on his lone carry, complementing a 21-carry, 165-yard, two-touchdown showing from senior running back Samuel Howard III.
Thanks to the efficiency, the Cadets could never keep pace, trailing by 22 points, 28-6, by halftime.
With less than three minutes coming off the clock, Phillips found Keeton for an 18-yard touchdown, and after forcing a turnover on downs, Gatesville’s cushion inflated to 14-0 on a 40-yard scoring completion between the two.
The score held into the second period, where Howard crossed the goal line of a 15-yard carry, but Connally responded on the ensuing drive. Senior quarterback K.D. Linville found Jerry Williams, a senior, for a 67-yard touchdown, but the extra point was blocked.
The Cadets attempted a 34-yard field goal with 68 seconds remaining in the first half, but it was also blocked, leaving plenty of time for Gatesville’s combo to strike once more.
Keeton took a short pass 79 yards on the very next snap, and the Hornets took a commanding lead into the intermission.
Once the second half started, Howard found his rhythm.
He had 97 yards on 10 carries after halftime, posting his second touchdown on a 13-yard run to answer a Cadets’ touchdown drive to start the third quarter.
Following a turnover on downs, Keeton had his highlight touchdown run, giving Gatesville a 42-13 lead with 2 minutes, 35 seconds remaining in the period.
Connally’s final score came approximately two minutes later, when Linville found Idress Lee for a five-yard score. Linville completed 25 of 42 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns in the defeat.
One snap later, though, the Hornets were back in the end zone as Phillips found a wide-open Stefon Boyd for a 46-yard touchdown, increasing the gap to 49-20 entering the fourth quarter.
The Cadets punted away their final three possessions with Hornets senior Colby Aaron sandwiching touchdowns between each. The running back scored on runs of three yards and one yard en route to 53 yards rushing on a dozen carries.
With the victory, Gatesville joined Waco La Vega and Robinson with winning league records following Friday’s openers, but at least one of the trio will suffer a loss next week.
The Hornets (4-2) host the No. 2 Pirates on Friday. La Vega (6-0) was unchallenged in a 49-14 win at Brownwood to start district.
Upsetting the state-ranked Pirates will be difficult, and Gatesville’s closing schedule will not be easy either.
After facing La Vega, the Hornets spend the next two weeks on the road, playing at Brownwood and Salado before concluding the regular-season schedule against Robinson at McKamie Stadium.
History will not be on Gatesville’s side this week either as its last victory versus the Pirates occurred in 2012. In the years since, the Hornets have lost nine consecutive times, including last season, when they fell 24-7.