CANADIAN – It was a Homecoming game that fans thought may never end and one that will certainly never be forgotten between Muleshoe and Canadian on Friday night on Chris Koetting Field at Wildcats Stadium.

In a first ever meeting between the two traditional powers, the Canadian Wildcats and Muleshoe Mules (3-1) didn’t disappoint.

In fact, the Wildcats (3-1) and Mules probably overachieved as one tried to outmatch the other, but at the final whistle, it was the Canadian Wildcats sneaking away with an unbelievable 74-67 shootout victory against the Mules.

Where to begin is extremely difficult. With defenses being completely outgunned by two high-powered offenses this clash went nearly four hours, seeing a total of 141 points which is the most points in a game across the entire state of Texas this season.

Inside the numbers 

• The two teams combined for 176 plays totaling a combined 1,364 total yards.
• Canadian ran 97 plays for 750 yards with 553 of those coming on the ground.
• Muleshoe ran 70 plays 614 yards of offense plays with 456 coming through the air.
• Canadian scored 33 fourth quarter points.
• Muleshoe went 8-of-14 on third down conversions.

Canadian head coach Andy Cavalier said in all his years of high school football, this type of contest was a first for him.

“It was a crazy game and maybe the wildest I’ve ever been a part of,” Canadian head coach Andy Cavalier said. “There were so many momentum swings. As a coach, we know we can do better and we have a lot to fix, but I’m so proud of these guys for finding a way to win.”

Muleshoe head coach Jason Richards echoed Cavalier’s comment.

“I’ve never been a part of a game with this much scoring,” Richards said. “I’ve seen some 56-51 type games, but not like this. It definitely came down to who had the ball last.”

The fourth quarter alone was a ballgame in itself with Canadian outscoring Muleshoe 33-16 in the final 12 minutes alone.

Muleshoe led 51-41, but not 30 seconds into the final frame Canadian cut that deficit 51-47 on a Slayden Dickinson one-yard touchdown.

After the Wildcat defense got their lone stop since the opening possession of the game on the next drive, Canadian took the lead on another Dickinson scoring scamper this time of 16 yards putting the Wildcats up 54-51 with still over 10 minutes to go.

Disaster struck for Muleshoe on the ensuing kickoff. Joquin Arias fumbled a fair catch attempt, and the Wildcats pounced all over it.

That allowed quarterback Clay Kendall to bust loose for a 44-yard keeper as the Wildcats went up 60-51 with 9:30 remaining. That was part of 19-unanswered, and a huge momentum turn for Canadian.

However, as quickly as Canadian had the momentum Muleshoe grabbed it right back when quarterback Nathan Martens led a quick strike two-drive highlighted on a 63-yard pass connection to Yahir Quezada putting the Mules right back in it after a two-point conversion trailing 60-59.

But back came Canadian. Running the ball at will, Dickinson scored his third touchdown of the quarter putting the Wildcats up 66-59 with six minutes left.

Muleshoe rallied right back behind Martens. Martens led a near four-minute drive that resulted in a one-yard TD from running back Josue Sigala. After a Martens sneak for the two-point conversion, Muleshoe reclaimed a 67-66 advantage with 2:30 to play.

Being at home, and yet to be stopped in the second half, Canadian took over at its own 12-yard line. Behind Dickinson and Kendall chewing up yards the Wildcat were down to the Muleshoe seven-yard line with 25 seconds left in the game.

With the Muleshoe defense expecting run, Canadian went back to a rare second half pass play with Kendall hitting Camden Cook for the eventual game-winner with 19 seconds remaining. After a Kendall to Riggs Pennington two-point pass, Canadian had taken the lead 74-67 and was able to survive.

Dickinson outdid last week’s career outing and had one of the greatest performances of any Wildcat. The senior running back finished the contest toting the ball 36 times for an eye-popping 367 yards with impressive seven touchdowns.

“We made a great adjustment in the second half,” Cavalier said. “We felt like we could be successful running the ball and we were doing our best to keep the ball away from Muleshoe’s explosive offense. Our offensive coordinator Hayden Merket called a great game. Running the ball starts up front and we were physical. Slayden was excellent and kept his body in great position with tremendous ball security. Slayden ran super hard and I’m proud of the effort.”

Not to be outdone, Kendall was masterful going 18-of-24 passing for 197 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Kendall also rushed for 169 yards with three more scores.

Muleshoe’s Martens was incredible going 19-of-34 for 456 yards with four touchdown tosses. His go-to receiver was Mauricio Herrera who snagged 10 catches for 268 yards with three TDs. Running back Sigala used his speed for an 80-yard kickoff return on top of 111 rushing yards with three touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions.

“Canadian has been the perennial power in this division for a longtime,” Richards said. “We wanted to come up here and see where we were at. Though the result didn’t go our way we proved a lot and competed our tails off. I’d love to see another matchup with them in the playoffs.”