DALHART — It had the makings of a heavyweight prize fight.
In the red corner, Shallowater is regarded as a power on the South Plains. The Mustangs possess a winning tradition, with only five losing seasons in the last quarter century. Despite a 1-3 start to their 2025 autumn campaign, the Mustangs had rattled off four straight victories.
In the purple corner, Dalhart is a rising power. Under the guidance of head coach Joey Read and his staff over the past three years, the Golden Wolves have become quite formidable. Within Dalhart’s sight was its first outright district championship since 1979, a full 46 years in the making.
On a chilly, yet emotional evening at Memorial Stadium, those two forces would collide on the gridiron.
Three hours and 76 points later, the Mustangs spoiled the Wolves’ Senior Night party with a 42-34 decision.
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The back-and-forth battle between the two teams boiled down to 1:19 left in the contest, when Shallowater senior defensive back Maddox McDonald intercepted an overthrown pass from Dalhart senior quarterback Hunter Trusler. With the INT in hand, McDonald ran the football back to the endzone for the pick six.
“My coaches have been telling us there’s going to be a big play happening sometime this game,” said McDonald, who caught four passes for 48 yards and two touchdowns to go along with his defensive TD. “They didn’t know where, but it was going to come. You just have to be prepared when it arrives.”
For Shallowater head coach Rodney Vincent, the Mustangs’ path back to the top of the league standings was a rough trail.
“(Winning the district title is) pretty special for where these kids came from early in the year,” Vincent said. “We graduated 30 seniors last year, so we had a lot of new faces. They had a lot of bumps in the road. Even since (the loss to Idalou on Sept. 26), they have played so hard and given themselves a chance to win and beat a really, really good team at their place. Dalhart’s a good football team.”
Even though the Wolves scored a touchdown as time expired, Dalhart’s dreams of a district title had to wait another season. Despite the setback, Read expressed pride in his team — as the Wolves fought until the clock struck all zeroes.
“Shallowater played great,” said Read. “We just didn’t have some things go our way. I thought our kids had played very hard, and I’m very proud of them. There was no giving up in them. We drove it all the way down and scored with no time remaining. So, we’re going to regroup and get ready for the first round of the playoffs.”
The Wolves dipped down to 8-2, 2-1 in district play. Dalhart will have a chance to put together a solid postseason run, though, starting with a UIL Class 3A Division I bi-district contest against Kermit, scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff on Thursday at PlainsCapital Park-Lowrey Field in Lubbock.
The Yellow Jackets (2-7, 2-1 in District 2-3A Division I) defeated Brownfield by way of a 33-14 final score on Friday at Walton Field in Kermit.
Shallowater extended their win streak to five, improving to 7-3, 3-0 in district. The Mustangs will square off against Brownfield in a bi-district matchup, set for 7 p.m. on Thursday at Patriot Stadium First United Liberty Park in Woodrow.
The Cubs limp into the playoffs with a 0-10 overall record and a 0-3 district mark.
Both Dalhart and Shallowater exchanged stalled drives in the first quarter, before the Wolves capitalized on a strip sack from Trusler and a fumble recovery from junior lineman Santiago Aguilar. Trusler followed his blockers into the endzone for a five-yard touchdown, and following the PAT from Victor Unzueta, Dalhart opened the game with a 7-0 lead.
The Mustangs shook off the mishap in a hurry, when senior Cooper Martin connected with junior Logan Winn for a 69-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds left in the initial period. Heading into the second stanza, the score was deadlocked at seven points apiece.
With 4:43 left until the break, Trusler finished off a long drive with a one yard touchdown plunge.
Shallowater wasted no time in tying the game back up, as Martin lofted a 23-yard touchdown pass to McDonald with 3:20 left in the first half. McDonald reeled in the pass with one arm.
“Maddox has been good for us all year,” Vincent said. “He’s made several plays like that this year in the endzone. His hands are spectacular, but I’ll tell you something else about him. He runs good routes and knows how to get open in space. He and (Martin) have a really good connection right now.”
McDonald praised his quarterback for putting the ball in the right spot.
“It was an amazing ball from Cooper,” McDonald said. “He couldn’t have put it in a better spot. I wasn’t going to drop it. He can run all over the field, and he can throw it. He can do everything. I’m so proud of him.”
Before the bands were allowed to take the field, the Mustangs and Wolves traded turnovers. Dalhart sought to take advantage, when senior defensive back Talon Garcia intercepted Martin in Shallowater territory. However, the Wolves were unable to cash in, as Shallowater junior defensive back Mikah Blackshear picked off Trusler in the endzone.
At halftime, the score stood at 14-14.
It took until 5:44 left in the third quarter for the Wolves to strike paydirt once more. On a third and 17, Trusler went to the air before finding Garcia for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
Shallowater fired right back, as Martin converted a fourth and goal by firing a five-yard touchdown pass to McDonald with 2:26 to go in the third period.
With 12 minutes left, the Wolves and Mustangs were again locked in a 21-21 score. Then, the momentum began to shift toward the visitors from Shallowater.
Following a goal line stand, Martin went deep, connecting with Winn for a 59-yard touchdown. With 7:52 remaining, Shallowater gained its first lead of the game at 28-21.
Dalhart responded with another long drive, before Trusler capped the march with a four-yard touchdown run with 4:38 to go. The game was back at a 28-28 tie.
Shallowater made their own march downfield, which was set up by a huge pass from Martin to junior wideout Gavin Guajardo. Sophomore running back Easton Foster then finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run with 2:54 left.
The Golden Wolves aimed to score with plenty of time left, before McDonald snagged a pass from Trusler with 1:19 on the clock. Due to the pick six, Shallowater had sealed their fourth district title in five years.
Dalhart did see Trusler toss an eight-yard touchdown to Garcia as time ran out, which finished the game with an eight-point difference.
Martin was accurate for the Mustangs, going 12-of-16 with 259 yards and four touchdowns, compared to just one interception. Martin also rushed for 75 yards on eight carries.
“I call him ‘Magic,'” said Vincent. “If you buy a ticket, you never know what’s going to happen (with Martin). He’s going to make some kind of ESPN highlight play almost every game. He’s a fun kid to watch and coach, and he’s done so well playing within our system. He creates extra time with his legs and finds open receivers.”
“The other thing I’m proud of Cooper, is having a short term memory,” Vincent continued. “He threw an interception early, but comes right back and makes plays. That’s maturity that we have at quarterback.”
Winn also turned in a fantastic game, reeling in four receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Guajardo caught three catches for 72 yards.
Complementing McDonald on defense was junior defensive back Blayce Jeter, who totaled eight tackles. Senior linebacker Bryce Cooper and junior linebacker Byron Carreon each recorded five stops, followed by junior defensive back Cruz Dickson’s four tackles.
Aside from the late pick six, Trusler was the dynamo who made Dalhart go.
Trusler was 17-of-32 for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and racked up 155 yards and three more scores within 31 carries. On the defensive side, Trusler compiled seven tackles, two of which were for losses, and a forced fumble.
Both Read and Vincent tipped their caps to the senior standout.
“I can’t say enough about the young man,” Read said. “Of course, he’s got 10 other guys on the field, but he does a tremendous job at executing our plays. He also gives 110 percent to this program and his teammates. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody else. He’s a superior athlete, great quarterback and great free safety for us. He’s just a playmaker.”
Vincent concurred with Read’s words.
“He’s a special player,” said Vincent. “We were trying to take him out of the equation, but he’s just that good. He made plays all night, but our game plan was to try to make somebody else beat us. But he distributed the ball well to other people. You know when they needed to make plays, but he made them happen.”
Junior running back Brett Alver chimed in with 73 yards on 11 carries, while Garcia came up with nine catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Garcia also reeled in an interception and one tackle for a loss.
Junior Kash Grimsley tallied 37 yards on eight carries and caught three passes for 34 yards.
On defense, junior defensive back Cole James, teammate Luis DeLeon and teammate Kaleb Speer each had three tackles against the Mustangs. Speer and senior defensive lineman Kreed Hines each recorded one tackle for a loss.