The Mt. Zion Braves wasted little time making a statement to open the 2026 high school football season Friday night.
Mt. Zion found the end zone seven times before halftime and used contributions from its offense, defense and special teams to cruise to a 54-6 victory over the Limestone Rockets on Friday, Aug. 21, at Limestone Community High School.
The Braves established control almost immediately, jumping out to a 21-0 advantage in the opening quarter before adding another 21 points in the second to carry a commanding 42-0 lead into halftime.
Mt. Zion opened the scoring with 8:34 remaining in the first quarter when Kellen Bollhorst broke through for a seven-yard touchdown run. Although the ensuing conversion attempt was unsuccessful, the Braves had their first points of the new season and were only getting started.
Less than six minutes later, Mt. Zion struck again. Connor Fox powered his way into the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown run, with Bollhorst adding the two-point conversion to extend the Braves’ advantage to 14-0.
The Mt. Zion defense then joined the scoring effort just 19 seconds later.
Limestone quarterback Tyler Hammond’s pass was intercepted by Fox at the Mt. Zion 45-yard line, and Fox took it the other way for a 55-yard interception return touchdown. Declan Woosley’s extra point gave the Braves a 21-0 advantage with 3:01 remaining in the first quarter.
The offensive production continued into the second.
Quarterback Noah Schmal connected with Jaxon Good for a 33-yard touchdown with 10:10 remaining in the half, stretching Mt. Zion’s lead to 28-0 following Woosley’s extra point.
Fox continued his impressive night less than four minutes later, this time making an impact through the air. He connected with Brody Lipa for a seven-yard touchdown to give Mt. Zion its fifth trip to the end zone.
Bollhorst then capped the first-half scoring with 3:10 remaining, breaking free for a 40-yard touchdown run. Woosley’s extra point made it 42 unanswered points for the Braves heading into the locker room.
Facing a sizable deficit, Limestone continued to battle and broke through in the third quarter. Hammond connected with Kyler Hill for a 39-yard touchdown, putting the Rockets on the scoreboard with 7:14 remaining in the period.
Mt. Zion, however, answered almost immediately — and did so in explosive fashion.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lipa fielded the ball at the Mt. Zion 16-yard line and raced 84 yards for a kickoff return touchdown, quickly restoring the Braves’ momentum and pushing the score to 48-6.
Mt. Zion added one final explosive play in the fourth quarter when Travon Street broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run with 6:10 remaining, bringing the Braves’ total to 54 points and putting the finishing touches on a dominant opening-night performance.
The 54-6 final reflected a complete effort from Mt. Zion, which found multiple ways to put points on the board. The Braves scored on the ground and through the air while also producing touchdowns on an interception return and a kickoff return.
Fox was at the center of several of those moments, accounting for a rushing touchdown, interception-return touchdown and touchdown pass. Bollhorst found the end zone twice on the ground, while Lipa contributed touchdowns as both a receiver and kick returner.
For Mt. Zion, Friday night’s performance provided about as strong of a start as the Braves could have asked for. With contributions coming from all three phases and several players making an impact, Mt. Zion leaves Bartonville with a convincing 54-6 season-opening victory and its first win of the 2026 campaign.
