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Back To The Drawing Board: Argyle Routs Celina 45-7 on Senior Night
By Townsend Keller, Special to the Record
The battle for the 10-3A district championship was supposed to be a clash of titans.
Instead Celina (8-2) fell to Argyle (9-1), 45-7, in a one-sided affair that Celina is more used to dishing out than receiving.
"Credit to them because they're a great football team," said Bill Elliott, Celina head coach. "Our deal is we've got to pick ourselves back up. We've got to do a little soul-searching and pick it up."
The rest of the night would belong to Argyle. Eagles quarterback Brandon Boyzuick and receiver Ian Sadler quickly put Argyle ahead with two consecutive touchdown drives, connecting on scoring throws of 21 and 31 yards.
"They outplayed us, they had more heart than we did," said Jake Raulerson, senior offensive tackle. "There was no quit in us. We played hard, they were a better team than us tonight."
Celina managed to hang around defensively. After allowing an Argyle field goal, the Eagles' next offensive drive ended when senior defensive tackle Matthew Herrera recovered a fumble.
But Celina's offense lacked its usual bite and the Argyle defense suffocated both aspects of it. Sophomore quarterback Nathan Elliott finished 5-of-19 for 17 yards and an interception while Ben Thiel led all rushers with three attempts for 25 yards.
"We just didn't execute very well, we got beat around up front pretty good," coach Elliott said. "We knew coming in they had a great football team. We had to play really well and execute really well and we didn't get that done. They've got a great defense, they played really well and they're physical up front. We had a hard time up there; we got a lot of pressure all night."
"They had us figured out," said Raulerson. "They got us on most of the plays we were running."
Eagles halfback Nick Ralston scored on a 7-yard run to put Celina down, 24-7, at the halfway mark. The sophomore gashed the Bobcats for 158 yards on 28 attempts.
In the third quarter, Sadler tormented the Celina defense on the ground and through the air, scoring on a 5-yard run and then hauling in a 13-yard strike for Boyzuick on two consecutive drives. He finished with 11 catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
"Those guys are great athletes," coach Elliott said of Ralston and Sadler. "The speed they've got, the size and strength those two guys have. They're hard to handle and cover."
Ralston closed out all scoring on the night with a 7-yard touchdown run. Despite being outmatched at home, coach Elliott and his team are keeping things in perspective.
"This game really doesn't determine a whole lot except who is the district champion," coach Elliott said. "We're still in the playoffs, we're rolling on, we still hold our fate in our hands. We just have to set our jaw, get up off the floor and get after it."
After the loss, Celina now prepares for a Bobcat-on-Bobcat playoff matchup as they face Krum on Thursday night at Denton Collins.
"We'll see [Argyle] in four weeks," Raulerson added. "We're going to get back to the drawing board and prepare for Krum. It's one game at a time now, it's playoffs, it's win or go home."
Despite the disappointing defeat, Elliott views the game as a learning opportunity for his team.
"Football is teaching these life lessons to our kids," he said. "In life, things happen. You go through bad situations, you've got to learn to rise up, get your head up and come back fighting. Our kids are strong, they'll come back. I know they will."
"We don't quit, that's just how Celina is," Raulerson added. "This is a rough loss, this is going to hurt for a little bit, but it's temporary."
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