It was Amarillo High’s party at Dick Bivins Stadium on Friday night, and the Sandies treated the El Paso Bel Air Highlanders like uninvited guests until it was time to leave.
Just about everything that the Sandies could do right in their Class 5A Division I bi-district round game they did do right. Bel Air didn’t seem to have a chance after the opening 4 ½ minutes, and Amarillo High made sure that last the rest of the game, rolling to a 63-13 victory which cemented the status as a No. 1 playoff seed.
Amarillo High (10-1) will face Denton High (9-2) in next week’s area round, set for next Friday, most likely at Abilene Wylie.
After a first round playoff exit last season, the Sandies made a statement that they wanted to stick around this postseason. It was a perfectly appropriate way for AHS coach Chad Dunnam to notch his 100th career win.
“I thought we really came out hot in the first half,” Dunnam said. “Everything worked for us offensively and defensively. The kids played really well and our coaches had great game plans. It was a great performance out of our team for the last time to play in Dick Bivins Stadium this year.”
The only stat the Sandies didn’t win was time of possession, as Bel Air (4-7) ran 65 plays to Amarillo High’s 39. However, Amarillo High more than made up for that with a brutally balanced offensive attack which piled up 541 yards.
For much of the first half, it seemed like the Sandies hardly had the football. But what they did with it was quite impressive, as they never punted for the game and scored on five straight possessions to take a 42-0 halftime lead thanks to big plays on both sides of the ball.
The Sandies made their first big statement on their second play from scrimmage, as Sy Richardson ran for the first of his two touchdowns on a 58-yard burst up the middle for a 7-0 lead. That was fairly indicative of what Amarillo High did in the first half, as the Sandies ran a meager 15 plays, but averaged almost 22 yards a snap.
“For the most part I think we had it planned the entire game to run what works,” said Richardson, who ran for a game-high 127 yards on only seven carries. “It definitely felt good but we still had to work forward through everything. Our coach always tells us to throw the first punch and we’re undefeated when we score first.”
Bel Air showed some promise with some early drives, but the Sandies showed what their defense could do less than 90 seconds after Richardson’s first score. Deuce Patterson intercepted Angel Dominguez and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
It seemed as if the Sandies could name the score after that. Their next two scores came on long passes from sophomore Callaway Skipworth to junior Kingston Bounsing.
The first one came late in the first quarter on a 65-yard connection. Then midway through the second quarter, they hooked up on a 91-yard bomb where Bounsing beat the Bel Air defense deep to make it 28-0.
“Every game we have to find some way to get explosive plays,” said Skipworth, who in his playoff debut completed 9-of-14 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns. “We really liked the way it looked against them and we came out and executed it very well as a team. I was a little nervous but I definitely took the approach of it’s just another game and do your job to help your team get a win in the playoffs.”
While Amarillo High has been prolific offensively this season in averaging almost 40 points a game, the Sandies seemed to take a leap forward against Bel Air. Five of their nine scores covered over 30 yards.
“Honestly we’ve been kind of a ground and pound football team and also thrown the ball,” Dunnam said. “Big explosive plays haven’t been our main forte this season and it was good to see that. At this time of the year when you can do those sorts of things it just makes you that much more multiple.”
A Bel Air fumble and a recovered kickoff set up Amarillo High’s last two scores of the half. Richardson scored on his second run from 9 yards and Skipworth hit Landon Barker on a 22-yard touchdown pass only 36 seconds later to make it 42-0.
Most of the first team took the rest of the night off after the midway point of the third quarter. Skipworth spent the rest of the night on the bench after hitting Creed Cavalier (better known as a starting safety and punt returner) on a 70-yard scoring pass to make it 49-0.
That didn’t mean the Sandies were through offensively. Conrad Morrison replaced Skipworth and led a scoring drive, which concluded with Bounsing’s third touchdown catch of the night, this one from a mere 3 yards early in the fourth quarter.
Bounsing picked a great time to have a career game with a game-high six catches for 216 yards.
“I just really wanted to make a statement and do the best for our seniors,” Bounsing said. “Whenever I do as much as I can I want to do it for them. Whenever I saw film this week I saw a lot of holes open up in the middle of the field. I was expecting the ball and me and Callaway really connected.”
All three quarterbacks for Amarillo High got involved in the scoring, as Hunter Randles got in the game and on his first play ran 21 yards for a touchdown to conclude the scoring.
Of all of Dunnam’s 100 coaching victories at Amarillo High and previously at Dumas, this one had to be the most rewarding. The Sandies got a decisive win in their biggest game of the season so far and showed why they’re reached double digits in victories in 2026.
“It’s special,” Dunnam said, “I really don’t want to think about it because I’d be doing a lot of good men a disservice if I didn’t credit a great staff behind me. I’ve been able to surround myself with great men everywhere I’ve been a head coach. I’ve had a tremendous community and I’ve had tremendous kids so I’ve just been blessed.”
After a 77-76 loss at El Paso El Dorado to open the postseason last year, the Sandie acquitted themselves quite nicely on that side of the ball to open the postseason this year. They ended up giving up 310 yards to Bel Air, but the bulk of those came well after the game was decided.
Dominguez hung in tough for Bel Air before limping off the field in the final two minutes. He completed 22-of-36 passes for 283 yards and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Ramirez in the third quarter.
Photo gallery by Carter Pirtle:
