Two Krells are better than one
Friday Night Lights are back! Yet another week has passed us as we’re slowly approaching the start of district football games. We have yet another wonderful game to showcase this week as we get up close and personal with this Big 7 team. This team could be one of the most talented groups of athletes that we’ve had an opportunity to see with our own eyes. Their execution on the field is near flawless and they capitalize on every mistake their opponents make. They’re coming off a great win last week and they plan on keeping that streak going. This week we’ve got some of the best the Big 7 has to offer as the Weslaco Panthers travel to our Sharyland Rattlers in our Progress Times game of the week! Let’s get this show on the road.
Progress Times photo by Luciano Guerra.
Where do we start? Well, we have the Rattlers sitting at 2-1 on the season as we approach tonight’s matchup. They started off the season solid getting the win against the Brownsville Pace Vikings, but found themselves going home with a loss against the Hanna Golden Eagles a week later. I got the chance to speak to Rattlers’ quarterback Bo Krell about that loss, “We had a great game for about three and a half quarters…yes we can play but how consistent can we be in the 4th quarter with the game on the line.” Losing a game can teach you more than winning a game can. After coming off that heartbreaking loss, the Rattlers worked on closing out their games which got them their second win of the season against the Nikki Row Warriors.
Bo spoke more about the assignment at hand for this week, “Weslaco is probably going to be the best team we see all year. I make sure that our guys know that every team is beatable, regardless of who they are or where they’re from, every team is beatable.” The Panthers are 3-0 going into tonight’s game and if the Rattlers want to snap Weslaco’s three-game winning streak, they’re going to have to beat one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in the Valley.
Bo plays the game of football like a true game manager. He doesn’t shy away from the end zone as he has been able to connect with his teammates with efficiency. Watch him lead the Rattlers’ offense and you will notice that there is a way that he puts a certain touch on the ball with every pass he makes. There isn’t any doubt in his mind that he is able to complete every pass. He is the leader of this group and he does a great job at doing that. He probably gets that from his father, Sharyland head coach Craig Krell.
Progress Times photo by Luciano Guerra.
I spoke to Krell about what he and his team have on the agenda this week, “Weslaco is a big and physical team. We’re going to (have to) match that physicality, match the speed, and play as fast as we can.” Krell’s been getting his team ready for a battle tonight and the troops are responding to it well.
Krell spoke more about his team, “We’re young on both sides of the ball up front so we want to control the line of scrimmage, both offensively and defensively. It’s a key factor that we are improving on every week.” There are not a lot of things that can stop the Rattlers but a team like the Panthers could prove to be one that puts that theory to the test. So there’s no question that tonight’s game is going to be a good one.
Coach Krell got tasked with coaching Bo on and off the field. I talked to both of them about the kind of relationship they have with each other. Coach Krell told me, “I couldn’t ask for a better kid, in terms of work ethic, in terms of who he is as a person and his goals. I couldn’t be more proud of him. When it comes to the field, it’s the same thing, he’s going to keep his head up and reach for his goals.”
After speaking to coach Krell, I spoke to Bo about his father on and off the field, “He’s by far my best friend. He’s the greatest coach I could ever ask for, the greatest father I could ever ask for. God blessed me. On the field he doesn’t treat me any different, the only difference is that his contact on my phone doesn’t say Coach Krell, it says Dad.”
A win for this Rattlers’ tonight would be massive. They could lose or they could snap a winning streak by taking down the undefeated Weslaco Panthers. A win would take this team to 3-1 and keep them as one of the top teams in their district, while a loss would of course put them at 2-2. One thing that is for sure, if the Rattlers win tonight it will have a lot to do with the two Krells and the leadership they provide, one from the sideline and the other on the field. Good luck Rattlers!
