Bushland bullies Borger
In one of the more intriguing season openers across the Amarillo-area, Bushland took advantage of early Borger miscues that resulted in a big lead they’d never relinquish as the Falcons flew past the Bulldogs 61-13 on Friday night at Bulldogs Stadium.
With the game scoreless in the first quarter, Bushland broke open the scoring when running back Colton Reynolds popped to the outside and turned on the speed for a 19-yard touchdown putting Bushland up 7-0.
On the following possession, Borger’s first big mistake happened when sophomore quarterback Dustin Randle floated an interception to Ty Purcell. One of two first half interceptions for Purcell.
That pick setup some trickery, as Tripp Purcell took an end around and found a wide-open Max Rodriguez for paydirt extending the Falcons advantage 14-0.
The Falcons (1-0) offense showed their youth at times yet still put up 233 yards rushing as a team, however, uncharacteristically threw it for 82 yards. Bushland also played with a short field most of the only taking 39 offensive snaps on the night.
Slade Perry had a team-best 77 yards on the ground on nine carries with two touchdowns. Quarterback Quaid Ferris ran for 51 yards with a score.
River Road beats up Sanford-Fritch
The River Road Wildcats had much opposite start from a year ago, jumping all over Sanford-Fritch on the way to a convincing 49-13 victory in the season opener at Wildcats Stadium on Friday.
The River Road traditional run attack was the story of this victory. The Wildcats (1-0 overall) chewed up the Eagles defense piling up 333 of their 371 rushing yards in the first half. The defense also did their job holding Fritch (0-1) under 200 yards offensively.
River Road shared the wealth with eight different running backs touching the football. Samuel Delgado took advantage of his opportunities for the Wildcats carrying the ball six times for 89 yards scoring three times. Quarterback Alex Warren chipped in with three TDs of his own stacking up 86 yards on 10 carries.
Dalhart blows out Levelland
Dalhart started fast with a 21-point first quarter and never looked back blowing out Levelland 55-27 on the road on Friday night at Lobos Stadium.
Dalhart scored on the first three drives on a Kyler Read three-yard run, a Read 29-yard pass to Ben Meyer followed by a Coltin Carnesseca two-yard run that set the tone.
Do-it-all quarterback and senior leader Read did Read things. Throwing the ball, Read was superb going 17-of-24 for 284 yards with three touchdowns. In the run game, Read trucked over the Levelland defense for 76 yards on 13 carries adding two more touchdowns.
Dalhart is now 1-0 on the year. Levelland drops to 0-1.
Canadian edges Elk City
It wasn’t easy by any means, but the new-look Canadian Wildcats were able to hold off a late rally from Elk City, Okla., to get a 32-27 in the season opener in Elk City on Thursday night.
The victory extends an impressive streak for Canadian (1-0) which has now won 18 straight regular season games dating back to 2022.
The Wildcats got off to a strong start going up 20-8 in the first half behind a 9-yard reverse touchdown by Julian Dominguez, a 2-yard touchdown toss from Clay Kendall to Riggs Pennington followed by a 62-yard pitch and catch from Kendall to Dominguez.
Canadian took a 32-20 advantage into the third quarter on another Kendall to Dominguez 27-yard hook up before the Elks closed the gap at 32-27 in the fourth. However, the Canadian defense was able to stand up and keep Elk City from gaining the lead as the Wildcats got the win.
Canadian senior tight end/ linebacker Wyatt Davis had a monster effort. On offense, Davis had four catches for 120 yards with a score. On defense, Davis was everywhere racking up 19 tackles, six of those solo including a sack. Dominguez also had a great receiving night snagging six catches for 114 yards with a pair of TDs.
Kendall had an up and down first career start at quarterback for the Wildcats. The senior was efficient going 14-of-19 for 270 yards with four touchdown tosses but did have to overcome three interceptions.
Muleshoe mauls Brownfield
Muleshoe started the 2024 campaign on the right foot by going on the road and blasting Brownfield 63-6 on Friday.
The Mules were led by a high-powered offense that totaled 354 yards with 288 of those coming through the air.
Senior quarterback Nathan Martens picked up where he left off last season going 13-of-17 for 205 yards with five touchdown passes. Receiver Yahir Quezada benefited catching five of those balls for 115 yards with two scores while teammate Mauricio Herrera chipped in with seven catches for 85 yards and a pair of TDs.
Defensively, the Mules (1-0) held the Cubs (0-1) to 119 total yards. Joaquin Arias led Muleshoe with seven tackles.
Week 1 quick hits
- Dimmitt opened the 2024 year in a big way doubling up Memphis 24-12 on Friday night. Bobcat quarterback Jack Lunsford threw tallied 253 yards of offense with three touchdowns.
- Friona came up just short to Slaton on the road in the season opener falling 42-36 in overtime on Friday. Despite the loss, Chieftains running back Aaron Rosales was a pure workhorse toting the rock 34 times for an incredible 304 yards rushing with three touchdowns.
- Tulia hung tough but fell short at home to Floydada 27-19. Quarterback David Molina produced 235 yards of offense for the Hornets.
- It wasn’t the season opener the Childress Bobcats were looking for at home as the Midland Greenwood Rangers walked into Fair Park Stadium and walked out with a 42-19 victory. Childress quarterback Drake Rabe did throw for 155 yards with two TDs.
