Canadian stifles Childress to claim district crown 

Behind the effort of a stellar defense effort, the Canadian Wildcats won their third straight District 1-3A Division II championship stifling Childress 28-7 on a chilly Friday night on Charlie Johnston Field at Fair Park Stadium.

Canadian (7-3 overall, 4-0 in district) ends the season on a four-game win streak and will head to the playoffs as the No. 1-seed. It’s also the Wildcats 10th district championship in the past 11 years.

“It’s one of those goals we have every year,” Canadian head coach Andy Cavalier said. “We had a tough non-district schedule and that made us better and we learned a lot from it. We’re just happy to check this off the list and hopefully get some momentum going into the playoffs.”

The Canadian defense was put in tough positions time and time again throughout the game. However, anytime the Wildcats defense back was against the wall, they rose to the occasion.

Canadian quarterback Clay Kendall threw back-to-back interceptions in the first half that help set up the Bobcat offense inside the Wildcat 20-yard line in the first half. The Wildcat defense clamped down keeping Childress (5-5, 3-1) out of the end zone on both attempts with fourth down stops.

The defense then made the backbreaking play in the third quarter.

After a bad snap on a punt that handed Childress the ball inside the Wildcat 30-yard line, Canadian senior defensive back Julian Dominguez picked off a quarterback Koen Galligan pass, returning it 95-yards for a pick six giving the Wildcats a 21-0 lead.

The nail in the coffin came in the fourth quarter following another outstanding defensive play when Keelan Baileys intercepted another pass going back 30-yards for a touchdown that put the game away 28-7.

“I felt like several moments we had guys step up and make big plays,” Cavalier said. “We had so many clutch performers with the fourth down stops and interceptions.”

Canadian limited Childress 245 yards of offense. The Bobcats defense did their job holding Canadian to 294 yards and scoreless in the second half. The Wildcat offense did tack on two first half touchdowns on a 29-yard Kendall pass to CJ Jiminez and a 36-yard strike from Kendall to Dominguez.

Wildcat linebacker Wyatt Davis had 22 tackles, seven of those for a loss with three sacks. Dominguez chipped in with 13 tackles, three of those solo, and the pick six.

Offensively, Dominguez snagged four catches for 84 yards. Before leaving the game at half with an injury, Canadian running back Slayden Dickinson toted the rock 13 times for 76 yards.

Friona punches playoff ticket

Friona caught fire at the right time as the Chieftains won their final two games of the year including a 59-6 win over Dimmitt on Friday to earn a spot in the Class 3A Division II playoffs.

Following an 0-8 start to the year, Friona beat Tulia and Dimmitt to finish 2-8 overall and 2-2 in District 1-3A Division II to earn the No. 3-seed.

Aaron Rosales had a strong night for Friona running the ball 21 times for a game-high 185 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Teammate Damian Sanchez added 65 yards on 10 carries with two TDs of his own.

District 1-3A Division I 

Bushland blasts River Road 

The Bushland Falcons closed out the regular season by blasting River Road 55-0 at home on Friday night.

The Falcons (9-1, 2-1) go into the playoffs as the No. 2-seed out of District 1-3A Division I. River Road (4-6, 0-3) will be the four-seed.

Slade Perry stacked up 102 yards rushing on 15 carries with two touchdowns. Quaid Ferris was 10-of-11 for 161 yards with three touchdowns.

In the other district game, Shallowater knocked off Dalhart 49-20. Shallowater (8-2, 3-0) is the outright district champion and No. 1-seed. The Golden Wolves (7-3, 1-2) are the three-seed.

District 1-2A Division I 

Sunray completes unbeaten regular season 

The Sunray Bobcats were able to cap off a perfect 10-0 regular season by beating up West Texas High 52-16 at home Friday night.

It’s the Bobcats first 10-0 season since 2011 and only the fourth in school history. Sunray will be the No. 1-seed out of District 1-2A Division I. WT High (7-3, 3-2) is the No. 3-seed.

Quarterback Armando Lujan is taking plenty of momentum into the playoffs picking the Comanches apart going 29-of-39 for 441 yards with four touchdown tosses. Dawson Bennett caught nine passes for 179 yards with two scores.

Panhandle pummels Spearman 

Panhandle took down Spearman 47-15 to close out the regular season on Friday.

The Panthers end the regular season at 9-1 overall and 4-1 in district to land the No. 2-seed. Spearman (4-6, 2-3) will be the No. 4-seed.

Broxton Robinson used his feet to run the ball 11 times for 111 yards with three touchdowns.

In the other district clash, Highland Park blanked Sanford-Fritch 30-0.

District quick hits 

1-2A Division II 

• Stratford sealed up second place in district beating Farwell 35-14 at home on Friday night. Quarterback Chase Lantelme threw for 162 yards on 8-of-12 passing with three touchdowns.
• Bovina clinched the fourth and final playoff spot out of the district downing Vega 12-7 on Thursday. The Mustangs were led by Angel Lara who scored both Longhorn touchdowns while totaling 156 yards on 23 carries.

District 5-2A Division II 

• Wellington wrapped up the outright District 5-2A Division II crown shutting out Memphis 49-0. Travon Lewis chewed up 101 yards on 10 carries with four touchdowns to lead the Skyrockets.
• Wheeler is the No. 2-seed getting a lopsided victory against rival Shamrock 51-14. Julius Atherton ate up the Irish with 255 yards rushing on 22 carries with a pair of TDs. Quarterback Creed Newkirk totaled 162 yards of offense with four touchdowns.