It was another epic chapter added to a fantastic West Texas playoff rivalry.
But unlike recent years, it’s Idalou flipping the page on what had been a one-sided affair, as Idalou was able to knock off Canadian 24-17 during a UIL Class 3A Division II regional semifinal on a blustery Friday afternoon at Dick Bivins Stadium.
Canadian had been a thorn in the paw of Idalou during this battle of Wildcats in recent memory, with Idalou snapping a five-game playoff losing skid – four of those since 2020 – while getting their first postseason win against Canadian since 2006.
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“It feels great to get this win,” said Clay White, who is now 38-14 in four seasons as the Idalou head football coach. “I was trying not to count the losses to Canadian, but they were stacking up on us. You have to give a lot of credit to our team. You have to have great players to make great plays and that’s what happened. It took all three phases to get this win, and tip of the cap to coach (Andy) Cavalier. They have been a measuring stick of the region, so it was big to knock them off.”
Idalou (10-3) moves on to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2015, and will get a rematch with unbeaten Wall (13-0) at 6 p.m. Friday at San Angelo Stadium. The Hawks cruised by Slaton 56-7 in their regional semifinal. This will also be a rematch from a Week 6 meeting earlier this year, where Wall defeated Idalou 35-21.
Canadian, the District 1-3A Division II champions, end another strong year at 10-2. It’s only the second time since 2011 that Canadian won’t be playing in the state quarterfinals.
The first quarter was the difference with Idalou capitalizing on critical Canadian errors. Though it didn’t result in points, Idalou’s defense set the tone on the opening drive, forcing quarterback Weston Mitchell to fumble on the opening possession. From there, the miscues piled on for Canadian.
On the ensuing Canadian possession, facing a fourth and long, a snap went over punter Slayden Dickinson’s head, giving Idalou the ball at the Canadian 18-yard line. This time, Idalou was able to get on the board thanks to a JT Phillips 31-yard field goal, putting Idalou up 3-0 with 7:23 in the first quarter.
On the third Canadian drive, it was another disaster. Having to punt again, the snap went over Mitchell’s head, giving Idalou the ball at the Canadian 14-yard line. This time around, Idalou was able to punch it in, when quarterback Kamdon Lutrick called his own number from seven-yards out, extending the lead to 10-0.
Before the first quarter ended, the Idalou special teams delivered one final time. Canadian lined up to punt once more, only this time instead of a bad snap, it was Idalou blocking the punt, taking over at the Canadian 47-yard line. This resulted in a 47-yard march highlighted by a Lutrick four-yard touchdown run and it was all Idalou 17-0 as the opening stanza came to a close.
“We made some uncharacteristic mistakes,” Canadian head coach Andy Cavalier said. “It’s like life, sometimes things don’t always go as planned or how you anticipated but hopefully you have people to be there for you and that’s what I was proud of by the end of this game. We had guys battling and fighting to the end, we just came up short.”
Canadian was able to sustain the second quarter, keeping Idalou off the board, but the Idalou defense kept Canadian from making a push.
Down the stretch of the second quarter, Canadian went on a 90-yard drive, however, Idalou’s defense stood tall stopping Canadian at the Idalou three-yard line on a fourth and two. Canadian was able to get a field goal on the next possession right before half, as Idalou went into the break up 17-3.
“There were a lot of momentum swings,” White said. “Going into halftime, we had a lead, but Canadian is resilient and we needed to push that lead a little more. It was huge to grab a lead on those guys, because they come at you fast in the first quarter. We won the first half and survived the second half.”
Canadian never went away. In the third quarter, Mitchell found Junior Cervantes on a 31-yard scoring connection for Canadian’s first touchdown, cutting the deficit at 17-10 with 7:09 left.
But the big moment for Idalou came in the fourth quarter, when Lutrick and running back AJ Huddleston led an 11-play, 57-yard drive behind a physical offensive line that saw Lutrick score his third TD of the contest on a four-yard scoot.
“Our offense line was awesome today,” Lutrick said. “We always talk about field position. They had those two bad snaps on the punt and we capitalized on it and trusted in the coaches throughout the game. We got stops when we needed and the guys all came together for this win.”
White echoed his quarterbacks comment.
“That was a huge drive,” White said. “You never feel easy with Canadian in the game with the tempo they play with and their toughness. With this wind, and these cold conditions, we were able to put together a great drive.”
Canadian did score to make it 24-17, and had the ball back with four minutes left, but the Idalou defense was able to force Canadian four and out for the win at the Idalou 43-yard line.
The Idalou offense did what it needed to despite 217 yards of offense. Lutrick ran it 13 times for 40 yards with three touchdowns and threw for 49 yards. Huddleston carried the load with 102 yards on 17 carries. Mitchell had a strong game throwing in windy conditions for Canadian, going 25-of-40 for 285 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Cervantes was the go-to target, snagging eight passes for 115 yards with a touchdown.