BANGS – The Bangs Dragons were turned away in their bid to start District 5-2A Division I football action with a victory, as the Ballinger Bearcats chalked up a 33-12 road win Friday night.

Ballinger (4-2, 1-0), under the direction of former Brownwood assistant Ty Lang, limited the Bangs (2-4, 0-1) offense to 179 yards – 110 rushing and 69 passing – with one turnover, a 68-yard interception return for a touchdown by Hunter Kresta.

The Dragons received 63 passing yards and a touchdown from Skylar Minshew, who also rushed for 26 yards.

Cason Tidwell caught a 4-yard touchdown for Bangs on his lone reception, while Hunter Crowell finished with two grabs for 28 yards and Rex Guerrero contributed two catches for 24 yards.

On the ground, Jackson Edmiston also rushed for 26 yards while Braydon Gatlin added 25 and Aden Jones chipped in 20 yards and a touchdown.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, generated 369 yards with 271 coming on the ground. Aiden Pena rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns to spark the Ballinger offense, while Caden Strube passed for 98 yards and a touchdown, caught by Kyson Burleson who finished with two receptions for 74 yards.

For the Bangs defense, Hunter Withers intercepted a pass and Mason Minshew recovered a fumble. Crowell led the Dragons with 12 tackles followed by 11 from Eliseo Rivas and nine by Tidwell.

Next week, the Dragons are home for their second straight district outing as they welcome (4-2, 0-1), coming off a 56-0 loss to De Leon (3-3, 1-0) Friday night.