GUNTER, Texas — The Gunter Tigers play host to the Bells Panthers on Friday night, in the District 8-3A Division II opener for both teams.
It is, by far, the game of the year within the district this season. And Friday Night Football will be there to broadcast the game live. You can watch the game live on our streaming platform WFAA+. WFAA+ is available on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV. You can also watch the game right here on WFAA.com, or on our WFAA YouTube channel.
Gunter (5-0) comes in as the top-ranked team in Texas in 3A-Division II. The defending state champions, Gunter has gone a combined 110-6 over the last seven years, winning three state titles along the way.
Bells (4-0) enters Friday's contest as the only realistic challenger to the Tigers within district play. The eighth-ranked Panthers played Gunter to a 24-14 final in Bells last year. This year, they'll have their hands full trying to pull the upset on the road.
Gunter is led by star quarterback Walker Overman. Overman is only 5 feet, 7 inches and 145 pounds, but he is lightning quick, and can sling it around sidearm all over the field. Overman has accounted for 21 of Gunter's 32 total touchdowns this season, passing for 14 and running for seven more.
Bells runs the Slot-T – a complicated offense that is very difficult to stop. They give the ball to a multitude of ballcarriers, led by Easton Helgren. Helgren has carried for 40 times for 561 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, 14 yards per carry on average. Helgren also has three touchdown receptions in his four catches this year. So, he has 15 touchdowns in his 44 touches in 2023, one touchdown every 2.9 times he touches the football.
Kickoff on Friday night is 7:30 p.m. Our broadcast will hit the air at 7:20 with a pregame show.
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