The Boling Bulldogs were tough this past season going 4-2 in the district with their two losses by 15 total points.
Overall they finished with eight wins, their highest win total since 2017. With the improved play, the district coaches awarded them one of the highest district honors and they recognized several Bulldogs to the district’s offensive and defensive first team.
Bulldog running back Ryan O’Neal turned heads in district play and earned the Offensive MVP. O’Neal was rarely used in the second half of games with his big runs helping the Bulldogs jump up to early leads.
“(The other coaches saw) just how good he is,” Bulldog head football coach Kevin Urbanek said. “Ryan has a great burst with great vision. He runs hard and is very difficult to bring down because of his strength.”
O’Neal rushed for 500 more yards than the second-best runner in the district, finishing with 1,760 yards in the regular season and 2,151 yards overall.
Helping O’Neal pick up those yards were five linemen and a tight end and the district coaches awarded all of them first-team honors. Seniors Jessie Arrington, Seth Bear, Raybert Williamson, Tracy Taylor, and Franklin Gavranovic, along with junior Derrick Hippler, garnered first-team recognition.
“That offensive line was very dominant but we didn’t expect anything less than that. This group of kids worked their tails off to be that dominant. It doesn’t just happen, they put the time and effort in over the past years to be that dominant,” Urbanek said. “I am definitely proud of their accomplishment but I am most proud of the fact that they were willing to put the hard work in to gain that accomplishment.”
Arrington, Bear, Williamson, and Taylor were all unanimous selections. The Boling offense grounded out 2,351 yards, the most in the district, averaging just under 400 yards a game.
Boling had three players earn honors on both sides of the football as big contributors who rarely came off the field. Bulldog seniors Trenton Jones at running back and inside linebacker and Arrington and Williams as offensive and defensive linemen received recognition as first-team players on offensive and defense.
“Those are really special football players. It just shows how hard they worked to be the best football player they could be,” Urbanek said.
The Boling defense also got two other first-team honors in senior cornerback Jaxson Urbanek and junior outside linebacker Kyler Sweat.
“Jaxson did a great job of leading our secondary and had a bunch of pass breakups and a couple of pick-sixes,” Urbanek said. “Kyler is just a player that has good athletic ability but he just plays with great effort all the time. It was difficult to run the ball his way.”
The defense this past season allowed 104 points in district play, the second-best total, giving up fewer than 20 points a game.
Boling sophomore Jerrick Garcia was named the Bulldogs’ utility player. Garcia averaged more than eight yards a carry when running the ball and three touchdowns and was also a key linebacker for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs’ offense had three second-team offensive players in tight ends Sweat and sophomore Sebastian Tovar and Urbanek as a kicker. Boling also had three second-team defensive players in Hippler at defensive end, Bear at defensive tackle and corner junior Nathan King.
Rounding out the Bulldogs awards were seniors Kameron Taylor (defensive back) and Christan Montalvo (inside linebacker) and sophomores Kaden Lunford (outside linebacker) and Sebastian Tovar (outside linebacker) and King (running back) all received an honorable mention.
District 14-3A awards
District MVP: Ti’Shaun Davis (SR, wide receiver/defensive back) Tidehaven
Offensive MVP: Ryan O’Neal (JR, running back) Boling
Defensive MVP: Sam Brooks (SR, linebacker) Van Vleck
Newcomer of the Year: Kale Russell (FR, quarterback) Tidehaven
First team offense
Quarterback: Rafael Herrera (SR) Rice Consolidated and Bryson Bennett (SR) Brazos
Running Back: Joseph Dodds (JR) Tidehaven, Trenton Jones (SR) Boling and Cameron Austin (SR) Van Vleck
Tight End: Derrick Hippler (JR) Boling, Charlie Hill (JR) Van Vleck and D.J. Losack (JR) East Bernard
Wide Receiver: Jachen Duran (SO) Tidehaven, Connor Claxton (JR) Tidehaven, Maddox Crist (JR) East Bernard and D’nerian Fuller (SO) Rice
Center: Franklin Gavranovic (SR) Boling
Offensive Line: Marco Romero (SR) Brazos, Jessie Arrington (SR) Boling, Seth Bear (SR) Boing, Raybert Williamson (SR) Boling, Clyde Griffith (SR) Tidehaven and Tracy Taylor (SR) Boling
Kicker: Alex Cisneros (JR) Tidehaven
First team defense
Defensive Ends: D.J. Losack (JR) East Bernard, Justin Griffith (JR) Tidehaven, Jessie Arrington (SR) Boling and Peyton Huerta (JR) Van Vleck
Defensive Tackles: Wyatt Lee (JR) Tidehaven, Raybert Williamson (SR) Boling and Cody Armstrong (JR) Van Vleck
Inside Linebackers: Landon Piwonka (SR) Tidehaven, Trenton Jones (JR) Boling and Kasey Zientek (JR) Brazos
Outside Linebackers: Cameron Austin (SR) Van Vleck, Cannon Goudeau (JR) East Bernard, Kyler Sweat (JR) Boling and Jachen Duran (SO) Tidehaven
Defensive Backs: Reid Morton (SR) East Bernard, Ricky Rubio (JR) Tidehaven, Jaxson Urbanek (SR) Boling, Corey Austin (SO) Van Vleck and Chris Ortega (SR) Brazos
Punter: Alex Cisneros (JR) Tidehaven and Vincent Aguilar (SR) Brazos.
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