Owls fly past Tigers
Silverton left no doubt Friday night who the best team in District 1-1A Division II was by dismantling Groom, 66-8, at Tigers Stadium.
Sawyer Francis, the uber talented senior, made his mark early and often for the Owls as Francis scored from 29 yards out on the first play from scrimmage to give the Silverton (6-2, 2-0) a quick 8-0 lead. Groom (3-5, 1-1) answered back on a long drive that ended in a Cooper Treadwell 8-yard run to tie things up, 8-8. Francis answered back for the Owls for his second score of the game and a lead that the Owls wouldn’t relinquish.
On the next offensive series for Groom, Treadwell was hit quickly in the backfield by Cooper Mullins forcing a fumble and a recovery from Francis. Two plays later, Jace Alvarado raced in untouched for a six-yard scoring jaunt and the rout was on. Francis scored four times in the first quarter to build a 36-8 lead for Silverton and the red and white Owls never looked back.
Francis, the do everything spread back in head coach Kevin Hurn’s offense, averaged a first down on every carry by amassing 190 yards rushing on only nine carries in the victory. Even more impressively, Francis made the most of his opportunities by scoring five touchdowns and even chipping in a 28-yard scoring toss to Zaden Ortiz. Jace Alvarado was just as effective touching the ball twice for two scores and 54 yards.
The Owls defense held up their end of the bargain notching two sacks, a pick-six from Ortiz, and a fumble recovery and safety from Francis.
News and Notes
The other district game of the night in District 1-1A Division II was in Lefors as the Pirates (2-6, 1-1) were celebrating a victory in the end, via the mercy rule, with a 68-21 victory over Hedley (2-5, 0-1) in District 1-1A DII action. With the win, Lefors keeps its playoff hopes alive and setting a pivotal matchup with Groom in two weeks at Tiger Stadium.
Behind the passing prowess of Noe Juarez, Happy (6-1) grabbed a 48-22 hard fought victory over Booker Friday night at Kiowas Stadium. The senior gunslinger finished 8-of-14 on the night for 133 yards and four scores while also picking up 41 yards on the ground. The Cowboys rushed out to a 26-0 lead, but the Kiowas simply wouldn’t quit and forced this one to go all four quarters despite the Cowboys being 45-point favorites.
Happy amassed 243 rushing yards in the contest with Quay Hodges and Jaxon Stoker accounting for 182 of those yards and finding paydirt twice. Kole Gibson only grabbed two receptions during the game but both of those were scores.
Booker (5-3) struggled to find rushing lanes all night long, only gaining 51 yards, but the passing game was another story. Chase Nelson put the ball in the air 32 times for 210 yards and three scores.
State Recap
It was a light week of action with only 50 games involving UIL squads scheduled across the state with most teams taking a bye week to get ready for district games. One of those teams in action, No. 2 Westbrook continues to look impressive by holding the Roby Lions to (-) 38 yards rushing in a 49-0 victory Friday night. Parker Matlock led the way for the Wildcats (6-1) defense amassing 11.5 tackles, two sacks and five tackles for loss.
In the most exciting game of the night, Kress (3-5, 2-0) came out victorious over Petersburg, 48-44, on the last play of the game. Kingston Brumley dropped back and threaded a pass through the hands of a Buffaloes (4-4, 1-1) defender and into the arms of Zavian Pacheco for the win. In the Kangaroos win, Cole Todd rushed for 149 yards and two scores while picking off two passes on defense.
It’s been seven years since Prairie Lea (3-4, 1-1) posted a district victory, but the Indians broke that streak Friday night with a 77-32 win over McDade (2-6, 0-2) at Indian Field.
Richland Springs (8-0, 2-0) won their second straight matchup with a top 10 team as the No. 7 Coyotes took down No. 8 Rochelle (6-1, 1-1), 56-24, in District 16-1A Division II action Friday night at Coyote Field. With the win, Richland Springs is in great position to grab the district title with two games remaining with Brookesmith and Lohn as the Coyotes will be heavy favorites in both contests.
District 1-1A Division I preview
This should be a fascinating district race. Miami is the only undefeated Six-Man team in the Amarillo-area with a 7-0 record and every one of those wins has come via the mercy rule.
As impressive as that is the schedule the Warriors have played has not been the toughest. Follett has won five straight after opening the season with losses to Benjamin and Happy, but those wins haven’t come against the best of competition either. You could also add McLean, who is 5-2 and flying under the radar for most, to that mix as well.
District play starts off with a bang as the Panthers (5-2) travel to Miami (7-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday night in a potential defacto district title clash. The Warriors gave Follett fits last year before the Panthers pulled away. Look for this one to be tight as well and will likely come down to which teams defense can make the key stops against the high-powered offenses both possess.
District 2-1A Division I preview
Last year, Happy and Nazareth had a great district contest in Nazareth with the Cowboys coming out on top before both teams met again in the Division I state quarterfinals with the Cowboys taking that one as well. This year the Swifts aren’t as strong and riddled with injuries. Happy is a prohibitive favorite to take the district crown but second place could be up for grabs.
While Nazareth is the favorite to take the second spot, both Wildorado and Claude could give the Swifts a closer game than one might expect, especially if the Swifts can’t get healthy. Claude hasn’t lived up to preseason expectations so far, but the talent is there to be a spoiler.
Wildorado has gone through injuries as well, but Aden Woodard is getting healthy and head coach Rance Barnett’s squad is starting to build confidence. Friday night, Claude hosts Wildorado to see which team could get the upper hand to try and nab a second spot.
District 4-1A Division I preview
Just like in 2-1A, Knox City is the overwhelming favorite to take the district crown. Ranked No. 1 in the state, the Greyhounds upset the two-time defending state champions from Westbrook and have been on a roll ever since. The second spot, though, will likely get decided on the final week of the regular season.
Valley sits at 3-4 while Vernon Northside sports a 6-1 record entering district. By records alone you would think the Indians would be a solid bet to take the second spot, but you have to look deeper than records on this one. The Patriots losses have been to top ten teams in Springlake-Earth, Whiteface and Crowell plus a hard-fought loss to Petersburg.
For Northside, their most impressive win was a seven-point victory over an average Forestburg team. Their one matchup against an upper tier team was a 63-0 shellacking at the hands of Newcastle. It’s been a very successful season for Northside, but Valley’s experience and strength of schedule gives them the upper hand in the battle for second place.
