By Kerry Barboza, Special from the Boerne Star
District heavyweights Dripping Springs and Boerne Champion slugged it out Friday night at Boerne ISD Stadium in a battle of 26-5A unbeatens.
The game went back and forth until the end when the Chargers delivered the final blow with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure a 45-40 victory over the Tigers.
Dripping Springs overcame a hot start by the Chargers, who went up 14-0 in the first 2:07 of the contest thanks to a quick-strike TD on their first drive and a fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff.
The Tigers got on the board in the middle of the first quarter on a Teo Brinckmann one-yard run to slice the lead in half at 14-7.
After a Chargers field goal pushed their lead to 17-7, Dripping Springs scored again, this time on a 9-play, 54-yard drive capped by a Reese Johnson 11-yard run to make it 17-14 after a Blake Phipps point after touchdown.
Champion answered with a 62-yard bomb on its first play from scrimmage after the Johnson TD that put them ahead 24-14.
Dripping Springs responded with touchdowns on its next two possessions to pull ahead. Johnson found the end zone again on the Tigers’ next drive on a six-yard scamper and Dripping Springs was down by three at 24-21.
After forcing the Chargers to punt, Dripping Springs took the lead with time winding down in the first half. Johnson connected with Reed Beverly on a seven-yard touchdown pass and the Tigers held their first lead at 28-24 and scored their fourth straight touchdown of the game.
Just before halftime, the Chargers booted a 23-yard field goal to make it a one-point game at the break, 28-27. Two more field goals by Champion in the third quarter gave them back the lead at 33-28, but it was a short-lived lead.
The Tigers pulled ahead on their next drive, capped by Johnson’s third touchdown run of the night. A two-yard plunge by Johnson gave the Tigers a 34-33 edge after a failed two-point conversion with 1:01 left in the third.
At this point there had been four lead changes in the game but there was still one more to come in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers scored on their first drive of the fourth to retake the lead. They went for two and didn’t convert, leaving the score at 39-34.
Champion forced the Tigers to punt on their next possession and the Chargers marched down the field on a time-consuming drive that ate 5:15 off the clock before they punched it in to pad their lead.
Another failed two-point try left Champion up by 11 at 45-34 with only 2:48 left in the game.
The Tigers didn’t go down without a fight and put together an impressive drive that covered 82 yards and only took 1:30 off the clock. John Hoyle hauled in a 36-yard pass from Johnson and the Charger lead was down to 45-40 with 1:14 on the clock.
Dripping Springs went for two to try and make it a 3-point game but didn’t convert. They also tried an onside kick that the Chargers recovered.
Dripping Springs still had two timeouts and used them, but the Chargers were able to come up with a key first down on a 3rd and 3 to run out the clock and secure the win.
Next up
The Tiger take on Alamo Heights at home Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m.