Lanier 14, Brackenridge 7
Quick take: A promise made by a few eighth-graders to Lanier coach Don Gatian five years ago was fulfilled Friday night when the Voks beat the Brackenridge Eagles 14-7 at Alamo Stadium. “When (Fabian Maciel) and Savian (Perez) and a bunch of other guys were eighth-graders at Rhodes Middle School, they told me, ‘by our senior year, we will win the district championship,’ ” Gatian said. “And they came through with it. I can’t say enough for the seniors. I’m very proud of these guys.”
In addition to winning their first outright district championship since 2005, the Voks (4-1, 4-0 District 13-5A) also snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Eagles (4-1, 3-1 District 13-5A) on a historic night.
Highlights: With temperatures hovering around the mid-40s, both offenses were frozen solid for the first quarter and a half. Brackenridge quarterback Carlos Camargo kept the ball on a sweep to the left and rumbled through traffic for a 26-yard gain, but yielded no points on the drive after a failed fourth-down attempt. Camargo later completed a screen pass to Keith Fennell, who shuffled past the covering cornerback and breezed 32 yards down the field before stepping out of bounds. Penalties halted the Eagles’ momentum on that drive, and both teams went scoreless in the first quarter. Late in the second quarter, Maciel manufactured the game’s first points after dropping back to pass and spinning away from a tackle before heading for open grass. The senior picked up a critical block from his receiver downfield and took it the rest of the way on a 30-yard touchdown run to give Lanier a 7-0 lead. Looking to get something on the scoreboard before halftime, Brackenridge tried a deep pass downfield into double coverage with less than a minute remaining in the quarter, but Lanier cornerback Andrew Pena leapt in front of the receiver for an interception to deny the Eagles from tying the game at the break. After forcing a three-and-out to
open the third quarter, Lanier extended its lead on a broken play for the second time in the game. Maciel dropped a low snap, swiftly snatched the ball off the ground and launched a
pass to Francisco Artega Mota deep down the right sideline for a 43-yard touchdown. Brackenridge answered quickly on a 42-yard keeper by Camargo, who exploded through the middle
of the defense to cut the deficit in half, 14-7. Both defenses stiffened back up in the fourth quarter, keeping each offense outside of the red zone for the remainder of the game as the score held at 14-7 as time expired in the fourth quarter.
What it means: Lanier avenged its 21-14 loss to Brackenridge from earlier in the season to come away with a one-touchdown win of its own. This marks the Voks’ first district title since they shared a championship with Highlands in 2016. For Brackenridge, the loss is anything but catastrophic as its defense played exceptionally well in spite of an uncharacteristically sluggish performance on offense. Both teams have the playmakers on both sides of the ball to make a run in the playoffs.
Quotable: “Both teams played great defense,” Gatian said. “Their defensive coordinator coached for me for about six years. He learned a lot. We saw almost identical defenses in each other. Tonight, defenses outshined offenses. It’s two good defensive teams.”
Game balls: Maciel completed four of 11 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown to go along with 28 carries for 100 yards and another score to carry the Voks to the title. Camargo finished 3 of 15 for 23 yards in addition to 17 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles.
Up next: Lanier has locked up the district’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs and will take on the fourth-place finisher from District 14-5A, while Brackenridge will take on the third-place finisher from District 14-5A .