Class 5A D2 No. 1 Argyle ramps up ground game in second half to down No. 6 Grapevine

Argyle showed why its the top-ranked team in the state in Class 5A Division 2.

The Eagles imposed their will on offense running the ball, especially in the second half, as Argyle rallied to down No. 6 Grapevine 31-15 in a non-district game on Friday night at Mustang-Panther Stadium.

Argyle (3-0) trailed 7-6 at the half, but Eagles’ running back R.J. Bunnell picked up 141 of his 169 rushing yards after intermisson and scored twice on runs of 34 and 3 yards in the third quarter to regain a lead that they would never relinquish.

“We were all very frustrated with how the first half went,” said Brunell. “We all did a fantastic job of making adjustments at the half. Our offensive line came out tough and nasty as they are. They came out wanting blood and they got it.”

Argyle threw only two passes in the second half and rushed 31 times for 216 yards behind 4-star Baylor commit Wes Tucker, No. 22 in the Star-Telegram Top 100, and the rest of the Eagles’ offensive line.

“Running the ball was the game play coming in, but they were doing some things in the first half that we couldn’t get adjusted to,” said Argyle coach Todd Rodgers, who’s in his 20th season at Argyle. “But we were very close at the end of the first half getting everyone aligned properly and thinking along the right blocking schemes. I was very pleased the way were able to run the ball in the second half.”

Landon Farris gave the Eagles a 25-9 lead with 8:02 left in the game on a 13-yard scoring run.

Farris had 82 yards on 14 carries for Argyle.

Grapevine (2-1), No. 4 in the 5A area rankings, missed two long field goal attempts in the second half, but did finally score on a 30-yard pass play from Evan Baum to Sammy Kelley to cut the lead to 25-15 with 7:24 left.

But Hunter McFaul put the game away late for Argyle with a terrific over the shoulder catch from Jacob Robinson from 15 yards out. Despite moving up a classification this season, Argyle has moved to the top spot in the 5A D2 rankings. The Eagles are also the top-ranked team in the area.

“I think it’s a testament to how hard our players are willing to work,” said Brunnell. “We’ve got some of the toughest guys you’ll ever meet in your life on this team. They put in work from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. every single day and I just couldn’t ask for a better team.”

“I think it comes down to the foundation we have and the coaching staff,” said defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel, son of former Major League pitcher Todd Van Poppel. “Coach Rodgers has been here for years and he’s been laying the foundation. I think we have one of the best staffs in Texas.”

Argyle defensive back Jaaqwan Felton made an incredible one-handed interception on the sideline to end Grapevine’s opening drive, but the Eagles were forced to punt on their first three offensive series.

The Mustangs’ defense came up big twice in the first half after gaffes by the offense.

Early in the second quarter Grapevine lined up to punt, but the snap was mishandled and Argyle took over at the Mustangs’ 17. The drive stalled at the three and Carter Buxton came on to boot a 20-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 3-0 with 7:53 left in the second quarter.

A 1-yard punt on Grapevine’s next series gave the ball back to the Eagles at the Mustangs’ 29. The Grapevine defense held again and Buxton came on for a 37-yarder that upped the lead to 6-0 with 3:26 left before halftime.

The Mustangs then got things rolling with a 75-yard, 8-play march that culminated in a 14-yard scoring pass from Harrison Hackbarth to Kelley, who made a terrific catch on the left sideline of the end zone. Kelley’s catch gave Grapevine a 7-6 lead with 34 seconds left in the half.

Parker Polk, No. 82 in the S-T Top 100, picked up first downs on the drive with a 16-yard run and a 15-yard catch. Polk led Grapevine with 127 rushing yards on 13 carries and caught five passes for 31 yards.

It’s no wonder that the Argyle defense is stout with three players in the S-T Top 100. Van Poppel (No. 17) is headed to Nebraska; Michael Madrie (No. 48) is going to Boise State; and Grant Mirabal (No. 73), who has made 90 tackles each of the past two seasons for the Eagles.

“We’re a 3-3 based defense and think for us up front with the three defensive linemen and three linebackers that we do a really good job of shutting down the middle and not letting teams run it down our throats,” said Van Poppel. “It doesn’t matter who we’re facing. We’re going to play the whole game as hard as we can, we’re not going to give up and we’re going to show that we want it more and we’re going to out physical everyone.”

This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 11:25 PM.