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Knockdown Drag Out: Celina survives Aubrey, 39-20
BY Townsend Keller, Special to the Record
Celina (7-1) is used to trotting out the reserves in the fourth quarter in recent weeks.
AUBREY -- That wouldn't be the case against a scrappy Aubrey (2-6) squad that gave the Bobcats all they could handle in a 39-20 Celina victory.
"They had a good team, they played hard," said Bill Elliott, Celina head coach. "I've been around Aubrey a long time, growing up in this area and they play hard; they get after it. They're not going to lay down and quit and they did that the whole game, they brought a fight to us."
It looked as if Celina would answer the score with a 13-yard run by junior halfback DeShawn Davis, but the officials called a fumble in the end zone which Aubrey recovered. Davis then had another touchdown taken away after the Bobcats were called for hitting a defenseless player.
"We just had way too many mistakes tonight," Elliott said. "I think we had four touchdowns called back. We just can't do those kinds of things."
Celina wouldn't score until four minutes were left in the half when sophomore quarterback Nathan Elliott ran in from 13 yards out to put Celina up 7-6, a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night.
"A little part of us was looking next week to Argyle because we know it's such a big, high-intensity game," said Ross Wisdom, senior offensive guard. "We didn't expect Aubrey to come out as hot as they did, but they have a lot of talent on their team and they really surprised us tonight."
On the Chaparrals next drive the Bobcats caught a break when Aubrey mishandled a punt and the ball was downed at the 8-yard line. Senior halfback Willie Sims juked his way to an 8-yard score and Celina would take a 13-6 lead into halftime.
A Celina offense that had rolled up over 400 rushing yards against Frisco Lone Star was limited to 146 against Aubrey's defense in the first half.
"In the first half we didn't get a good feel of what they were running at us," Wisdom said. "I think we had more knowledge of what they were going to run at us in the second half, so I think that really helped us out in the second half to be able to run the ball against them effectively."
"Coach Elliott really woke us up at halftime and we got a lot of the scheme worked out and everything opened up to us," added Cash Conder, sophomore halfback.
The second half opened marvelously for Celina. A fumbled snap found its way into the arms of senior linebacker Justin Leshowitz and was returned 28 yards for a touchdown and it looked as if Celina was on its way to yet another rout.
But once again, Williams injected life into the Chaparrals, taking the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to the house. A two-point conversion kept Aubrey within a touchdown, 20-14.
"It's hard for a team to beat us with big plays, they're going to have to do something more consistent than that," coach Elliott said. "So we were able to control that and we were ok."
It would be the closest Aubrey would get the rest of the game. Davis scored on a 1-yard run and on Aubrey's next offensive drive sophomore linebacker Nick Grant caught Williams in the end zone for a safety to give his team a 29-14 cushion heading into the final quarter of play.
A 37-yard field goal from senior kicker Fabian Aguirre opened up the fourth quarter to give Celina a 32-14 lead. Aubrey's Matt Davis would add a 4-yard touchdown run to bring the Chaparrals within two scores.
But then in typical Celina fashion, they closed the game out convincingly.
Sophomore defensive back Chase Marler picked off Williams and junior halfback Connor Torbert added a 1-yard scoring run to close out the night for a 39-20 final.
Nathan Elliott finished his passing night 8-of-19 for 121 yards passing, outdueling Williams who finished 3-of-15 for 59 yards and was picked off three times. Williams was also the leading rusher for Aubrey, with 11 attempts for 91 yards. Davis led the ground attack for Celina with 10 attempts for 96 yards, a touchdown and a lost fumble.
Celina now heads into a bye week, gearing up to face Argyle at home on Nov. 9. The 7:30 p.m. kickoff will decide the district champion.
"We were a little flat tonight I think, coming off of two big games," coach Elliott said. "I think we were just looking down the road a little bit too much. We've come off two big games, a lot of distractions going on. We've just got to get our minds focused and get back on course."
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