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Back to Basics: Celina takes out frustrations on Crandall
BY Townsend Keller, Special to the Record
CELINA -- Celina (1-1) got back to its dominant ways Friday night, running the visiting Crandall Pirates (0-2) out of Bobcat Field in a 49-7 rout.
It was a welcome sight for all those in Celina orange after the 13-18 loss to Melissa to open the season made the perennial 3A heavyweight look mortal. First year head coach Bill Elliott said this week the team focused on being comfortable in their identity.
"I think myself and the team had a lot of first-game jitters; we've got some young players," he said. "This week that was all gone. We talked about going out and being the Celina Bobcats and that's what the kids did."
Celina was in charge after the first quarter, 29-0.
Celina's quarterback said winning in the usual Bobcats fashion was a relief.
"It feels great, it feels like old memories; had to get that bad taste out of our mouths," Elliot said. "Honestly, [the loss to Melissa] was a blessing in disguise; it kind of gave us a wakeup call that we aren't that good."
Grant continued to pile it on for Celina in the second quarter as he marched down the field for his second touchdown of the night, a 6-yard score.
The Pirates' offense seemed to wake up after that as junior halfback Nate Banks capped off a 47-yard Crandall drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 5:26 left.
But it would be Celina that had the final say as Thiel hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Elliott to close the first half. Thiel would also collect a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter that would be the last touchdown of the game.
Coach Elliott, in his first season at the helm after the retirement of Butch Ford, noted that winning at home the way Celina is used to was a much better than Week 0.
"It's a great feeling," he said. "It's a whole lot better than last week I can tell you that."
The coach also said he misses Ford, but was quick to point to his assistants as one of the main reasons for his transition going smoothly.
"Coach Ford and I were so close and we still are close," coach Elliot said. "But we have to step up and fill those roles and I feel like all our coaches did a great job of rallying and helping me. I've got a lot of older coaches that are able to help me out and bring me along the way. So it makes it a little easier on me."
Despite throwing for 173 yards and two touchdowns, the younger Elliott believes he needs to improve going into next week's matchup against Argyle Liberty Christian.
"My passing game," he said when asked what needed to be better next week. "I thought we ran the ball pretty good, but I've got to start hitting those longer passes and execute that stuff better."
Despite the convincing 49-7 win, team progression still has a ways to go as well.
"We've still got a lot of places to improve," coach Elliot said. "We've got to get better at every phase of the game and we will continue to do that. These guys are really set on working really hard to get better."
Elliott would complement his passing with six rushes for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Grant ended the night with nine rushes for 62 yards and two scores along with four catches for 36 yards. The Bobcats' leading receiver was Thiel, who had seven grabs for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
For Crandall, it was a night they would sooner forget.
Spradling was replaced as the starting quarterback after throwing two interceptions. His replacement, Alex Linger, wasn't much of an improvement as he completed only five passes for 77 yards and had -14 yards rushing. The Pirates' leading rusher was junior halfback Nate Banks, who finished with 13 rushes for 21 yards and one catch for 38 yards. Wide out Brice Satterwhite had one catch for 40 yards.
Next up for Celina is Homecoming and a 7:30 p.m. game Friday against Argyle Liberty Christian.
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