Maybe it was a change in the weather which has helped the Tascosa Rebels hit their stride in mid-October.
Thursday night at Dick Bivins Stadium, it was the first real “football weather” of the night for Tascosa, with a chilly wind but no precipitation. Those conditions led to what could be called Tascosa Classic football.
The signature ground-dominated offense the Rebels have become known for under coach Ken Plunk was perfectly suited for the key District 2-5A Division I showdown with Lubbock Monterey. Tascosa dominated running the ball in the second half in particular, closing the game with 24 straight points to roll to a 55-14 win and put themselves solidly in the thick of the playoff picture.
With the win, Tascosa (4-3, 3-1 in district) is guaranteed of finishing the week in a tie for second place in the district, a game behind the winner of Friday’s Amarillo High-Abilene High showdown.
It validated Plunk’s belief in the flexbone offense, which he believes travels well as the season goes along in cooler weather. He admitted it was a mixed blessing, though, when he saw the conditions earlier in the day.
“From a strategic standpoint I think it helped us,” Plunk said. “From a personal standpoint I was not excited because I don’t think I had enough clothes.”
Plunk wore a traditional Tascosa pullover sweater on the sideline, which was probably enough and felt more comfortable as the Rebels pulled away from Monterey (3-4, 2-2). If the Rebels make the playoffs for the ninth straight season under Plunk, then it’s likely you’ll see him in his traditional black November trenchcoat.
“It’s not the playoffs yet, and I don’t know if I’ve ever pre-playoff brought the coat out,” Plunk said. “It certainly would have been a good candidate tonight to wear it.”
By the end of the evening, the weather probably wasn’t bothering Plunk and the rest of the Rebels. They closed the evening strong and sent a message to the rest of the district.
For more than one half, though, it was as competitive a game as could be expected. Monterey made things more than a little uncomfortable for the Rebels to start the second half, as the Plainsmen got their running game going and cut Tascosa’s lead to 21-14 less than two minutes into the second half on a 1-yard scoring run by Legin Williams.
It took only 77 seconds for the Rebels to respond with the wind at their backs and they did so in an unexpected manner. Quarterback Brayden Lineman, who threw only five passes on the night, was highly efficient throwing the ball, as he hit Cameron Vallejo in stride down the right sideline on a 54-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-14.
“I was super confident and opening up with that pass play made (Monterey’s) defense back off a little more and opened up the run game,” Lineman said. “We ran away with it after that.”
The Rebels literally did run away from the Plainsmen the rest of the way. Lineman’s bomb to Vallejo was the last past Tascosa threw and the Rebels got down and dirty on the ground, never punting in the second half.
Less than two minutes after catching Lineman’s scoring pass, Vallejo took a pitch and ran 36 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-14. That play had to be rewarding for the Rebels, since they mostly lost yardage (and one time, the football) while trying to run that signature play in the first half.
The rest of the game, though, literally belonged to Lineman. Taking advantage of a short field at the Monterey 36-yard line after a punt, Lineman kept the ball four straight plays, cashing in with a 4-yard run to make it 42-14.
To put the final frosting on the cake early in the fourth quarter, Lineman kept it for a 48-yard scoring run and make it 49-14. It concluded a night where Lineman ran for 225 yards and three touchdowns 18 carries and threw for 111 yards.
“We executed amazing,” Lineman said. “We came out ready to fire and we needed this bounceback big. It was all about feel. We felt like I could run the ball real well. I feel like I could do it every game, I just had more opportunities with the team working together tonight.”
In the end the Rebels proved again that they can be as productive as anybody running the ball, piling up 416 yards rushing.
Tascosa controlled the ball much of the first half and dealt with the north wind well. The only points the Rebels surrendered to Monterey came on a lost fumble offensively, as they scored going into the wind on their first two possessions en route to a 21-7 halftime lead.
It only took six plays in 75 yards after the opening kickoff as the Rebels got on the board first. Zaryan Malone scored from 1 yard out for the first of his two first half scoring runs in giving Tascosa a 7-0 lead.
The Rebels then held Monterey on downs and took over at their own 34. They pulled off what seemed like a shocking move when Lineman hit David Gordon for a 49-yard gain to set up another 1-yard scoring run, this one by Lineman to make it 14-0, opening with two straight touchdown drives into the wind.
“It was a big, good start today,” Plunk said. “It was really big until we put it on the ground and they scored. We were built for this kind of weather. This is what we are and what we’re about and we were still able to throw the ball some tonight.”
While Tascosa used the windy conditions to stick even more with the run, the Rebels stifled the Plainsmen defensively, giving up only 81 yards in the first half. Aside from the scoring drive to open the second half, Monterey did little offensively, as the Plainsmen completed only one of their final 14 passes, and it lost a yard.
“We just never could get on the same page,” Monterey coach Jason Sims said. “(The Rebels) did a good job pf pressuring our quarterback and making him get the ball out quick and didn’t let us get into the things we needed to do. When we had open receivers we missed them or dropped the pass. The wind definitely messed with our passing game.”
Early in the second quarter disaster struck the Rebels deep in their own territory. Tyric Smith couldn’t handle Lineman’s pitchout and it bounced off his hands and into those of Williams, who returned it 21 yards for a score to make it 14-7.
However, Tascosa benefited after a short Monterey punt into the wind gave the Rebels the ball at midfield. A few plays later, Malone rumbled up the middle for a 37-yard scoring run to make it 21-7.
Malone led Tascosa in rushing in the first half and finished with 123 yards on 14 carries. All but 10 of those came in the first half.
Williams was an offensive bright spot for Monterey with 131 yards on only nine carries.
Photo gallery by Roy Wheeler:
