There was a somber mood on the Bastrop sideline Friday night.
The Bears magical season came to an abrupt halt thanks to a 41-21 loss at the hands of New Braunfels.
It stung bad for a group of seniors whose legacy will be the team that brought a district championship back to Bastrop in its last season in 5A.
“The toughest thing in sports is when that last game is over,” said head coach Gerald Perry. “It’s like running into a brick wall. It hurts.”
New Braunfels was stronger and much bigger than Bastrop.
The Unicorns flexed it muscle and scored on seven straight possessions after the Bears defense held the offense out of the end zone on their first three.
After a standstill first quarter, New Braunfels’ playoff experience showed and scored 10 unanswered points before halftime.
The Unicorns scored on its first possession of the second half and made Bastrop play catch up.
The Bears answered with Josiah Monroe, who marched down field with runs of 21 and 12 yards before finding Auston Shipley in the end zone to answer New Braunfels’ earlier score.
Instead of keeping with the passing attack, the Unicorns switched to a more smashmouth style in hopes of keeping Monroe off the field.
It worked and New Braunfels scored on its last four possessions to end the Bears potential last season in Class 5A.
“These kids have accomplished so much,” Perry said. “They have done more than what they could have imagined. They brought this community together. They won a district championship no one thought they would win. To win a district title in this district is an accomplishment.”
The 15,000 seat Bobcat Stadium was near capacity, with both sides a little more than 2/3 of the way full.
While no official number was announced, Perry said the crowd that traveled to San Marcos from Bastrop was a wonderful blessing.
“It’s definitely different than it has been in the past,” he said. “The procession leaving town on Friday on our way to San Marcos, seeing all the fans lined up on the street, that was breathtaking.”
The 2009 Bears brought high school football fever to Bastrop with a 9-2 season and pulling out wins over Pflugerville and Westlake.
Perry acknowledged there will be high expectations for future teams due to the 2009 Bears raising the bar.
“We will be going down to 4A with high expectations,” he said. “We weren’t always the biggest team or the most talented, but these kids always found a way to win. That speaks a lot to the character of these kids and their willing to work hard.”
The University Interscholastic League will announce its biennial redistricting on Feb. 2, 2010.
Bastrop is expected to return to 4A.