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SMITHVILLE — The Bastrop High School varsity football team bounced back from a rough loss on Friday, Sept. 15 as the Bears rallied for a thrilling 48-42 overtime victory vs. Pflugerville High School. The contest, which was originally supposed to be on Thursday at Bastrop Memorial Stadium, was moved to neutral site Smithville High School on Friday due to stormy weather in Bastrop throughout Thursday evening.
Down its top two quarterbacks with junior Quintaelyn Joyner and senior Braden Tuck dealing with injuries, Bastrop head coach Jake Griedl handed the reins of the Bears’ offense to freshman Weston Nielsen and he had himself a game for the ages against the Panthers. On 16-of-28 passing attempts, Nielsen tore up the Pflugerville defense with a whopping 451 yards through the air with three touchdown passes.
Facing a 42-28 deficit in the final four minutes of regulation, this Bastrop squad refused to quit as the Bears were able to come back and force overtime. Junior running back Ladainian Merino was the hero for Bastrop in overtime as his 16-yard touchdown run gave the Bears the victory. Merino was stellar as he had 23 carries for 128 yards and four scores, including the winner that sealed the deal in overtime.
Nielsen’s favorite target on the night was junior wide receiver Jaelyn Gratten, who exploded for 251 yards receiving on eight catches and two touchdown receptions. Bears junior wide receiver Bryan Pauley also had five receptions for 81 yards and one score, while fellow junior wide receiver Keyshon Moore had three catches for 50 yards.
With a 3-1 overall record, the Bears head into district play on a very high note as Bastrop will travel at 7 p.m. on Sept. 22 to take on a very good Comal Pieper High School team. The Warriors are coming off a 57-28 blowout victory at home over Hallettsville High School.
