Dons defense is dominating district
The Palo Duro Dons are proving each and every week through District 2-5A Division I that they are in a league of their own. Palo Duro made a statement Friday night at Dick Bivins Stadium by pummeling Abilene Wylie 53-10. The Dons (7-1) have won seven straight and are a perfect 4-0 in district. Through those first four district games what is most telling is the performance from the Dons defense. In wins against Wichita Falls Legacy, Abilene Cooper, Lubbock Coronado and Abilene Wylie, Palo Duro has allowed a total of 26 points, and are holding those opponents to under 100 yards in those contests. What is most telling is the run defense. The Palo Duro front simply doesn’t allow yards holding those four teams to a total of nine rushing yards over 16 quarters. On top of that unbelievable number, the Dons have forced 22 turnovers in those four wins, averaging 5.5 turnovers per contest.
“We had nine guys playing different spots when the season started,” Palo Duro defensive coordinator Dannie Snyder said. “They started getting reps and had to grow up. These guys have been getting better each week and it’s what we wanted to see. Are defense isn’t complicated but it allows these guys to play fast. We are a group that gets to the football and puts hat on the ball. We’re always trying to punch at the ball and create turnovers and we have a bunch of guys doing just that and making things happen.”
Linebacker Zachary Linton was incredible against Wylie with 15 solo tackles and four sacks. On the season Linton has totaled 82 tackles with 11.5 sacks. Teammate Emilliano Castillo has been flying around the field as well with 71 total tackles and two sacks.
Tulia has turned the tides
Heading into District 2-2A Division I play, the Tulia Hornets found themselves in a little bit of a slump following losses to Sudan and New Home dropping to 2-3 on the year. The Hornets quickly found their buzz as soon as league play starting and are turning heads in a hurry thanks to a 2-0 start. Tulia opened district play by beating previously unbeaten Olton in impressive fashion 54-36 and followed that with another strong 49-28 home win over Farwell. Through the first two district games the offense has been on fire posting 51.5 points a game.
Spearheading the attack for Tulia has been quarterback Jacob Trevino. Trevino torched the Steers on Friday going 16-of-29 for 316 yards with five touchdown passes to four different receivers. Through the first two district games, Trevino has thrown for a total of 653 yards with nine TDs.
“I think the culture hasn’t been in place here in a longtime,” Tulia head coach Trevor Cordova said. “There hasn’t been an emphasis on winning. We want these kids to compete and we preach that all the time. We have a great coaching staff that gets after it and the guys are buying into that. We knew we had the athletes heading into district to compete and as good as the offense has been we’ve scored 21 points off defense the last two games. As for the offense, Jacob is a leader for us. He is also a strong runner and when he’s involved in the run game we’re even more dangerous. We’re blocking well and we’ve been a complete team on that side of the ball.”
Sanford-Fritch snaps 19-game district losing streak
Sanford-Fritch pulled off one of the more wilder wins of the Week 8 with a 62-60 victory at home against Sunray in a District 1-2A Division game Friday night. That victory did more than just keep the Eagles in the playoff hunt, it also snapped a 19-game district losing streak that dated back four years. Prior to the win over the Bobcats, Fritch’s last league win came against West Texas High by a 28-26 score on Oct. 7 of 2022.
“I knew it had been since 2022 since this program had a district win,” Sanford-Fritch head coach Brandon Bennett said. “That had loomed large to us coaches though we never really talked to the kids about it. It was a collective effort and it was awesome to see those guys go out and work hard to hold on to get that win. There has been a lot of hard being put in and we needed this to happen.”
This district win didn’t come easy for the Eagles. Fritch jumped out to a 24-0 lead on Sunray and at one point led 32-8. The Bobcats fought back throughout the game cutting the score to 40-32 at one point, however, Fritch never lost the lead and was able to survive down the stretch.
Fritch dominated on the ground only throwing the ball two times and rushing for 471 yards as a team. Ethan Barrett led the way with 318 yards and three scores with teammate Bryan Wysong adding 21 carries for 134 yards with three scores of his own.
Veteran coach Paul Jones earns his first win at McLean
It’s been a very turbulent season at McLean, but the Tigers are looking to get back on track following a 40-7 blowout win at Lefors in a key District 1-1A Division II game Thursday night. The Tigers parted ways with head coach Justin Hilliard after the first week of the season and superintendent Shawn Read made a move to bring in longtime Boys Ranch athletic director/ coach Paul Jones out of retirement as the new athletic director. Jones arrived in McLean on Sept. 8 and took over head football coaching duties on Sept. 25. In 37 years at Boys Ranch, Jones coached every sport including football but never coached at the Six-Man level. On Thursday against the Pirates, Jones and his team put it all together as he earned his first Six-Man victory.
“They have been going through it at this school,” Jones said. “They have seen a lot of coaches over the past few years and key injuries, so I’d like to bring some stability for them. We played really well to open district play. This team has a lot of expectation and we want to make that happen. I just want these guys to love one another, and always lift each other up. I want them to love the game of football. Football is fun and it’s fun for the community when your team is playing on Friday nights.”
8 undefeated teams remain
Following Week 8 it’s only fitting that eight unbeaten teams remain in the Press Pass Sports coverage area. In Class 4A, Lubbock-Cooper Liberty stayed at 7-0 thanks to a bye week, and Lubbock Estacado ran over Borger 66-0 to move to 8-0 on the year. At the Class 3A level, Idalou remains the lone Class 3A team undefeated at 7-0 while Gruver (8-0) and Wheeler (7-0) are the final two left in Class 2A. In Class 1A, the same three teams remain the same. Boys Ranch had a bye so the Roughriders remain at 6-0. White Deer beat Booker 38-22 to improve to 7-0 and Hart stayed unbeaten at 7-0 with a win against Silverton 26-14.
