Bad Blood? Junction Gets Playoff Rematch With Shiner in State Quarterfinals

HUTTO, TX — The No. 4-ranked Junction Eagles play a familiar foe in the state quarterfinals as they travel to Hutto to play the No. 1 Shiner Comanches.

Rematches seem to be a common thread this week. Wall plays Idalou, Water Valley plays Rankin, and Junction plays Shiner.

"It's definitely what we wanted," Junction head coach Scott Freeman said about the rematch. "Junction has been wanting this for the entire year. We're excited. We're ready to get this rocking and rolling. We get to play a quality program in Shiner. I'm excited."

The 13-0 Eagles beat the Granger Lions last week, 42-14. The game started off with a Brock Bierschwale kickoff return to put Junction up, 7-0. But, after that, it was a straight defensive battle until Chasen Doyal found Koda Bierschwale down field for a huge gain that seemed to open the Eagle offense.

Shortly after that, Aydin O’Brien broke through four tackles on his way to the end zone. About three minutes after O’Brien’s score, Koda Bierschwale got himself a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 21-0 lead.

Granger finally got on the board with about one minute left in the first half when Caleb Hobratsch bashed in a 3-yard run.

Right before and after halftime, Junction’s Doyal and Granger’s Wyatt Rochner each threw an interception as the weather started to blow in. On Doyal’s pick by Ryder Bice, that set up the second Lions' touchdown to pull them within 21-14.

The Eagles stayed focused and Doyal ran in a score with 2:27 left in the third. On the Lions' next drive, Rochner went to throw but was picked off by Hunter Dale for the second time. In the closing seconds of the third quarter, Bode Bierschwale ran in another Junction score that put the Eagles ahead, 35-14.

The Eagles secondary made another play when Casen Roberts tipped the pass to himself. If Roberts had not tipped that pass, the Lions' Caleb Tucker would have scored as the Granger receiver was just a few yards from the end zone.

A huge Bode Bierschwale run set him up to sneak in under center at the goal line, then get across for the last touchdown of the game. Time would run out and the Eagles won 42-14, setting up a playoff rematch with Shiner.

Junction's winningest season in program history was ended by Shiner last year in the state quarterfinals, 27-0. However, Junction did beat Shiner in the same round back in 2008 when the Eagles reached the state semifinals for the only time in program history.

Shiner beat Iola last week, 20-14. Comanche quarterback Chase Malinovsky went 1-of-3 passing for 6 yards through the air. Shiner did virtually all of its damage on the ground where they had Malinovsky, Quincy Jones and Clayton Fric each score a touchdown.

Shiner running the ball could play well for Junction as the Eagles just handled Granger, which had two dangerous runners in Rochner and Hobratsch.

The Eagles defense has only allowed 105 points this season, which averages out to just over 8 points a game. When your defense can lock it down like that, it allows the offense and special teams unit to stay hyper aggressive.

Even after Granger had scored its first touchdown with just about a minute left in the second quarter, Junction came out throwing the ball. That pass was tipped for an interception, but it showed that the Eagles were hungry to extend the lead.

At one point, Junction attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball, but an offsides penalty called the kicking team back onto the field. It didn’t deter Junction, however, as the Eagles tried for another onside kick, though this time, Granger recovered.

Junction hasn't lost since its season was ended last year Shiner. The Eagles brought back most of their team, Freeman returned as head coach, and they’re playing lights out.

Shiner, however, has a ton of playoff experience, something Junction has not traditionally had. The Comanches also have a defense that has held opponents to just over 11 points a game. But looking back at their schedule this season, they beat Falls City by a modest score of 21-14 in district, while Junction beat Falls City twice — once in the regular season, 48-0, and again in the playoffs, 42-13.

If we want to do some further projection, Iola, the team Shiner just beat, by six points, lost to Granger 56-14 earlier in the year.

Any given Friday.

Junction and Shiner will play at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, in Hutto.