Burleson Centennial takes down rival Burleson to win third consecutive Boot Bowl

The Boot Bowl trophy will stay in the hands of the Spartans from Burleson Centennial for a third-straight year after beating cross-town rival Burleson 28-7.

“I’m happy for the kids, it’s a big win for them, it’s a big win for our school,” said Centennial head coach Kyle Geller. “But, we got a long way to go.”

For the Spartans, Geller said the game means more than just a trophy.

“It’s fun,” he said. “I like having it as the first game of the year because it kicks the whole season off in a big way with all the fans and everything. That excitement is what Texas high school football is all about.”

Centennial’s 21-point victory was the spark that Geller likes to start off the season, even though the game didn’t start as they wanted.

The Elks scored on the opening drive with a 3-yard run via quarterback Andrew Sparks.

Burleson passed well on the drive with a 16-yard completion to running back Nate Jackson and a 29-yard completion to Zach Alford. The rest of the drive came with the running game.

Sparks had 22 yards rushing and Jackson had five.

However, the Burleson offense was silenced afterwards.

“I thought the defense was okay, we missed some tackles and stuff, but the stuff we made mistakes on is correctable,” said Geller.

The Spartan offense also forced three fumbles and an interception.

Centennial scored three unanswered touchdowns in the first half.

The first came via the legs of quarterback Jacob Torres, who ran the ball two yards into the end zone. Geller complemented Torres for his work in the first game of the season, but said he’ll be able to learn from some things, as well.

The next couple of scores came on a 6-yard pass to wide receiver Keilan Gregory and on a 21-yard rush by running back Jaylon Walker, who got most of the work tonight after Centennial’s starting running back Jaxon Williams left with a tweaked ankle.

Centennial added some insurance in the fourth quarter, when Torres connected with wide receiver Damien Long for a 10-yard touchdown.

“Our execution on offense was sometimes erratic,” said Geller. “We have to get in a better rhythm there.

The Spartans have made the playoffs the last two seasons and Geller said he’ll bring the same mindset into this season as he did in the past.

“I expect us to be really competitive,” he said. “I just want us to improve every week and, if we do that and play really hard, we’ll be there at the end.”

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