By Paul Knight
Austin Sports Journal correspondent
Vista Ridge fought off a late comeback attempt to defeat Bowie 28–21 in a thriller Thursday night at Burger Stadium. The Rangers controlled much of the game with a balanced offensive attack, but the Bulldogs refused to go away. In the end, Vista Ridge’s defense came up with the stops it needed to preserve the win.
After a 14–14 deadlock at the break, Vista Ridge pulled ahead with two big passing strikes from quarterback Kaden Arnot in the third quarter. Arnot first connected with Ben Reed on a 54-yard touchdown down the sideline, then later hit Kieran Paegle for a 31-yard score to stretch the lead to 28–14. By the end of the night, Arnot had thrown four touchdown passes to pace the Rangers’ offense.
The victory was an early statement for Vista Ridge, which improved to 2–0 on the season with the road win. For Bowie, the narrow defeat showed both resilience and areas to clean up as district play looms. With both programs expected to contend in their respective races, Thursday’s clash provided a glimpse of two teams with postseason potential.
Click image to make gallery full screen.
| AT BURGER STADIUM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vista Ridge | – | – | – | – | 28 |
| Bowie | – | – | – | – | 21 |
Records: Vista Ridge 2-0. Bowie 1-1.
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