Grape Creek Kicks Off District Play Against Coahoma One Day Early

COAHOMA, TX — The Grape Creek Eagles are hitting district play at just the right time riding a three-game winning streak.

The Eagles started the season 1-2, but have since won three straight against Colorado City, Tahoka and San Angelo TLCA, scoring 40 or more points in each game and only giving up a combined 19 points.

This Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, Grape Creek starts district against the 5-1 Coahoma Bulldogs, who are playing pretty good football. Taking a closer look at their first three games, one might think they haven’t played anyone. Coahoma outscored Forsan, Roscoe, and Kermit 125-11, and those teams have a combined 2-13 record.

But these Bulldogs can play football because in Week 4 and Week 5, they beat the Albany Lions, 15-12, and the Wink Wildcats, 35-14. The Bulldogs ended up dropping their game last week to the Littlefield Wildcats, 35-21, for their first loss on the season.

Regardless of record or what day the game is on, Grape Creek head coach Tanner Thiel is going to have his team prepared.

“They’re a very good football team, and it’s going to be a good test for us,” Thiel said.

The reason the game is on Thursday this week is due to a lack of officials in the Permian Basin.

“Their week is as short as ours, and they probably have this game circled because of last season," said Thiel, whose Eagles beat Coahoma 34-20 last year.

But the Eagles' offense is doing their job, and being able to move standout running back Sire Garcia around gives them opportunities to get more athletes the ball. Both Garcia and Darrell West have been super effective out of the backfield for the Eagles. At fullback, Garcia has split carries with West and has 331 yards and four TDs so far.

West has seemingly come out of nowhere and is putting up incredible numbers for The Creek, rushing for 677 yards and 11 TDs.

While West and Garcia have been the focal point, quarterback Braley Woods has also been getting the job done.

The defense has been chugging right along as well. Hayden Simpson leads the team with 4.5 sacks, while Garcia, Gabe Santillan and Zane Durham lead the team in tackles with 44, 43 and 38, respectively. The Eagles have also attacked the football, forcing four fumbles, recovering three of them, and snagging three interceptions while breaking up 10 passes.

Coahoma’s quarterback, Austin Joslin, has thrown for 781 yards, 16 TDs and four INTs.

The Bulldogs have a committee at running back. Lanson Moore has 385 yards and three TDs, and freshman Aiden Rodriguez has done a decent job as the backup with 253 yards and one TD.

The Eagles have their work cut out for them through the air this week as Coahoma has three playmakers at receiver. Leading the way is senior Jayden Henderson with 341 yards and six TDs. Behind him is Andre Rushin and Landon Wells, who have 216 and 200 yards, respectively, and 10 scores combined.

The Bulldogs' offense has to get on the field in order to do anything because the Eagles operate a run-heavy scheme. That means the Bulldogs defense is going to get a lot of work. This is such a double-edged sword because Coahoma’s defense has been flying around. They have 20 sacks, 10 fumble recoveries, seven interceptions and 50 tackles for loss. Levi Green leads the team in tackles with 53 tackles, three sacks, and one fumble recovery. Landon Wells not only catches touchdowns for the Bulldogs, but he also catches quarterbacks and has five sacks on the season so far. If Grape Creek QB Woods puts the ball in the air, he’ll have to avoid Coahoma sophomore Kaleb Rodriguez, who has five interceptions. When he's not patrolling the secondary, he’s getting after the quarterback and has two sacks to prove it.

The Grape Creek Eagles kick off District 4-3A Division II play on the road against the Coahoma Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.