With both teams needing to find a win after suffering losses to open District 2-4A Division I play last week, the Dumas Demons used a powerful second half to roll past the Canyon Eagles 37-29 at Happy State Bank Stadium.
On paper this was anybody’s game.
Each team entered the game 4-2 on the season and 0-1 in district. The Demons used the overall play of quarterback Colton Mills to secure the win.
“This was a big win for us. This is a tough district, and it’s a battle every single week,” Dumas head coach Aaron Dunnam said. “I wasn’t happy with how we played last week against Randall, and I’m glad we were able to bounce back and get this win. We had a great approach and beat a good Canyon team that was hungry.”
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Mills put the Demons on the board first when he found Blake Robinson on a two yard scoring toss. Christian Saldana booted in the PAT for the early 7-0 lead. That lead was short lived however, as Canyon’s Dillon Hagood took Saldana’s kickoff and raced 92 yards to find pay dirt. Lane Burton’s PAT tied the game at 7-7.
Late in the first Mills used his ground game on a 25 yard scoring rush, and the Demons would go into the second leading 14-7.
The Eagles weren’t going to the locker room with a deficit though. Canyon quarterback Brox Hacker scored early in the quarter for the Eagles on a six yard run, and Burton’s kick tied the game. Hacker would then find Bayler Schilling midway through the quarter with a 56 yard scoring pass for the Eagles first lead of the game.
Mills gave his team an even playing field in the second half when he ended the first with a five yard run for a Demon touchdown. Saldana’s kick was good for a 21-21 halftime score.
Each team scored early in the third with Canyon being successful on a two point conversion for a one point lead for the majority of the quarter. Mills would not led that lead stand though, as he raced in from 24 yards out late in the quarter to put his team up 34-29 heading to the final period.
That would be all Dumas needed, as they held the Eagles scoreless in the fourth. A Saldana field goal late in the quarter would be the Demons only score.
“It was a hard fought win for us. I’m proud of the second half we had,” Dunnam said. “It was tied at halftime, and we took control in the second half. I thought we battled and found a way to win, and I’m proud of the guys for that.”
Dumas entered the game without two starting linemen, and knew they would need to focus on their offense in the game. “Early in the season we knew we had an offense with a lot of balance. We really focused on the run in this game, and took what the defense gave us,” Dunnam said.
The balance in their offense showed as they racked up 346 yards with 171 coming on the ground and 175 through the air. Mills had a hand in all of Dumas’ touchdowns. He was successful on 13 of 22 pass attempts with two of those going for touchdowns. He also rushed 17 times for 51 yards and three touchdowns. ZJ Jara added 92 yards on the ground for the Demons.
The Eagles saw 304 yards of offense with 94 coming through the air, and 210 on the ground. Hacker was successful on 4 pass attempts for 85 yards and a score. He also rushed 13 times for 68 yards and a score. Schilling had three receptions for 85 yards and a score. Austin Turner rushed 11 times for 125 yards and one score.
Dumas will host Hereford next week where they will hope to add another district win against a struggling Whiteface squad (2-5, 1-1). The Eagles will be looking for their first district win as they travel to Pampa to face another struggling squad in the Harvesters (1-6,0-2).