By Tyler Mayforth

Buda — Give a good quarterback enough time in the pocket, he’ll dice the secondary.

If the same quarterback is athletic and shifty, it could be a long night for the defense. Well, Hays found out just how good Bastrop quarterback Josiah Monroe could be in 2009.

The Rebels were powerless to control Monroe and suffered a 34-14 home loss Friday night.

“We couldn’t contain him,” Hays head coach Bob Shelton said. “He was the difference in the game.”

From the Bears’ opening possession, Monroe looked to be on a different echelon than the other 21 players on the field.

Monroe danced around the Rebels’ four-man pass rush and picked his spots downfield. He fired a bullet to Josh Taylor on the second play from scrimmage (a 13-yard gain) and only got better from there.

By the end of Bastrop’s (1-0) second offensive series, Monroe had 116 yards through the air on 5-of-8 passing. More importantly, the Bears held a 10-6 lead.

“My offensive line gave me plenty of time to work with so I could read the defense,” Monroe said. “Once I could make the read, I knew who should be open.”

Monroe had his share of targets to hit, but Auston Shipley was his go-to guy.

He and Shipley connected six times in the game for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Five of the six receptions were for more than 10 yards, including a 40-yard catch to set up Bastrop’s first touchdown.

“If you’re a receiver and Josiah is your quarterback, you just need to get open,” Shipley said. “He’ll put it right where you need it every time.”

While Monroe picked apart Hays’ defense, the Rebels couldn’t mount a offensive counterattack on the Bears.

Hays’ triple option looked lackluster, rushing for 198 yards on 43 carries. The Rebels (0-1) cycled between Philip Abreo and Sam Breyfogle at quarterback, not allowing either to get into a rhythm.

Breyfogle had an emergency appendectomy during two-a-days and returned to practice a week earlier. He guided Hays to its first score, but struggled otherwise. Breyfogle went 8 of 18 for 92 yards and tossed two interceptions.

“He’ll get better as he gets more reps and more time back there running the offense,” Shelton said. “He’s not in playing shape and we’re trying to get him there.”

Hays went into halftime down 17-6, but had a ray of hope.

Monroe twisted his knee on the final play of the first half, but was back on the field for the first possession of the second.

He looked timid following his injury, but just needed to shake the stinger.

After two three-and-outs, Monroe led the Bears to two scores in three possessions. He connected with Mustafa Akbar on a 17-yard touchdown pass and then hit Josh Taylor for a nine-yard strike.

“It was easy out there,” Monroe said. “We had a good game plan coming into the game and knew we could pass on them.”

Two of the lone bright spots for the Rebels were Trace Gandy and Anthony Garza. Both running backs stepped up with Torrance Smith out.

Gandy rushed for 93 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. Garza added 17 carries and 77 yards.