Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Kerens running back Nehemiah Massey rounds the corner for yardage against Cross Roads Oct. 11.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Kerens quarterback Muziq Gunnell turns on the jets to move his team deep in Cross Roads territory.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Cross Roads quarterback Riley Brown eludes Kerens defender Julius Brown during Oct. 11’s game.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Cross Roads receiver Sean Brown outruns Isaiah Carter of Kerens to move his team down the field.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Kerens defender Daniel Lewis wraps up Cross Roads running back Hunter Joslin during Oct. 11’s contest.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Kerens’ Isaiah Massey takes down the Cross Roads quarterback as teammate Isaiah Carter converges.

KERENS–The Kerens Bobcats defeated the Bobcats from Cross Roads Oct. 11, winning 40-7 to even Kerens’ record at 3-3 in both teams’ District 8-2A opener.
The first Kerens offensive play resulted in a fumble recovered by Cross Roads’ Riley Brown. Cross Roads (2-3 for the 2024 season) found themselves with a fourth-and-7 from the Kerens 35-yard line with 7:34 left in the first quarter, but that play was 2 yards short of a first down, turning over the ball.
On the ensuing Kerens drive, Gunnell kept it on the ground from his own 25 to the Cross Roads 17. The next play, Nehemiah Massey ran those last 17 yards to pay dirt, and David Limon’s extra-point kick gave Kerens a 7-0 lead with 6:23 left in the first quarter.
Kerens next scored with 6:44 left in the second quarter, when Gunnell trotted 15 yards for a touchdown to increase the Kerens lead to 14-0. Cross Roads answered with a drive capped by a 13-yard Riley Brown quarterback keeper, as Oliver Tilley’s extra-point kick cut the Kerens lead in half at 14-7 at the 3:40 mark of the second quarter.
Later, after D’Mari Payne ran 30 yards to the Cross Roads 20-yard line, Kerens scored again with another Gunnell quarterback keeper, this time from 1 yard away with 25 seconds remaining in the half. Kerens led 21-7 at intermission.
Kerens added another touchdown with 4:34 left in the third quarter, as Nehemiah Massey ran 12 yards to increase the Kerens lead to 27-7 (the extra point was missed). Then, with 2:33 left in the third quarter, D’Mari Payne of Kerens picked up a Cross Roads fumble and returned it for a touchdown. This time, the extra point succeeded, giving Kerens a 34-7 advantage.
Nehemiah Massey tallied the final Kerens touchdown of the night, running 5 yards with 9:55 left in the game. The extra point was blocked, leaving the score Kerens 40, Cross Roads 7. Another potential Kerens touchdown covering 43 yards was brought back because of a penalty with 45 seconds remaining in the contest.