Benbrook plays football game at AT&T Stadium, Bobcats defeated by Bridgeport
The Fort Worth school district made history in May when six girls flag football teams played in three games at AT&T Stadium. It was the first season and was one of the first public school systems in the United States to offer such a program.
On Thursday, FWISD made headlines as the district had an 11-man football team, in Benbrook, play at Jerry’s World for the first time since Paschal faced off with Arlington Martin in 2014.
The Bobcats went toe-to-toe early on, but couldn’t keep up with Bridgeport, falling to the Bulls 56-21.
The game was part of a double-header at AT&T Stadium, the site of the UIL state championships in December. Paradise beat Millsap, 56-14, in the first contest.
“It was great. I was excited for our kids and community. It was a great experience,” Benbrook coach Cody Slater said.
“This was really nice for Benbrook, the players and the community to play here,” FWISD assistant athletic director Dean Pritchett added. “It’s always big time and something you strive for so I’m very proud of them. I know they were happy to play here.”
Bridgeport (3-1) got three touchdown runs by Cole Pritchard (34, 11, 2) and two touchdown catches by Adan Santoyo (32, 16) in the first half. The Bulls led 42-14 at intermission.
The Bulls scored on six of seven drives in the opening 24 minutes.
Two flags started off the game to set Bridgeport back to a first-and-20, but quarterback Mason McComis hit Santoyo for 35 yards and Pritchard scored on a 34-yard run less than 90 seconds into the match.
Benbrook (0-4) answered with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that lasted five minutes. Quarterback Collin Thompson hit Kyler Hayes on an 11-yard slant into the end zone that knotted the game at 7.
Pritchard added his second TD run just three plays into Bridgeport’s ensuing drive and after the Bulls got the next onside kick, McComis found Santoyo from 32 yards out to up the lead to 21-7 with 4:43 left in the first quarter.
Thompson capped off a 58-yard drive with a 1-yard keeper to get the Bobcats within 21-14 with 1:55 to go.
But the Bulls scored again on a 16-yard pass and catch from McComis to Santoyo, and Benbrook muffed the ensuing kickoff. However, the next Bridgeport drive would be the only one it didn’t score on in the first half after three straight incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs.
Benbrook answered with a 14-play drive that included 10 runs, but the Bobcats also lost the ball on downs after a fourth-and-6 at the Bridgeport 12. The Bulls would score twice more before the break with a McComis 26-yard toss to Chris Pritchard and Cole Pritchard’s third touchdown run.
Cole Pritchard added two more touchdowns in the second half, one from the ground and one through the air.
He ran in a 14-yard score, his fourth TD rush of the night, to give Bridgeport a 49-14 lead midway through the third quarter. He also caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from McComis early in the fourth.
Cole Pritchard finished with 16 carries for 140 yards and four touchdowns plus the TD reception. McComis was 17 of 24 for 271 yards and four touchdowns. Santoyo made seven catches for 135 yards and two scores.
Thompson led the Bobcats with 141 yards on 26 carries and added 132 yards passing along with three total touchdowns. He added one late with an 8-yard toss to Jake Lindsey.
Benbrook will look to rebound and pick up its first win as the Bobcats travel to Breckenridge on Friday Sept. 23.
“We’re really young. When you start nine sophomores on offense and eight on defense, you’ll have some growing pains and that’s what we’re going through right now,” Slater said. “At the end of the day, this one doesn’t get you to the playoffs, it doesn’t keep you out of the playoffs.
“We just want to use it as a stepping stone and move forward.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 10:07 PM.
