Burnet boys soccer ready for regular season

CAPTION: Burnet senior Genesis Ceron keeps his eyes downfield as he moves the ball to the other side. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

The Burnet High School boys soccer team finished its scrimmage season with a home matches against Lampasas Dec. 16 and Pflugerville Dec. 19.

The Lampasas match, which was a doubleheader with the Lady Dawgs, also included a toy drive competition between the Burnet and Lampasas high school programs. Burnet had 425 donated toys to Lampasas’ 245.

That means Burnet won the challenge for the second consecutive year.

“So we had absolutely the best turnout we’ve had so far,” Bulldogs head coach Benjamin Boorman said. “We do maintain the trophy for that, which is a rivalry that we have. But in the end it’s all about the community, and I explained it to all the kids on the field that there are plenty of kids who are without parents and who are going through tough times, whether it’s Christmas or their birthday or moments that are supposed to be special. They don’t have people who are in their lives who love them. It’s important that we make them feel special with gifts and presents and something that we all really understand during the holidays. It’s important to give back, and so I think it worked extremely well.”

Donated toys went to the Hill Country Advocacy Center. 

While Boorman was proud of the players for the donations and happy to ensure children in the area have a Merry Christmas, he noted the Bulldogs got some work in, too.

He views scrimmages as opportunities to substitute players and work toward creating rotations and lineups that give the Bulldogs their best chance at success. The Bulldogs learned plenty during the scrimmage against Marble Falls Dec. 12.

So they all of that on the pitch during the final two scrimmages.

“The boys responded well and against Lampasas – we had a fantastic game,” Boorman said. “I thought we played very strong defensively against a Lampasas team that was more physical, that was faster. We took advantage of the home turf and fought hard and the game finished in a tie, which is typical between us and Lampasas.” 

He pointed out the scrimmage against the Badgers went “back and forth” and the match is usually decided by a goal.

“They made their adjustments and I thought we played really well,” the coach said.

He noted the scrimmage against Pflugerville was similar.

The Panthers, who are members of District 23-5A, are skilled with size and speed, Boorman said.

“But we kept the game close and we got it tied and they scored kind of last minute as we’re making subs,” Boorman said. “So I really feel like we can hang with anybody defensively, and so I’m very excited.”

Because the scrimmage was played a day later than scheduled, some players had already left for the holiday.

“Last minute change to the game meant that a lot of kids were going to be on vacation,” the coach said. “So I think we did really well, because we were down players. 

Next up is the Kerrville Showcase Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 1-3. Organizers also created a junior varsity tournament.

During the showcase, the Bulldogs will face Copperas Cove at 4 p.m. Jan. 1, Uvalde at 2 p.m. Jan. 2, and San Antonio Taft at 2 p.m. Jan. 3.

It’ll be the first time the Bulldogs face an opponent since Pflugerville, and Boorman noted he will be looking for several traits from his team.

“I’d like to see us continue to play very strong defensively,” he said. “We’re going against schools that are bigger than us (in enrollment); they’re all (Class) 5A schools, and we’re gonna play 5A schools in the (Georgetown Independent School District’s) Governor’s Cup (Jan. 8-10). So I’m looking to make my younger (players) understand the speed of the game and understand that they have to play quicker, that once we get up to play district opponents that they need to keep the speed up. They don’t need to slow down with the team that they’re playing. I’d like to see us continue to pass the ball quicker, to have more awareness to pick our heads up and see the field instead of looking down at the ball, and to know exactly where they’re supposed to be defensively.”