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SAN ANTONIO – The Bastrop High School varsity football team had its hands full on Sept. 22 as the Bears traveled down to San Antonio to take on a high-powered Pieper High School squad. Unfortunately, the Bears were unable to keep up on the road as the Warriors’ dominant offense helped them cruise to a 63-22 victory over Bastrop.
With the Bears down 16-0 in the first quarter, rising freshman quarterback Weston Nielsen got Bastrop on the board with a 34-yard touchdown pass over the middle to junior wide receiver Keyshon Moore, who got open and beat three Warriors defenders for the score to make it 16-8.
This was as close as the Bears would get all night as the defense had a lot of trouble stopping Pieper senior quarterback Jack Strachan, who completed 31-of-39 passes for 246 yards and five touchdown passes.
Eight turnovers really hurt this Bastrop team against Pieper as the Bears lost five fumbles and threw three interceptions on the night. However, Nielsen continues to be very impressive for Bastrop head coach Jake Griedl after starting the season as the thirdstring quarterback. Nielsen, who recently got an offer from the University of Oregon as just a freshman, has an extraordinary amount of talent and still threw for 226 yards despite a tough night for Bastrop. Moore had 169 yards receiving on six catches, while fellow junior running back Ladainian Merino scored two short rushing touchdowns.
The Bears (3-2 overall and 0-1 in 5A-2 District 13 play) have already surpassed their win total from 2022 and will look to get back on track at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29 as the Bears host Kerrville Tivy High School at Bastrop ISD Memorial Stadium. Although Bastrop was able to defeat Tivy 30-27 last season on the road in a thriller, this too is a much improved Antlers squad that enters this week with a perfect 5-0 record. Tivy picked up a massive 34-28 victory at home last Friday night hosting district foe Liberty Hill High School.
