Bishop Lynch High School (TAPPS 1-District 1) opens up their football season on the road for the first time since 2021 as they travel to Bedford to take on Hurst L.D. Bell (UIL District 3-6A) tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Pennington Field. Last season, these two teams met for the first time on the gridiron where the Blue Raiders won 65-21 over the Friars - you can read that recap
here. L.D. Bell finished the season going 6-4 (3-4) while the Friars finished 2-9 (0-4).
2023 Common Opponents:
This is the first game of the season for both teams and they do not have any common opponents this season.
Players to Watch:
L.D. Bell:
#35 Tristan Johnson: Johnson is the only player on the
Dallas Morning News SportsDay's list of top 100 recruits. The 6-2 260 lb. defensive line recently committed to UTSA over the likes of Nebraska, Arizona State and UNT. He finished with four tackles against BL last year.
#1 Elijah Zamora: Zamora is a senior who is in charge of replacing a lot of talent that left the Blue Raiders in 2022. He is a speedy wideout who caught 11 balls for 116 yards and one touchdown last season.
Bishop Lynch:
#13
Legend Howell: Howell is the Friars' returning starting quarterback and the sophomore is looking to take the next step in this offense. Last season against L.D. Bell, Howell finished with 219 yards and no interceptions.
#10
Colton Monroe: Monroe is a senior captain and the leader of the defense playing linebacker. He led the team in tackles last season and had nine tackles against L.D. Bell last year.
Keys to the Game:
L.D. Bell: The Blue Raiders lost a lot of production from last year's 6-4 team, but they will replace that with speed and size. Last year, Bell ran for almost 400 yards against the Friars, but 357 of those yards were from seniors who graduated. Look for the Raiders to try that same ground attack to wear down the Friars' front seven.
Bishop Lynch: The Friars hung with L.D. Bell last season early with a score of 14-14 after the first quarter. Most of the Friars' production from that game and the 2022 season is returning for BL so they will need to play with that same intensity all game. The defense will need to be able to stop the run and force a few turnovers for the Friars to find success.
