Comanches defeat Wildcats, Ash 28-8 to book return to state
Thursday, December 18, 2025
by Mark Lube, Gazette Sports Editor
The Shiner Gazette Facebook Article | Game Statistics | Shiner Football | Shiner Comanche Sports
NEW CANEY - They knew they would have a battle on their hands.
Kaden Neskora strolls into the end zone in the fourth quarter with a 10-yard pass from Jarvis Williams. The score was the only one of the second half as Shiner defeated Mount Enterprise 28-8 Shiner advances to meet Muenster next at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 11:00am. photo courtesy of Howard Esse
[ click any photo to enlarge ]
The Shiner football team, especially the defense, knew a tough task was at hand against undefeated Mount Enterprise and their record-setting running back and Texas Tech linebacker commit, Kaegan Ash, in the 2ADII state semifinal Friday night ( December 18, 2025 )at New Caney ISD's Randall Reed Stadium.
Shiner excelled at both sides of the ball: the offense produced nearly 400 yards of offense, 357 on the ground while the defense kept Ash in check and allowed just one score in a 28-8 win that sends Shiner to the state championship game for the second year in a row.
Quincy Jones led Shiner on the offensive side with 184 yards and touchdown runs of 86 and 62. Clayton Fric ran for 91 yards and one touchdown while Jarvis Williams ran for 34 yards, and threw for 34 yards and one touchdown.
"I am so proud of these guys. They came to work all week and came to work tonight," Comanches head coach Daniel Boedeker said. "I was really proud of the way they stepped up."
The Wildcats came into the game putting 61.7 points a game on the board but Shiner held them to a mere fraction of that.
Mount Enterprise lost two fumbles, threw an interception and was stopped on downs a couple of times.
"They average around 60 points a game and we held them to eight. That is saying a lot," senior defensive backwide receiver Jake Simper said.
Ash came into the game averaging 308 yards rushing and scoring 4.7 touchdowns a game.
Against Simper and his Comanche defense teammates, he was held to 238 and did not score.
Mt. Enterprise running back Kaegan Ash (right) believes he can escape the grasp of #6 Tyler Harvey, but the Shiner defensive back has a different take on the situation as he brings Ash down. photo by Mark Lube, The Shiner Gazette
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"It was challenging but it made us a better defense. We got everyone to the ball and it will help us in the state game," Simper said.
"We had to have pursuit to the football and be good tacklers," Boedeker said. "It wasn't easy at times but we had talked about not panicking and stay the course. We had to trust we would make some plays, and we did. Got some big turnovers that helped. I loved the way our offense played fast and physical."
Shiner took the opening kickoff to its 38 and scored quickly as Fric took a toss play and raced 62 yards for a touchdown, and a 6-0 lead after the two-point play failed.
The 'Cats drove from their 34 to the Shiner 1, aided by Ash getting nearly 50 rushing yards. However, on 4th-andgoal from the Shiner 1, Ash was stopped for no gain, giving Shiner the ball.
Mount Enterprise was called for offsides on the first play; Jones had one carry and Caleb Cowan, playing in his first game since getting injured in the regular season, helped get Shiner to the 14 where Jones ripped off an 86-yard run. Williams passed to Charlie Clifford for two points and a 14-0 Shiner lead with 2:17 left in the opening quarter.
The 'Cats went from their 30 to the 50 but faced another fourth down and quarterback Joshua Bennett had to scramble but was stopped 8 yards shy of the first down.
However, the ensuing possession of Shiner's ended when Williams was intercepted around the Mount Enterprise 27.
Comanche linebacker Clayton Fric (7) brings down Wildcat running back Kaegan Ash. The Shiner defense kept Ash out of the end zone and limited Mt. Enterprise to their lowest score of the season. photo by Mark Lube, The Shiner Gazette
[ click any photo to enlarge ]
Ash and Bennett moved the ball down to the Shiner 40 but for the third straight possession, the 'Cats turned the ball over on downs, this time Ash gained just 2 on a 4th-and-5 play from the Comanche 40.
Jones used his speed and weaving ability on a 62-yard run for a 20-0 Shiner led with 2:43 left in the first half.
The 'Cats got on the board with a seven-play 69-yard drive. Ash had a big 39-yard run on a 4th-and-1 from his 40 and Bennett capped the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass Aadin Alsup; Bennett ran for the two-point conversion to get Mount Enterprise to within 20-8 with 20 second left in the second frame.
Cowan gained 15 on the first play of the next drive from his 35 to the 50 and Williams found Boe Boehm on a screen pass that got him deep inside 'Cat territory; Shiner was called for holding and Mount Enterprise elected to decline the penalty, ending the first half.
The 'Cats' first possession of the second half ended badly for them as Jones came up with an interception to set up Shiner at the Mount Enterprise 45. Several plays later, the 'Cats stopped Shiner on 4th-and-1 at the 11 as Jones ran for a loss of 1 yard.
Mount Enterprise moved the ball to midfield and the Comanches recovered a Bennett fumble at the Shiner 49.
Shiner then drove 51 yards in over five minutes, converting and 4th-and-inches from the 'Cat 12 with a Williams quarterback sneak on the ninth play. Two plays later, Williams hit Kaden Neskora for a 10-yard touchdown pass and Shiner went up 28-8 as Simper hit Williams on a double-reverse pass on the two-point play.
On the next drive, Ash had a 35-yard run from his 40 to the Shiner 25. Mount Enterprise got all the way down inside the 15 but Shiner forced a fumble that was recovered by Fric at his 10. A penalty against the 'Cats moved the ball to the 25 and Shiner ran out the remaining 7:09 of the fourth quarter.
With their semifinal victory, Shiner advances to meet Muenster in the 2025 Texas Class 2A-DII State Championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 11:00am. General admission tickets for the 2025 State Championship sessions are available online only at SeatGeek.
Shiner fans will recognize this upcoming game as a rematch of last year's Texas 2A-DII State Championship when Muenster defeated Shiner 36-29 on December 18, 2024 to take the title.
GAME STATISTICSShiner 28, Mount Enterprise 8 Friday, December 11, 2025, 7:00 p.m. Randall Reed Stadium, New Caney TX SCORING SUMMARY 1 2 3 4 F Mt. Enterprise 0 8 0 0 -- 8 Shiner 14 6 0 8 -- 28 SCORING DETAILS: First Quarter S - Clayton Fric 62 run (run failed), 11:44 1Q. S - Quincy Jones 86 run (Charlie Clifford pass from Jarvis Williams), 2:17 1Q. Second Quarter S - Jones 62 run (pass failed), 2:43 2Q. ME - Aadin Alsup 23 pass from Joshua Bennett (Bennett run), 0:20 2Q. Third Quarter no score Fourth Quarter S - Kaden Neskora 10 pass from Williams (Williams pass from Jake Simper), 9:25 4Q. TEAM STATISTICS: Mt. Enterprise Shiner First downs 13 17 Rushes-yards 50-279 37-357 Passing yards 30 34 Passes 2-4-1 2-3-1 Total plays-yards 54-309 40-391 Penalties-yards 7-67 4-30 Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-0 Punts-aver 0-0.0 0-0.0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Rushing ME: Kaegan Ash 34-238, Joshua Bennett 14-41, Joel Otwell 1-2, Aadin Alsup 1-(-2). S: Quincy Jones 12-184, Clayton Fric 6-91, Caleb Cowan 12-48, Jarvis Williams 7-34. Passing ME: Bennett 2-4-1-30. S: Williams 2-3-1-34. Receiving ME: Alsup 1-23, Josh Hooten 1-7. S: Boe Boehm 1-24, Kaden Neskora 1-10.
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Mark Lube is the sports editor for the Shiner Gazette.
Contact him at 361-594-3346 or mark.lube@lavacacountytoday.com |
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