Tascosa runs past Lubbock High 

The Tascosa Rebels have picked the right time to start hitting their stride for 2024.

A week after opening district play with a gritty win over Lubbock Coronado featuring two big plays, the Rebels had only six days to get ready for their next district game Thursday night against Lubbock High at Lowery Field. As it turned out, Tascosa didn’t need the full week to prepare.

The Rebels resorted to their patented running game to bludgeon the Westerners early, scoring eight touchdowns before Lubbock responded in rolling to a 56-7 win. That made Tascosa 3-3 and 2-0 atop the district in early returns as the Rebels can now conduct a serious conversation about the playoffs.

Tascosa ran for 389 yards a week after a productive if lukewarm performance on the ground in a 29-16 victory over Coronado. Six players scored on the ground for the Rebels, concluding with a 72-yard scoring run by Deandre Sanders on his only carry of the night late in the third quarter.

Quarterback Coltyn Fulton was also efficient for the Rebels. Fulton ran for a touchdown, and while he threw only three passes, he completed all of them and two of them went for scores.

Lubbock (3-2, 0-1) finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard scoring pass from Derek Torrez to Zach Reyna.

Amarillo High drops shootout to Abilene

For the fourth time this season, Amarillo High got involved in an offensive slugfest where both teams scored at least 40 points. After Friday night, they could claim a split in those games.

The Sandies again put up big offensive numbers, but Abilene put up even bigger ones, as the Eagles soared past Amarillo High 63-42 at Dick Bivins Stadium to stay unbeaten in district play and hand the Sandies their first district loss.

In a game featuring 1,142 yards of total offense, it’s hard to narrow it down to a few standouts. Amarillo High quarterback Jett Lopez completed 19-of-30 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns and Jude Dunavin ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries for the Sandies (2-3, 1-1).

Abilene (4-2, 2-0) managed to top that, though. Quarterback Brayden Henry led a balanced attack by the Eagles, passing and running for a combined 363 yards. Nathan Joyner ran for 104 yards on 13 carries for Abilene.

In two district games, Amarillo High has scored 92 points but has given up 105.

Palo Duro drops district opener to Wichita Falls Memorial

The Palo Duro Dons had been solid defensively all season prior to starting district, but Wichita Falls Memorial taught them something at Buffalo Stadium at West Texas A&M.
Palo Duro led at halftime, but Memorial scored 28 points in the second half and ended up rolling to a 44-27 victory to make a big statement on the road.

The Dons (3-2, 0-1) took a 20-16 halftime lead on a 67-yard scoring pass from Julian Reese II to Darien Lewis. It was the second touchdown of the first half for Lewis and the second touchdown pass of the half for Reese, who threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns.

Memorial (5-1, 2-0) took a 23-20 lead on Kenji Johnson’s 19-yard run, but PD answered back on an 8-yard scoring pass from Reese to Kyron Brown for a 27-23 lead. Those were Palo Duro’s last points, though, as Memorial closed the game with 21 unanswered points.

Johnson led Memorial with 187 yards on 27 carries and Eric Powell ran for 131 yards caught two scoring passes from Joe Castles, who threw three touchdowns.

Hereford suffers first loss at Seminole

The Hereford Whitefaces won’t enter district play next week perfect after falling to someone who’s still perfect this week.

In a highly anticipated matchup between unbeatens, Hereford got behind Seminole early on the road and never recovered, losing 49-17 to chalk up the first loss of the season.

It appeared to be as good as advertised in the first half, as the Herd (4-1) trailed 14-10 after a 2-yard touchdown run by Kalub Ramirez early in the second quarter. However, Seminole (6-0) closed the first half with 21 unanswered points for a 35-10 halftime lead and never looked back.

Hereford’s Ramirez had a solid enough game at quarterback, completing 22-of-30 passes for 221 yards. However, the Herd could slow down Seminole, who had 404 yards of offense as Wyatt Holmstrom threw five touchdown passes.

Borger shuts out Denver City

Borger had a solid outing in the final game before district play, as the Bulldogs rode their defense and running game to a 28-0 victory over Denver City at home.

Ryler Moreno led Borger (2-4) with 101 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. The Bulldogs ran for 246 yards and were steady offensively, scoring a touchdown in each quarter.

Defensively, Borger gave up 239 yards to Denver City (0-6) but never allowed the Mustangs on the scoreboard.