Celina's defense shut out Frisco Memorial for three quarters Friday, Oct. 23, powering the Bobcats to a 28-6 win at Kuykendall Stadium and keeping them in the District 4-5A Division II title chase.
The Bobcats entered the game stinging from their first loss of the season, a 33-20 defeat to Frisco on Oct. 16. Memorial tested Celina early, forcing two first-half turnovers and limiting the Bobcats to 274 total yards, the Celina Record reported. But the Warriors could not convert those takeaways into points until the fourth quarter.
With senior running back Evan Koehne unavailable, junior Legend Dangerfield stepped in and carried 13 times for 87 rushing yards. Senior Carter Place punched in two touchdowns on the ground.
Freshman quarterback Zane LaCrue added 96 passing yards and two scores through the air. He connected with junior Walker Grubbs on a 57-yard touchdown and found senior Josh Cortez for an 8-yard score.
The win improved Celina to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in district play. According to MaxPreps, the Bobcats sit third in the district standings, tied in record with Frisco at 5-1 but behind the Raccoons on the head-to-head tiebreaker after the Oct. 16 loss.
Both trail unbeaten Anna. The Coyotes rolled past Denison 41-24 on Oct. 23 to stay perfect at 8-0 overall and 6-0 in district. The Dallas Morning News ranks Anna sixth in Class 5A and Celina 17th.
The stakes rise Friday, Oct. 30, when Anna travels to Celina for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. A Celina win would pull the Bobcats even with the Coyotes atop the district. A loss would all but end their title hopes with one regular-season game remaining.
Celina closes the regular season Friday, Nov. 6 at Denison.
