Dumas coach Aaron Dunnam addresses his team after falling to Springtown on Friday night in Midland. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
The Dumas Demons storybook season that captivated an entire community came to heartbreaking end at the hands of Springtown 56-39 in the Class 4A Division I state quarterfinals Friday night at Grande Communications Stadium in Midland.
It was a dream season the Demons and their passionate fanbase won’t soon forget.
Dumas was rewriting the record books by the week, finishing a fantastic season at 13-1.
It was the first 13-win season in program history, as well as the first December playoff game played by the Demons.
Coming off the high of beating undefeated Decatur, a week earlier, Dumas was brought back down to earth, as a combination of big plays and turnovers added up to a season-ending defeat.
There was no such drama this time, as Springtown (13-1) took control of the game in the first half and the Demons seemed a step or two behind the Porcupines.
“I’m not taking any credit away from (the Porcupines) because they’re a very good football team,” Dumas coach Aaron Dunnam said. “We didn’t play as well as we could. We had four turnovers and at one point we had a 14-point swing.”
The first half saw a little of everything, including an offensive fumble recovery for a touchdown, both teams scoring on pick sixes, and most importantly, a 200-yard rusher. That last one favored Springtown in a huge way, which is why the Porcupines scored 28 unanswered points in the second quarter to take control and lead 35-17 at halftime.
In a sign of things to come, the teams exchanged touchdowns on their opening possessions, but the good fortune for the Porcupines may have foreshadowed what was to come. They drove down to the Dumas 20-yard line with the opening kickoff and Cameron Rickett gained 12 yards to the 8, but Dumas linebacker Cade Cox forced the ball loose.
However, it rolled into the end zone and Aaron Foster fell on it for the first score of the game and a 7-0 lead.
The Demons did take their only lead thanks to their defense. Caleb Suggs, whose interception set up the winning field goal against Decatur the week before, intercepted Springtown quarterback Camden Chesney and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
If there was a turning point, it came on the ensuing possession. Dumas forced a three-and-out and was primed for good field position, but Josh Mares tried to field a punt over his head and muffed it, and the Porcupines recovered at the Dumas 43.
Two plays later, on the first play of the second quarter, Rickett broke through for a 39-yard run to tie it 14-14. It was the first of three touchdowns for Rickett, who ran for 205 yards in the first half and finished with 283 yards on 32 carries.
But a bigger play came two plays after the ensuing kickoff, when Springtown’s Cage Teague intercepted Williams and returned it 48 yards for a score to give the Porcupines a 21-14 lead which they never relinquished.
We’re going to celebrate it,” Dunnam said of the historic season. “We wish we were still playing. We got a tough ending but now we want to focus on the good things we did this year.”
Springtown 56, Dumas 39
Springtown 7 28 21 0 — 56
Dumas 14 28 7 15 — 39
First Quarter
S—Aaron Foster recovered fumble in end zone (Brendan Hall kick), 9:07
D—Spencer Williams 8 run (Ah Lee Yart kick), 4:29
D—Caleb Suggs 25 interception return (Yart kick), 2:46
Second Quarter
S—Cameron Rickett 39 run (Hall kick), 11:51
S—Cage Teague 48 interception return (Hall kick), 10:58
S—Foster 7 pass from Camden Chesney (Hall kick), 6:52
S—Rickett 57 run (Hall kick), 1:10
D—Yart FG 47, 0:00
Third Quarter
S—Rickett 5 run (Hall kick), 11:02
D—Williams 7 run (Yart kick) 6:41
S—Foster 63 run (Hall kick), 4:45
S—Cooper Croft 20 pass from Chesney (Hall kick), 0:27
Fourth Quarter
D—Kyle Stroebel 13 pass from Williams (Yart kick), 4:41
D—Louis Ortiz 24 pass from Williams (Jacob Mares pass from Williams), 4:29
Springtown Dumas
First downs 16 18
Rushing 354 153
Passing 88 226
Total yards 442 379
C-A-I 7-12-1 12-25-3
Punts-Avg. 3-48.3 3-40.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 9-68 6-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -Springtown: Rickett 32-283, Dylan Davis 3-22, Chesney 3-(-14), Foster 1-63. Dumas: Mares 13-27, Williams 14-24, Victor Chavez 1-2, Ortiz 1-18, Cito Rodriguez 4-19, Damian Orozco 1-3.
PASSING – Springtown: Chesney 6-11-1-48, Rickett 1-1-0-40. Dumas: Williams 12-24-2-226, Orozco 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING -Springtown: Cole Walker 1-6, Foster 2-16, Rickett 1-0, Andy Behle 1-40, Croft 1-20, Davis 1-6. Dumas: Orozco 4-61, Chavez 2-15, Ortiz 4-98, Juan Romero 1-39, Stroebel 1-13.