The old saying goes in football, is that a run game always travels.
With that said, the Spearman Lynx packed their rushing attack up and brought it to Happy State Bank Stadium and as a result, the Lynx put on a physical exhibition during a 42-14 thumping of New Deal during a UIL Class 2A Division I bi-district game Friday afternoon in Canyon.
This win was special for a Lynx program that has struggled the past couple of years. This was Spearman’s first time to celebrate a gold ball since 2022 and the first under second-year head coach Brandon Reagan.
“This means the world to us,” Reagan said. “It means a lot to these players. These seniors haven’t won a gold ball, and this goes a long way for our program. You preach hard work all the time, but it’s hard to buy in if you don’t win. This is going to be good overall for us.”
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Running back Hudson Swan, a junior that has bought into coach Reagan, echoed his coaches comments.
“This is special,” Swan said. “We’ve been fighting for this all year. We lost quite a bit last year, so we knew we had to step up. We have fought for each other all year and we fought four more quarters in this game.”
Spearman (7-4), a rare No. 3-seed that won across West Texas, is now headed to the area round to meet up with Anson (7-4) at 7 p.m. Friday at Antelopes Stadium in Abernathy.
New Deal, the No. 2-seed from District 2-2A Division I, ends the year at 6-4.
Spearman established the run on the opening drive, marching right down the field led by a Hudson Swan 34-yard scamper to put the Lynx up 6-0.
The Lions answered on a Jackson Atterbury 24-yard run as New Deal took a brief 7-6 advantage late in the first quarter.
However, as the game progressed, Spearman started to take over. Brayson Goodheart punched a four-yard sweep in for 13-7 Lynx lead, then Swan added his second score of the first half on a five-yard scoot with two minutes to go in the first half with the Lynx now in control at 21-7.
New Deal didn’t quite go away scoring on the ensuing possession on a 39-yard pitch and catch from Dallas Sumner to Atterbery, cutting the deficit to seven, but Spearman hit the Lions with a gut punch in the closing seconds to halftime with another physical march that resulted in another Goodheart two-yard run and a 28-14 halftime advantage.
“We had a very good district schedule that got us ready for this,” Swan said. “We were able to ground and pound the entire game and set the tone. The offensive line was amazing all game. The entire year they’ve been fighting and they allow us to get three to four yards a play.”
The physical punishment took its toll on New Deal in the second half. The Lynx put a dagger in this contest on the opening drive thanks to Swan’s third score when he busted loose for a 75-yard score giving Spearman a commanding 35-14 lead. From there, the Lynx mashed New Deal, and the defense took the Lions out of sync, holding New Deal scoreless until a meaningless touchdown in the final minute.
“The offensive line plays so hard,” Reagan said. “They work their tails off and we had a freshman come up and made such a difference. He’s made us better in the locker room and we’re playing mean and hit you in the mouth. Then the backs were so good and we started getting them off balance. We ran it right at them and we had some space and it was working up the middle.”
Spearman totaled 361 yards of offense with 328 of those coming from that punishment of the backfield. Swan was the workhorse carrying the ball 13 times for 151 yards with three touchdowns, and caught five passes for 43 yards. Quarterback Jailen Vasquez managed the offense to near perfection, rushing it 21 times for 110 yards with a score and Goodheart added 61 yards on 10 carries with two TDs.
The Lynx defense stood up, especially in the second half. Spearman limited New Deal to 254 total yards, and only 86 rushing. Not only did he quarterback the offense, but Vasquez made six tackles on defense. Julio Leyva had six tackles with two for a loss and linebacker Gio Diaz picked off two passes in the fourth quarter.