Only two remain
Six-Man football entered the week with three undefeated teams and exited Friday with only two halfway through the 2022 season. White Deer has been a mild surprise heading into this week but fell to Springlake-Earth 50-22 at home. One of the two unscathed teams is also the biggest surprise so far. McLean, under first-year head coach David Donnell, have outscored their opponents 345-80 averaging 69 points per game. Friday night’s win over Groom, 62-42, opened eyes as the perennial power appeared to have righted the ship. The road is about to get much tougher for the Tigers. After this week’s game with Wildorado their final four opponents are Happy, White Deer, Miami and Follett. The other team left is Nazareth (5-0). Riding the legs of Luke Schulte and a patient running game the Swifts have looked strong to start the season. The emergence of Will Young at quarterback has given Naz an additional weapon and has them poised to make noise in Region I.
Silverton continues to open eyes
It’s not often that you speak of team with a 3-2 record as one opening eyes but that is what the red and white Owls are doing. Despite falling on the road to No. 7 Jayton Thursday night, 34-27, Silverton has coaches no longer looking past them. Both losses for the Owls this year are to the state-ranked Jaybirds and at Paducah. Sandwiched between those two games is a victory over state ranked Whitharral. Riding the legs of the uber talented Sawyer Francis and the arm of 6-foot-5 Kooper Cox the Owls are now considered favorites to win District 1-1A Division II. Coach Kevin Hurn’s team will be heavy favorites in their final five contests and a contender in the playoffs.
Week 5 recap
Entering the week as the highest ranked team in the area, Happy (4-1) wasted no time taking out the home school Lubbock Titans 56-4. For those new to Six-man action the Titans didn’t have two safeties in this game. Those points came via a 33-yard field goal from Will Hall. Nazareth disposed of the Screamin’ Eagles from O’Donnell 45-0 and Valley (2-3) welcomed back a starter and took out Petersburg 78-33. Claude (3-2) held off Meadow late to earn a 50-48 victory and Hedley put up a valiant effort but was unable to slay the Dragons from Paducah as they fell at home Thursday night 41-20. Lastly, injuries have turned the tides for worse in Wildorado (1-4) as the Mustangs had a big opening Week 1 win but lost their fourth straight Friday night to Whiteface 74-8.
Top performers
In Miami’s 64-7 win over Lubbock Christ the King, Haiden Thompson put up video game numbers again as he went 12-of-13 for 190 yards and six scores while rushing for 148 yards and two touchdowns. His teammate, Luke Wheeler, gained 143 yards on the ground and two scores while registering eight tackles. Claude’s Javon Lee left the game in the first quarter with an injury, so T.J. Ivy picked up the slack racking up 250 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. Happy’s Tryce Johnson gained 112 yards on five carries with two of those finding the endzone. The other Johnson, Kyton, had a receiving score and a 74-yard pick six in the Cowboys victory. In White Deer’s loss Hayden Hill gained 170 yards rushing with a score on seven carries.
No. 1 Westbrook goes down
Last year’s state champs in Division I and the top ranked team so far in 2022 fell in a stunning barnburner on Friday night. Garden City rode the legs and tenacity of John Lopez to a 46-42 upset road victory over the Wildcats. The Bearkats held a 32-28 lead at the half but used a strong third quarter to put up two scores and head to the final stanza on top 46-36. In the final quarter Cedric Ware scored from 4-yards out with 5:30 left in the game to cut the lead to four, but Westbrook’s final drive was stopped on fourth down deep in Garden City territory to sew up the win. In a hard-fought defensive battle neither team tallied more than 284 yards of total offense. Lopez had 95 yards rushing and three scores, 50 yards receiving and 16 solo tackles on the evening. In the loss Ware gained 79 yards on the ground and found the end zone twice.
Week six preview
Some interesting matchups dot the Six-Man landscape this week. Nazareth will put its undefeated record on the line against number eight Whitharral on the road Friday night. The key for the Swifts in this game will be shutting down Shamadrick Weaver who rushed for nine touchdowns this week in a win over Throckmorton. Follett (4-0) is also on the road taking on Paducah. The Dragons are always tough in the comfy confines of their home field, but the Panthers have found another gear after waxing Borden County last week. Miami travels to Groom and White Deer visits Hedley as District 1-1A Divison I takes on 1-1A Division II and McLean looks to stay undefeated as they take the trip west down I-40 to tackle Wildorado.
