Six-Man Debut

It wasn’t the start Boys Ranch head coach Louis Kelley III would have wanted but his Roughriders in their first Six-Man game on Thursday night.

The Roughriders fought hard but couldn’t overcome a quick start by Silverton falling 63-33 in front of the home faithful at Boys Ranch. The Owls raced out to an early 26-0 lead as Zadan Ortiz and the offense couldn’t be stopped. However, Boys Ranch fought back and used several turnovers from the Owls to get to within 38-27 but it just wasn’t enough as the visitors righted the ship and put this one away.

Ortiz had 148 yards rushing and two scores to go along with 46 yards passing and three scoring tosses. Ortiz was also a menace on defense as he finished with nine tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.  Lucas Holt and Jace Alvarado combined for 200 yards rushing and four scores to back Ortiz. Cord’e Jackson paced the Roughriders with 118 yards passing and two touchdowns along with 150 yards on the ground and three scores.

Wild finish propels Tigers

Buffalo Wild Wings was in charge of Friday night’s wild ending in Groom. The Tigers kicked in a two-point conversion with no time on the clock to take a crazy 44-42 win over White Deer.

After Davin Hext scored with 2:01 left in the game, the Bucks only needed a stop to drive home a victor. Facing a 4th and five with 42.7 seconds at the White Deer 25, Grayson Peet found Davis Babcock for a toe tap reception at the 17-yard line to extend the drive. Then Peet’s attempted pass from the 16-yard line with 7.2 seconds was knocked down at the goal line as time ran out.

However, the officials put one second back on the clock and gave the Tigers a second chance. That allowed Peet to connect with Deacon Saucedo at the six who was stopped there for an apparent Bucks win.

Unfortunately, White Deer was flagged for an illegal substitution as a player ran on the field to celebrate before the play was over. That gave Groom a chance to run one untimed down and they made the Bucks pay.

Trayson Corley took a pass from Peet at the five, avoided a defender then dove between two Bucks to break the plane of the goal for a score and a time game at 42.

Saucedo then setup for the two-point conversion kick and a win. His kicked sailed left but another yellow flag signaled offsides on White Deer and gave Groom another chance. This time Saucedo made them pay as his kick split the uprights for a win and a storyline no rational director could write.

Peet had a strong night for Groom finishing 24-of-34 through the air for 285 yards and four scores while gaining 62 yards on the ground and registering eight tackles on defense.  Bryson Shuck and Corley combined for eleven receptions for 155 yards and two scores while Kenneth McGinty tallied ten tackles.

Cowboys survive a Red Devil

It took a King-sized effort from No. 4 Happy on Thursday night in Klondike to squeeze by Rankin for a 44-38 win.

In a game that saw seven lead changes it was the last one that propelled the Cowboys to victory. Trailing 38-36 with four minutes left in the game, Happy’s C.W. Johnson pounced on a loose ball at his own 18-yard line and gave Happy a chance to rally.

After gaining seven yards on first down, Braylan King made the Red Devil defense pay.  King took the pitch around right end and found a crease in the defensive pursuit and made Rankin pay by toting the rock 55-yards and a score with 3:14 left.

The Red Devils wouldn’t back down. Starting at midfield, Rankin converted one fourth down early in the drive then faced a fourth and goal from the Cowboys 5-yard line with under a minute to play.

Dash Davis took the pitch looking to find a teammate in the end zone when King picked him off in the end zone to seal the victory. That pick, his second of the night, capped off a big game for the speedy sophomore. King carried the ball 22 times for 220 yards and four scores, threw a 40-yard strike to Kole Gibson for another and tallied those two picks on defense to pace Happy.

Jayton Gridiron Classic

McLean kicked off the three-day event with a convincing 46-0 win over Crowell.

The No. 10-ranked Tigers rode the arm of Wyatt Hagler who finished with 262 yards through the air and six touchdowns while their swarming defense didn’t allow Crowell to gain a single first down.

In Thursday’s night cap, the No. 1-team out of Division II opened eyes across the state as Jayton pounded No. 3 Westbrook from Division I, 66-16.

The Jaybirds only ran 16 plays but scored on five of them while getting a kickoff return, interception and fumble recovery for three more scores against the vaunted Wildcats.

Friday saw Valley fall to Borden County 56-8 as Braden Steele notched 114 rushing yards on only 4 carries three of those for scores.

No. 7 Knox City in Division I used 314 rushing yards to upend No. 3 in Division II, Klondike. Blake Abila led the way for the Greyhounds as he amassed 168 yards on the ground on 21 carries and a score.

On the final day, Ira beat Bryson 60-22, Nazareth was upended by Garden City, 62-44, and Cherokee capped things off with a 49-0 shutout win over Highland.

Across the Area

No. 6 Whiteface in Division I faced off against No. 6 Follet in Division II in Happy on Friday night and the Antelopes Ethan Coffman was too much for the Panthers to handle as they ran away with a 60-14 win.

The hard charging running back tallied 260 yards and four scores while the Panthers David Meek was held to 24 yards and a score.

Booker grabbed a solid win over Miami, 59-42, as the Kiowas passing game was too much for the Warriors. Chase Nelson had 203 yards passing and three scores while Julian Barton gained 123 yard receiving and all three of Nelson’s scoring tosses.

Amarillo PCHEA gained a hard-fought victory over Hedley, 42-36, and San Jacinto fell to Wichita Christian, 62-14.

Wildorado went wild against Lefors for a 82-43 win and Claude fell short of Motley County, 71-36.

Finally, Holy Cross Catholic Academy used a fourth and goal defensive stop to seal a 36-33 win over Lazbuddie JV. Andrew Britten tossed four scores and had a pick six to pace the Mustangs in the win.

Across the State

While teams got ready for season openers in Texas, Strawn and Milford drove north to Big Sky Country to face off against a pair of teams from Montana.

Both squads came out on top in impressive fashion as Strawn beat Custer-Hysham-Melstone, 71-21, while the Bulldogs walloped Highwood, 50-13.

No. 2 Abbott used a punishing ground attack from Mason Hejl and Riley Sustala to down No. 2 Oglesby in Division II 68-40.

The Panthers duo combined for 297 yards on 24 carries and four touchdowns in the win.  Another matchup of top ten teams from both divisions saw Springlake-Earth, No. 9 in Division I, take out No, 7 Whitharral, 36-34.

The Wolverines tallied 456 yards of total offense in the victory.  Knippa, in their first varsity game in 49 years, took out Kerrville Our Lady of the Hills, 39-24.

The small community west of San Antonio also boasts of one of the best mascots in Six-Man football as the Rock Crushers.  Grayson Rigdon, the three-time state champion MVP, made his mark for 3A Columbus Friday night.  The uber talented back rushed for 255 yards and two scores and had a reception for a score as well.