Grapevine defense thrives, powers Mustangs to key victory against Fort Worth Wyatt

In an important District 4-5A D2 game played on a picture perfect October night, Grapevine used an opening kickoff return for a touchdown by speedster Rondale Carridine and error free football to take a 20-7 win over Wyatt Friday night at Mustang Panther Stadium.

Carridine split the seam with the kickoff and raced untouched 90 yards to give the fans a preview of what was to come as both teams showcased speed and athleticism in a hard fought game that was ultimately determined by costly fumbles by Wyatt in the second half.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Grapevine head coach Bob DeBesse said. “They are a talented and well coached team so we were fortunate to win and I am proud of our players. We had big takeaways by Dareon Burns, Tatum Evans and Bryson Davis in the second half and that was the difference because we had good ball security all night.”

Indeed Wyatt had big plays in the second half but fumbles or penalties negated them. A 100-yard kickoff return by Xavier Walker was called back by a holding penalty and the Chaparrals fumbled after a big 70-yard reception by Jeremiah Boone from sophomore quarterback Jorvorski Lane early in the second half when trailing 10-7.

“We played hard and we played well but we killed ourselves with fumbles,” Wyatt head coach Zachary Criss said. “Grapevine played well and did not turn the ball over.”

Both teams played error free in a first half that was dominated by the defenses. Wyatt was able to throttle Grapevine on its first possession and then marched 92 yards on 13 plays to consume 8 minutes of the opening quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

It was the running of tailback Damario Goss that sparked the drive as well as the ball handling and running of quarterback Dartagnan Crawford, who later gave way to Lane. That sustained drive was aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Grapevine and Goss bulled over from four yards for the Chaparrals only TD with 1:56 left in the first quarter.

Grapevine mounted one good drive in the first half that led to a 30-yard field goal by all-purpose kicker Hayden Rhoades, who also booted a 24-yard field goal in the second half and punted six times for a 40-yard average. Lane punted five times for Wyatt with a 40-yard average as well.

There were no turnovers in the first half and only a few penalties with two 15-yard infractions, one by each team, as the only meaningful ones.

Defense again prevailed in the second half but Wyatt suffered two interceptions and another fumble that quelled a drive.

Grapevine was able to spring Carridine on some good runs off the option play by quarterback Harrison Hackbarth. It worked for a 16-yard gain by Carridine after the first fumble recovery by the Mustangs in the third quarter. Then, the fleet senior wide receiver scored from 3 yards out on a pitch from Hackbarth with 10:38 left in the game to give Grapevine a 17-7 advantage.

On the ensuing kickoff, Walker looped to his left and set sail for a 100-yard jaunt to the end zone, but a holding penalty brought the ball all the way back to Wyatt’s 13 yard line. Lane tried a deep pass that was intercepted by Grapevine’s Colby Eckhart who returned the pick 50 yards to the goal, but that too was nullified by a hold and the Mustangs started a drive from Wyatt 26 that led to the second field goal by Rhoades with 8:22 left to play.

Wyatt tried to respond but Grapevine’s defense did not relent. An interception by Davis sealed the win late in the game. The Mustangs move to 4-4 for the season and 4-1 in District 4-5A D2 play while Wyatt is now 6-2 and 3-2.