BUSHLAND – They say lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place but when it comes to the Shallowater-Bushland rivalry, those rules don’t apply.
For a second consecutive year, this battle of two traditional powers came down to a conversion play and special teams with the same result as Shallowater was able to come north on I-27 and leave Falcons Stadium with a thrilling 28-26 victory against rival Bushland in a key District 1-3A Division I opener.
In a district where all four teams are already in the playoffs, Shallowater (5-3 overall) helped itself when it comes to seeding with the win improving to 1-0 in District 1-3A Division I with the key road win while the Falcons (3-5) see a two-game win streak come to an end falling to 0-1 in the league with a very good Dalhart team coming to town next week.
“I think coach (Josh) Reynolds always has an exceptional team,” Shallowater head coach Rodney Vincent said. “They are always hard to beat especially here in Bushland. It came down to special teams once again for us. I was proud of the guys for staying the course and finishing the game. Bushland is a tough team and we’re glad to get the win.”
Like last year’s 21-20 Shallowater victory, this game also had special team moments that sealed the Mustang win.
Shallowater was in control of the first half leading 21-7 at the half. The Falcons came out on fire in the second half soaring right down the field on a 75-yard drive capped off by a 22-yard strike from Kannon Aven to Jenner King cutting the lead, 21-13. However, on the extra-point, Shallowater was able to get a block keeping the lead at eight points.
Shallowater marched right back down the field punching in a one-yard touchdown on a fourth and goal from quarterback Cooper Martin on the opening play of the fourth quarter putting the Mustangs back up 28-13. But only two plays later, the Falcons were back in the end zone when Aven threw a pass over the middle that was tipped by a Shallowater defender right into the hands of Colton Strickland, who took off with no one in front of him for a 79-yard score making it 28-20 Shallowater.
After a quick Mustang three-and-out, Bushland was back in business once again when Aven found Zeke Pool on a 25-yard score with five minutes left in the contest.
This is where another key moment came into play. Trailing 28-26, Bushland was forced to go for a two-point conversion. The Falcons tried a direct snap to King but it was snuffed out at the line of scrimmage by the Shallowater defensive line.
Bushland had one more chance.
The Falcons defense made their biggest play at the right time when King intercepted a Martin pass returning it inside the Mustang 25-yard line with just over two minutes to go. With momentum on their side, the Falcons offense was unable to move it and the Shallowater defense stood its ground. The Falcons also picked up a key penalty pushing the ball back to the 27-yard line on a second down.
So, it all came down to a four and 16 with 1:07 to play and Bushland having no timeouts. Bushland head coach Josh Reynolds made the decision to send Aven out for a game-winning 44-yard field goal, but Aven’s kick went wide left and Shallowater was able to survive and advance.
“This profession isn’t for the weak,” Vincent said. “We were in a tough spot late and I was proud of our defense for holding them to a field goal attempt. We got in a different defensive package and were able to not allow a first down and made them kick it. This was a team win.”
Reynolds talked about the final few minutes of the game from his perspective.
“When we got the interception I felt really good,” Reynolds said. “We thought if they punt into the wind we’ll have decent field position but we got the pick. We had a penalty though and didn’t move the ball and forced us into a tough spot and we made the decision to kick it. But in the end we gave ourselves a chance to win, we just fell short.”
Shallowater couldn’t have had a better start putting Bushland in a first half hole. On the opening kickoff, Mustang returner Rylan Brown took the opening kickoff at his own 10-yard line. Brown found a seam on the right side of the field, turned on his jets and went untouched for a score putting the Mustangs up in a hurry at 7-0.
“The last three ball games, we’ve gotten off to fast starts,” Vincent said. “We seem to feed off of that. We had great blocking and Rylan finished off the return and helped us set the tone.”
Shallowater then went up 14-0 following an impressive 99-yard drive highlighted by a 29-yard touchdown screen toss from Martin to Logan Winn on a fourth and 11. Bushland never wavered scoring on its ensuing possession for the only score of the first half. Then throughout the second half, the Falcons never stopped battling.
“We made plenty of mistakes out there from opening kickoff and other things,” Reynolds said. “We played hard and stayed in the game. We had the opportunity in the end but we came up short. I’m so proud of the effort.”
Martin was hard to stop for the Falcons defense most of the night as was the Mustang run attack. Martin chewed up Bushland for 140 yards on the ground on 23 carries with two scores on top of his 132 yards passing on 12-of-25 completions with a TD. Not only did Brown return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, he also diced up Bushland for 162 yards on 13 carries.
“Cooper and Rylan played in four playoff games last year and are leaders for us,” Vincent said. “They understand with what we want to do on offense and the offensive line played so good for us. But, Cooper and Rylan were key the entire game for us to get that win.”
Bushland’s King had a great night catching 10 passes for 112 yards with a pair of touchdowns along with the interception. Aven also played well going 23-of-30 for 259 yards with four touchdown passes and Colton Foote ran for 70 yards on 18 carries.