The Boerne Champion Chargers celebrate their 39-13 win over E. Central. Photos by Mike Reeder

By Mike Reeder
Staff Writer

A fast start and a strong finish helped the Boerne Samuel V. Champion football team overcome a lackluster second quarter and ring up a solid 39-13 win at East Central Friday night.

Boerne quarterback Chuck Thornally had another big game with 87 rushing yards and 122 yards through the air, but took a back seat to tailback Josh Wray, who rambled for 154 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.

“I was pumped,” Wray said, acknowledging that the presence of Chris Johnson, the Hornets heralded running back, was on his mind. “He’s definitely one of my competitors on a collegiate level kind of thing.”

“It was the complete opposite of what we faced against Midlothian,” Boerne safety Drew Roumelis said. “They’re very physical up front and like to run the ball. We had our ups and downs, but we played a very good game.”

Boerne opened the game with a 77-yard scoring drive finished off by Wray from two yards out. Champion widened the margin to 9-0 on the kickoff when the Hornets return man mishandled the ball and Brett Holder tackled him in the end zone for a safety, giving Boerne two more points and another turn on offense.

Roumelis returned the punt to the Hornets’ 37, and Thornally quickly found receiver Cody Hawkins for 14 yards. Four runs later, Wray crashed in from the three. After just six minutes, Boerne led 16-0 and the Hornets’ offense had yet to take the field.

Boerne Champion tailback Josh Wray (49) and quarterback Chuck Thornally (5) combined for 363 all-purpose yards against E. Central.

“I know what kind of kids and coaching staff they have and I knew the game was not over at 16-0,” he said.

Threadgill was right. Boerne’s offense sputtered and Johnson started rolling up yards. The Hornets settled for a 31-yard field goal after one drive, but on their next possession Johnson scored from a yard out to draw his team within six points.

That was as close as it got. With four minutes left in the half, the Charger offense shook off its doldrums and drove to the Hornet 46. Slot receiver Kody Beach ran a slant and Thornally zipped the ball to him in stride for the touchdown.

“We kind of got satisfied with the lead and hit a lull,” Thornally admitted. “Last year we weren’t a come-back team, but this time we came back and played well.”

The game turned for good a minute later, when Johnson broke free for 51 yards. Roumelis made a touchdown-saving tackle and Johnson left the game with a sprained ankle, taking the Hornets offense with him. Johnson finished with 179 yards but only reached the end zone once. Threadgill was less concerned about the total yards than the fact that most of them came after first contact.

“He’s a tremendous back, but we can tackle better and that’s something we need to work on,” Threadgill said.

“We just need to tackle,” Roumelis agreed. “We lunged. We tried to arm-tackle and we just need to wrap up better.”

The second half was all Boerne. Thornally scored on a 30-yard run, Wray broke free for a 46-yard TD and placekicker Jelguin Vargas capped off the night with a 21-yard field goal.