Celina eliminates Alvarado in third straight year, advances to state semifinal
The Celina Bobcats and Alvarado Indians met for a rematch of last year’s Class 4A Division I state quarterfinal.
Alvarado, being nearly outnumbered two to one in terms of players available, would need a massive game from its rushing attack and defense. However, Celina’s performance in the second half would prove to be too much, and the Indians fell to Bobcats in the playoffs for the third straight year 52-27 on Friday at Vernon Newsom Stadium.
“The kids are resilient. They find a way to win, they’re winners,” Celina interim head coach Aaron Ford said. “The offensive line took over, the defensive line took over, everybody rose up. That was our challenge this week as a coaching staff to the kids. If you’re in position to make a play, let’s play our style of football and get after them.”
Alvarado (12-1) got out to a quick start on the opening drive, as Demarcus Bolton took a 75-yard toss to the end zone. The senior running back finished the night with 102 yards and the touchdown.
Celina (14-0) responded with two touchdowns of its own. Oklahoma signee Bowe Bentley came out slinging with a pair of touchdown passes, one to LJ Taylor for 32 yards and the other to Brody Gunn for 9 yards.
It was a heavy dose of the run game early and often from both teams, as the Indians and Bobcats accounted for 183 rushing yards in the first half, 113 of which came from Alvarado.
After a Celina 29-yard field goal and a DJ Clampitt 16-yard touchdown reception, this game would go into halftime with the Bobcats leading 17-14, a much closer half than the final score would indicate.
With Bentley being unavailable for the second half after sustaining an injury with 1:01 left in the second quarter, the Bobcats called on seniors Gaurav Muttasseril and Luke Biagini to finish the game.
Biagini, being a standout linebacker, had not played quarterback since middle school. However, that didn’t stop Ford from calling upon him when the team needed him the most. The team’s “Swiss Army knife” found a way to do just about everything out there.
The converted wishbone quarterback rushed for an astounding 114 yards with three TDs.
“Feeling a little tired right now, but it’s just another day in the office,” Biagini said. “I started as a quarterback growing up, so it’s kind of just second nature to me. It felt easy to just go back in there, have confidence, and play my part in tonight’s win.”
The very next drive, Biagini caught an interception after Alvarado attempted to run a bit of trickery with a double reverse pass. Celina immediately capitalized on the turnover and scored on a 33-yard rush from Jacob Brown.
Despite the lopsided scoreline in the second half, Alvarado kept fighting. With 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter, Schyler Dethorne hauled in the final score of the game, a 74-yard TD reception. It was a reflection of an Alvarado team that never quit, despite the circumstances.
“We had some things swing the other way, and we weren’t able to turn it back,” Alvarado head coach Casey Walraven said. “Our kids played really hard, they got to us up front pretty good, but these seniors — I couldn’t be more proud of the legacy they’ve left. Back-to-back regional finals is hard to do, and they put Alvarado back on the map.”
The win marked 30 straight victories for the Bobcats, who have been a juggernaut of Class 4A Division I for quite some time now. However, they don’t view it that way; they’re just focused on the game in front of them.
“We don’t think about the records, we just know that we got to win the next game to achieve the goal,” Ford said. “1-0 each week. We know we’ve got to win to get to the next round, and this group of seniors — we’ve got 18, 19 seniors starting, and it shows.”
Celina will face the Stephenville Yellowjackets (14-0) in the state semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Eagle Mountain.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 12:22 AM.