Week 5 of the high school football season saw September come to a close with plenty to talk about. District action has gotten underway in Class 5A, Idalou remains as good as advertised and there are 11 undefeated teams remaining across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains.
Hereford honors 1986 state semifinal team
Prior to the Hereford Whitefaces game against Bushland on Friday, the school took time to recognize the 1986 UIL state semifinal team. Former players led by legendary head coach Don Cumpton and former assistant coach Craig Yenzer were on hand with Cumpton being part of the coin toss festivities. The Whitefaces went 12-2 in 1986 before falling to McKinney in the Class 4A state semifinals. Cumpton was the head coach at Hereford for 14 years leading the Whitefaces to 76 wins. Cumpton was named the Amarillo Globe-News coach of the decade for the 1980’s and has been inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
District 5A play is underway
District 2-5A Division I and Division II is officially underway. In Division I, Amarillo High had the strongest showing running past Frenship Memorial 59-21. The Sandies move to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in the league and are now set for a showdown with arch-rival Tascosa this coming Friday. Speaking of the Rebels, Tascosa (2-2, 1-0) was able to hold off Frenship 28-27 in a game that started Thursday and wrapped up Saturday due to inclement weather. The Tigers (1-3, 0-1) went for a 2-point conversion with under a minute a minute to play, but Tascosa was able to make the stop. Abilene High erased a 7-3 halftime deficit to roll over Lubbock High 31-7. The Eagles, a favorite to win the district along with Amarillo High, is now 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play. In Division II, Palo Duro (4-1,1-0) showed why they were the preseason district favorite getting a 50-9 blowout win at Wichita Falls Legacy. The Dons will host Abilene Cooper on Thursday at Dick Bivins Stadium. The Cougars (3-2, 1-0) outlasted Wichita Falls Memorial 49-28 in Friday’s league opener.
Idalou is as good advertised
The Idalou Wildcats are proving each and every week why they are the No. 2-ranked team in UIL Class 3A Division II. Idalou won its ninth straight regular season game Friday by holding off Shallowater 46-35. It’s the Wildcats second year in a row to down the Mustangs and the first 5-0 start for Idalou since 2021. The Wildcats are putting up the points averaging 46 points a game and averaging over 500 yards per outing. Running back AJ Huddleston has picked up where he left off last season. Through the first five games, the senior captain has already piled up 761 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns.
“I think we’re playing together as a team,” Idalou head coach Clay White said. “The chemistry and experience with a loaded senior class helps. I feel this is a team with poise and I love how we’re playing. Right now we’re just trying to keep things within our walls. We love the recognition and it’s nice to see your program be spotlighted, but we just have to play the game in front of us each week.”
Idalou will look to make it 6-0 against Vernon on Friday.
Hats off to the Valley Patriots and Follett Panthers
The Valley Patriots, Follett Panthers and Miami Warriors found itself in a very unique situation. On Friday morning, Miami head coach Paul Hale contacted Valley head coach Dax Allen and told him he only had five available players for their non-district game. Allen went right to his phone to find a solution and was to get ahold of Follett head coach Kevin George. Follett had its homecoming game cancelled by Amherst earlier in the week. Allen decided to take eight of his varsity players to play the Panthers while his six of his players went to Miami as a JV team to take on the Warriors.
“Our junior high and junior varsity was already going to Miami,” Allen said. “Our buses and coaches were stretched thin but we had a couple of coaches in Miami and myself along with defensive coordinator Aaron Green went to Follett. It was a crazy day. We got the text from coach (Paul) Hale in Miami at 8:30 a.m. By 10 a.m., we had gotten ahold of Follett and worked out all the details. We just wanted to get the best experience for our team, Miami and I’m glad Follett got to have a Homecoming. It was on the fly and I was only to able to watch about 30 minutes of film on Follett on the drive, but it was a fun experience.”
Valley did beat the Panthers 48-0 on Friday.
11 undefeated teams remain
Following Week 5, there are still 11 Texas Panhandle and South Plains team still remaining undefeated. In Class 4A, Lubbock-Cooper Liberty, Lubbock Estacado and Randall are all 5-0. In Class 3A, Idalou and Dimmitt are the lone two squads unbeaten. At the Class 2A level, Gruver moved to 5-0 with a 56-28 win over Wellington, Olton shutout Shamrock to improve to 5-0 and Vega had a bye week staying at 4-0. In Class 1A, White Deer held off Silverton 58-52 to go to 5-0, Boys Ranch edged Lubbock Home School 34-26, so the Roughriders are 5-0 and Hart was on a bye to stay at 4-0.
