Sports

The ATC Christmas Gran Prix Tennis Tournament was held at Northside School District Stadium in San Antonio on December 20 and 21. Brooks Lane and Austin Carrola played in the 18 years and under division. Austin Carolla won first place.

The JV B team lost to Lago Vista 19-13. Braden Batey had 6 points for the Panthers, followed by Jordan Handberry with 5, and Derek Flores with 2. The JV A team beat Lago Vista 41-33. Clayon Green had 11 points and led the team. Zach Barnes had 10, Tanner Rogers had 8, Matt Pepper and James Perez had 3 each, and Dillon Luke, Cody Martinez and Travis McClinton all had 2. The Varsity boys had only one day of practice to get ready for Lago Vista, but still prevailed.

On December 19, the Blanco JV and Varsity girls teams hosted Lago Vista. The Varsity never gave the Lady Vikings a chance, holding on to the lead the entire game. Lacee Hunter was the lead scorer of the night with 15 points. Alyssa Warner and Justine Cooley each put up 9 points.

The 2008 Blanco Panther football season came to an end this past Friday in Dallas at Texas Stadium as the Panthers were defeated by the Daingerfield Tigers 43 to 7. After knocking off the state’s top ranked team a week earlier, Blanco was faced with the task of beating another highly ranked opponent.

The Middle School girls played Johnson City at home on Monday, December 15. All three teams defeated the Eagles with little trouble. 7B and 8B teams combined and won 16-6. Selene Serrano was the high scorer with 6 points and Makayla Elrod had 4 points. Isabella Cuevas, Audrey Johnson and Brooke York each sunk two points. 7A defeated the Eagles swiftly, holding them back the entire game.

This past Saturday marked one of the top performances of all-time for the Blanco Panthers, who improved to 14 and 0 on the year, as the Panthers knocked off the #1 team in the state by defeating the Refugio Bobcats 27 to 7 in the Alamodome. Although the Bobcats boasted the state’s top ranking, the Panthers proved without a doubt why they had the region’s #1 offense and defense.

The JV and Varsity girls played Center Point at home on December 2. Both teams were defeated, final score for JV was 26-27. The Varsity girls finished their game 45-50. There were no stats available at press time. The boys’ game scheduled for December 2 was canceled. The JV boys traveled to St.

On December 8, Blanco Middle School boys and girls played Harper; boys played here, girls were away. The 7A girl’s team lost to Harper by only one point after playing a close game. Final score: 34-33. There was no score for the 7B team at press time. The 8th grade girls easily defeated Harper, holding them to only two points for the duration of the game.

The Blanco Panther Varsity Football team is preparing this week to travel to Dallas where they will fight for their spot in the State Finals. They will be facing the Daingerfield Tigers. Kick-off will be at 7:30pm on Friday, December 12 at Texas Stadium. Tickets are available at Blanco High School until 5:00pm on Thursday.

The Blanco Panthers will play for the Region IV Championship this coming Saturday, following a convincing 42 to 21 victory over the Vanderbilt Industrial Cobras. The win improves the Panthers to 13 and 0 and set ups a much anticipated match up against the state’s top ranked 2-AA team, the Refugio Bobcats. After an impressive first quarter that saw the Panthers score on their first two drives, the Cobras struck back in the second quarter to close the gap at the half.