COMANCHE – Frederick coach Bret Tyler couldn’t have asked for a better opening performance from his team.
The Bombers (1-0) dominated both sides of the ball, cruising to a 43-7 Week Zero road win over Comanche at Harley Stadium on Friday night.
Tyler said it was tough having to play a week early, but his team’s experience came through in a big way.
“Both teams are in the same boat with not much time to prepare, but we have a senior-ridden team,” Tyler said. “We have seven or eight (seniors), and they play both ways, and when you have that many seniors, you usually can control a game, and that’s what we did and ended up getting a big win.”
Comanche held a slim 7-6 lead with 3:03 left in the first quarter after Chandler Bowen found Noah Henderson for a 33-yard strike, but that was all the Indians could muster from there on.
Comanche’s offense struggled find any kind of rhythm, and the Bombers took advantage, holding the Indians to 58 total yards, including -13 yards rushing.
Despite completing two passes of over 30 yards in his first five throws, Bowen couldn’t overcome the pressure put on by Frederick’s defense. The sophomore finished with only 71 yards and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, on 4-of-22 passing.
“Defensively, we have almost everybody back from last year,” Tyler said. “We expect to be special on defense, too, and we showed signs of that tonight. Comanche throws the ball a lot and challenges defenses, so I was proud of the way we played tonight.”
The Bombers, on the other hand, found success on the ground and through the air, finishing with 314 yards of offense.
Jeremiah Adams and Christian Reyes led the team in rushing, combining for 153 yards and three touchdowns.
“They both run the ball really well,” Tyler said. “They are both seniors and have played for two years now, so we’re really proud of them. I think they’ll be the first to credit their offensive linemen. Them opening holes like that are going to give us big rushing games.”
Bombers quarterback Travis Ibarra also had an impressive game, completing 46 percent of his passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown, a 36-yard toss to Darius Randle, gave Frederick a 6-0 lead with 5:53 left in the first quarter.
“We think we have a chance to be a good football team, and we showed signs of that tonight,” Tyler said. “I nod my hat to Comanche because they have a good group, but I think we have a chance to be good and surprise some people this season.”
Comanche coach Brad Perry said his team’s performance could be attributed to a combination of factors.
“We’re a young team,” Perry said. “They play hard and everything, but it comes down to fundamentals and not having spring ball. It also kind of surprised me to see that our conditioning was off. I thought we had good conditioning in our scrimmage against Elmore City, but I think we got a little tired tonight.
“One of the things kids have to do when you’ve had long years like we’ve had here is they have to learn how to win. The only way to do that is the hard way – through hard work. That’s the only thing you can do.”