By Moses Leos III
On a night of debuts, the Hays Rebel defense made its presence known early and often Friday at Shelton Stadium.
A dominating defensive effort, mixed with an explosive Rebel offense, led Hays to a 35-3 season opening win over the Boerne Champion Chargers.
For Hays senior defensive back Ty Wilder, Hays’ dominance solidified work the defense put in during the offseason.
“Last season, we weren’t a unit. We weren’t that good,” Wilder said. “We worked as hard as we could this offseason during two-a-days in 110 degree weather in full pads. We’ve been working as hard as we can. Tonight we prevailed.”
The Rebel defense set the tone early, taking advantage of Boerne Champion miscues. A deflected pass from Champion quarterback Josh Green on the second play of the game fell into the waiting hands of Taylor Friesenhahn, who collected the team’s first of four interceptions on the night.
Leading the way was Wilder, who collected two interceptions on the evening; a potential third interception was nullified by a penalty.
Joining Wilder was an aggressive and tenacious defense that limited Champion to less than 300 total yards of offense. Hays’ defense provided the backbone for success, creating pressure and disrupting Green from finding a rhythm.
It also allowed the Rebels to force Champion to turn the ball over on downs on five occasions.
Green went 22 of 48 and was limited to 171 yards passing on the night with four interceptions. Champion was forced to rely on its rush game, which punched out 111 yards.
Wilder associated the success with the defense playing as a unit.
“If one person slipped up we had 10 other people running to the football,” Wilder said. “Everyone was doing their jobs. Everything was working perfectly for us.”
The accomplisment of the defense gave the Rebel offense opportunities to thrive. Hays didn’t waste time as they quickly took advantage.
Led by senior quarterback Braeden Kent, the Rebel offense dissected the Champioin defense, surging out to a 15-3 lead halfway through the first quarter; they led Champion 22-3 at the start of the second frame. Kent zeroed in on wide receiver Dustin Bruno, connecting with the senior wide out for two touchdowns during that time frame. On the night, the duo connected five times for 65 yards.
But Hays’ offense regressed after the initial 12 minutes. While the Rebels were able to generate movement and march down the field, Hays struggled to close out drives. Over Hays’ final 11 drives on the night, Kent tossed two more passing touchdowns, but the Rebels were forced to punt six times and had three turnovers on downs.
Kent said inconsistency in the passing game, both in passing and receiving, along with missed chances to build their lead led to struggles. Despite the issues, Kent amassed 295 total yards; he went 20 of 41 for 237 yards through the air and had four touchdown passes.
“We punched it in in the first quarter, but we kind of fell back,” Kent said. “The defense pulled through and we didn’t have to move the ball as much.”
Finishing drives will be the focus for Hays as they ready for its showdown with Georgetown Thursday. For senior lineman Logan Pool, improving communication, especially on the offensive line, will further aid the Rebel offense.
“We need to finish our drives,” Pool said. “We could have scored 50 points tonight. We needed to finish.”
