With Week 1 of the Texas High School Football season in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at some of the top performances from across the Amarillo-area and South Plains.
Raider Payne, Amarillo High, RB-LB, Jr.
The Amarillo High Sandies pulled off one of the more eye-opening wins of the opening week by downing Palo Duro in a crosstown showdown 21-7. The Sandies used a punishing ground game to earn that victory, and Raider Payne definitely made his name. The junior chewed up 73 yards and wore the Dons down in the fourth quarter. Payne finished the game with 73 yards on the ground with two scores. He also did his job at linebacker with seven total tackles.
Weston Mitchell and Brooks Wall, Canadian, QB-WR
The dynamic duo of Weston Mitchell and Brooks Wall put up season like numbers during the Wildcats 63-38 home win over Panhandle in the season opener. Mitchell was unstoppable with his arm and his feet. The junior gunslinger went 25-of-35 for an impressive 523 yards and six touchdown passes and then ran for another 156 yards on 19 carries with another score. His main target became Brooks Wall. The lanky sophomore wide out hauled in eight of those passes from Mitchell for 254 yards with three touchdowns.
Slade Russell, West Plains, RB, Sr.
West Plains is missing a lot of key pieces from last year, but a returner that is back and already in midseason form is Slade Russell. The explosive back showed up big despite a West Plains 42-35 loss to Wall on Friday. Russell did everything he could and showed his versatility carrying the ball 21 times for 228 yards with a touchdown. Russell was also used out of the backfield to snag six catches for 52 yards with another TD.
Hendrix Funk Randall, QB, Soph.
Funk didn’t show any signs that he took over the quarterback role just two weeks ago, and was making his first career start for the Raiders. Behind the sophomore, Randall put up 50 points in a 50-37 victory against Roswell, N.M. High School. Funk finished his first outing going 19-of-27 for 269 yards with four touchdown tosses.
James Ordonez, Frenship, QB, Jr.
Another quarterback that impressed in his debut was James Ordonez. The Frenship Tigers put on quite the offensive display jumping all over Lubbock-Cooper 50-17 on Friday. Ordonez went right to work throwing four touchdown passes in the opening quarter. Ordonez finished an early night with 277 yards passing with five touchdowns, all in the first half, while completing 18-of-21 passes.
Zach Bryant, West Texas High, TE-LB, Jr.
A name to keep an eye on this season is Zach Bryant at West Texas High. Bryant had a tremendous summer and that showed in a 49-26 win over Tulia in the season opener. Bryant was a mismatch for the the Hornet defense, hauling in four catches for 81 yards and scoring three touchdowns. The linebacker made his presence felt on defense by totaling 21 total tackles.
Omar Segovia, Vega, RB-LB, Sr.
Vega was able to pull out a tough win over Clarendon 32-28 and Omar Segovia played a huge role. The veteran Longhorn standout was all over the field making plays on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side, Segovia toted the rock 20 times for 160 yards with four trips to the endzone. Defensively, the linebacker tallied 10 tackles.
Kalvin Lazano, River Road, RB, Sr.
Kalvin Lazano and the River Road Wildcats rallied back from a double-digit second half deficit to get a thrilling 25-24 home win over Sanford-Fritch in the season opener Friday. With just under four minutes to play and trailing 24-18, Lazano found a hole through his offensive line and went 11-yards to the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown that propelled the Wildcats. The speedster ended his big outing with 139 yards on 18 carries and two total touchdowns.
Stran Henderson, McLean, RB, Sr.
McLean’s Stran Henderson has Six-Man teams attention across the state and for good notice. Henderson is the kind of back that can score at the blink of an eye. He proved that in a 54-8 blowout win against the West Texas Tornadoes by piling up 211 yards with four touchdowns.
Izaac Ortiz Carrillo, Friona, RB, Sr.
The Friona Chieftains were another team that had one of the more impressive wins of the opening week. Friona started fast and never slowed down during a 54-14 thumping of rival Muleshoe. The Chieftains chewed up the Mules for 466 yards just on the ground with Carrillo leading the way taking the ball 11 times for 132 yards which included a 90-yard TD.
