Irion County Hornets too much for Eden Bulldogs in battle for 1A DI playoffs

MERTZON – Irion County High School outlasted Eden to earn the final playoff spot in District 14-1A Division I with a three-hour marathon 91-62 decision here Friday at O.K. Wolfenbarger Field.

The Hornets improved to 8-2 for the season and 3-1 in district play to finish in second place. They advance to play No. 1 May at 7 p.m. Thursday in Robert Lee in a bidistrict playoff game. Eden ended its season at 5-4, 2-2.

“We knew Eden was going to come with the intensity,” Irion County head coach Don Coffell said. “We knew it was going to be a battle. (Eden) Coach (Shay) Avants and I talked about that it was going to be a battle, no matter what, it always is. We knew they were really going to bring it.”

The Hornets beat the Bulldogs in a shootout for the third consecutive season, dating back to Irion County's entry into six-man football when they compiled a 7-3 record in an independent season in 2019 before the 2020 UIL realignment.

Irion County made the six-man world take notice that season when the Hornets downed Eden 62-53 on its own field to win its third six-man game in three tries. Last year, the Hornets beat the Bulldogs 78-52 to qualify for the playoffs and end the season for a two-time defending district champion.

"I thought we played hard," said Avants, who coached the 2019 Eden team to a district title and its first playoff win in 25 years. "We lost some composure at times, we regained it and clawed ourselves back into the football game, it was just mistakes and turnovers that killed us in the end."

Avants said the battle between the Bulldogs and the Hornets has become epic.

"The same stakes were on the line, it really has become a pretty intense rivalry," the Eden coach said.

While having a hard time containing an Eden offensive threat that featured senior spread back Julian Gamboa — who passed for 187 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 294 yards and three TDs — the Hornet offense was the most explosive, finishing with 588 yards and the most points it has ever scored since Coffell took over the program in 2019.

J.J. Harrison rushed for 191 yards and four TDs, Trevin Coffell passed for 125 yards and five TDs while the Hornets got TD grabs by Bo Morrow (120 yards and three TDs) and Parker Conner (71 yards and two TDs) to run away from the Bulldogs. Coffell also ran for three TDs.

“The offensive line, Parker Conner, Bo, Cameron Feller, no matter what formation we were in, tight or spread, they just did a whale of a job,” said Coffell, who has compiled a 24-7 at Irion County.

“Our running backs, Parker Posey, the freshman, he did a great job blocking in the backfield and you saw that run he had. And J.J. does J.J. And when we pass the ball, Trevin does Trevin, and it’s hard to cover Bo, he’s such a deep threat. And Parker, he’s a threat too.

"The passing game is there, the running game is there. When you score 91 points and you struggle with snaps on PATs, I can’t complain about the offense at all. I was really pleased with the way the offense was jelling.”

Irion County powered to a 35-14 lead in the opening quarter and then had an answer for every Eden rally attempt down the stretch.

The Hornets used a quick-strike attack to put up 12 points in a span of 22 seconds over two drives and then scored the final three TDs of the first quarter and never trailed after the 3:42 mark when Harrison added his second TD run of the night.

Harrison, who recovered three Eden fumbles, said maintaining composure was key to the Hornet victory.

He said Coffell stressed in preparation for the Bulldogs that the Hornets needed to "come out, get our minds right and focus on the goal at hand (and) don’t get caught up everything else that’s going on, just play football and we’ll come out on top."

That mindset was necessary during the second quarter, when the Bulldogs controlled the clock and pulled within 35-26 on a 1-yard Gamboa run with 2:26 to play and during the third quarter, when they got within 49-41 on a 40-yard Gamboa TD.

"We were just having mental breakdowns on defense and (Coffell) was trying to get us to correct them and I believe we did correct them," said Harrison, who had 21 tackles.

Kaleb Tinney carried 14 times for 95 yards and two TDs for the Bulldogs while also catching five passes for 88 yards and a score. Diego Sorola caught three passes for 50 yards and two TDs.

"Coach Avants did a heck of a job exposing us where we weren’t getting the job done," the Irion County coach said. "Gamboa is shifty, and strong. We can’t put pressure on him like we want to because he’s just going to shake us and get loose and run. I think we slow-played him too much but the kids responded and did everything we asked them to do."

Trevin Coffell finished with a team-high 25 tackles while Conner had 17. Brendan Akingbolagun had 15 and Posey added 12.

The Hornets will face an even more potent offensive attack against the Tigers, who beat Irion County in the first round of the playoffs last year on the way to the state finals, where they lost to Sterling City. May beat Sterling City 104-80 earlier this year to vault to the top spot in the rankings.

"Playing the No. 1 team in the state, I think the kids are up for the challenge," the Hornet coach said. "Nobody expects anything out of us, we're going in as the underdog so it’s fun. I look forward to the challenge and honestly, I think our boys are up for the challenge. I really do."

Irion County 91, Eden 62

Eden 14 12 22 14--61

Irion County 35 8 21 27—91

FIRST QUARTER

IC – Jordan Harrison 12 run (kick failed), 9:45 remaining

E – Diego Sorola 21 pass from Julian Gamboa (Gamboa kick), 8:57

IC – Bo Morrow 45 pass from Trevin Coffell (pass failed), 8:50

E – Kaleb Tinney 15 run (kick failed), 5:24

IC – Harrison 4 run (Coffell kick), 3:42

IC – Coffell 3 run (Coffell kick), 2:25

IC – Morrow 45 pass from Coffell (Morrow pass from Harrison), 1:04

SECOND QUARTER

E – Zane Avants 5 pass from Gamboa (kick blocked), 7:55

E – Gamboa 1 run (kick blocked), 2:26

IC – Coffell 12 run (Coffell kick), :20

THIRD QUARTER

E – Tinney 13 run (Gamboa kick), 8:24

IC – Parker Conner 26 pass from Coffell (kick failed), 7:18

E – Gamboa 35 run (John Hernandez pass from Tinney), 5:50

IC – Harrison 24 run (Coffell kick), 5:33

E – Sorola 2 pass from Avants (Calvin Malone pass from Gamboa), 2:31

IC – Coffell 18 run (Parker Posey pass from Coffell), :56

FOURTH QUARTER

E – Tinney 26 pass from Gamboa (kick blocked), 9:06

IC – Posey 44 run (kick failed), 8:56

IC – Morrow 9 pass from Coffell (Morrow pass from Harrison), 7:53

IC – Harrison 48 run (Coffell kick), 6:01

IC – Conner 38 pass from Coffell (run failed), 4:44

E – Gamboa 13 run (Gamboa kick), :19

This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Irion County Hornets too much for Eden Bulldogs in battle for 1A DI playoffs