Christoval's Freshman Quarterback Leads Squad Past Grape Creek

CHRISTOVAL, TX—The Christoval Cougars, led by Freshman Quarterback, Brayden Wilcox extended their win streak to two games in a home victory over the Grape Creek Eagles that ended with a score of 26-14.

“[Brayden] has progressed from week to week. His growth has been phenomenal for a freshman," said Christoval Head Coach Casey Otho. "I mean last week he had 256 yards rushing, 156 yards passing, and six total touchdowns. We are just trying to spread it out a little bit, keep him healthy. This week, like I said, just trying to spread it out a little and keep him healthy going into district, but he's just a player that we can't keep the ball out of his hands sometimes.”

Although Brayden Wilcox stole the show, Grape Creek struck first, scoring early in the first quarter on a deep touchdown pass from quarterback Jesse Jio to Chris Sikes putting the Eagles up 6-0.

After stalled drives by both teams, the Cougars' Brayden Wilcox intercepted an errant pass from the Eagles Jesse Jio and returned it all way to the end zone as time expired in the first quarter tying the game at 6-6.

After three straight incompletions, the Eagles stalled again and were forced to punt to the Cougars who would capitalize on the opportunity.

Christoval would string together a nice drive capped off with a Brayden Wilcox touchdown run putting the Cougars up 13-6 over the Eagles.

Grape Creek struggled to find momentum on their next drive as well, and were forced to punt to Christoval once again.

The Cougars' David Fava was the workhorse of the night and was rewarded on the next drive as he was handed the ball repeatedly and found the end zone putting Christoval up 19-6 over Grape Creek with 2:41 left in the half.

The half would end 19-6 with Christoval up on Grape Creek.

In the third quarter, Brayden Wilcox would engineer another strong drive for the Cougars that resulted in a seven-yard touchdown run by the young quarterback putting Christoval up 26-6 after the made extra point.

Although Jio struggled throughout the game to find any rhythm, he managed to find the endzone on a one-yard touchdown run in the third cutting the Cougars lead to 26-14 following a successful two-point conversion on a keeper.

Following the Eagles touchdown, the Cougars were stopped on fourth down, giving the ball back to the Grape Creek.

Momentum seemed to be shifting in the Eagles direction, but on their ensuing drive they were stopped on fourth down on clutch pass deflection by the star of the night, Wilcox.

The Cougars took over from Grape Creek's 45-yard line, but penalties negated several big plays including a would-be touchdown by Wilcox.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wilcox put a stop to another Grape Creek drive with his second interception of the night.

The Eagles bounced back from the interception with an opportunity to make it a one possession game, but a quarterback keeper by Jio was stuffed at the goal line, forcing another turnover on downs.

On the final drive of the game, the Cougars had another touchdown called back, although it did not matter as time expired with a score of 26-14 in favor of Christoval.

Commenting on the Loss, Grape Creek Head Coach Mueller said “we just got to make plays. Plays were there to be made we just didn't make them. We got to be more focused. We got to have more focus in practice, that's the bottom line. More focus every day, seven days a week.”  

Wilcox and Fava headed a rushing attack for the Cougars that could have been even more lethal had the offense not suffered so many penalties.

Brayden Wilcox is only 14 years old and is already the leader of this Christoval Cougar squad on both sides of the ball. His talent shows on the field and Christoval fans are excited to see the progression of their young star.

Going into next week, the Christoval Cougars (2-4) look to extend their winning streak in a home game against the Eldorado Eagles (2-4).

Also next week, the Grape Creek Eagles (0-6) look to get their first win of the season at home in a tough matchup against the second-ranked Wall Hawks (5-0).

Follow the Christoval win over Grape Creek on Oct. 6 in real time on our LIVE! Stream report.