Warriors continue to roll
Miami picked up a convincing 56-6 win over Groom on Friday night to remain undefeated on the season at 6-0.
No surprise that Haiden Thompson put up big stats again as the electric senior carried the pigskin for 126 yards and two scores while connecting on 5-of-6 passes for 133 yards and two more scores. Luke Wheeler added two rushing touchdowns and a receiving one as the Warriors continue to roll over opponents scoring more than 50 points in all six games this year.
This is the best start to a season for Miami in school history according to head coach D.J. Howell. Most fans know all too well about Thompson and Wheeler, but sophomore Micah Hinshaw leads the team in receiving yards while fellow sophomore lineman Kris Gorecki has 13 tackles for loss. The Warriors will look to strengthen their team in the next couple of weeks as senior two-way starter Evan Kelley will return from an injury, he suffered in Week 1 and junior Gavin Shewmake will add needed depth on the defensive line.
Another late loss for the Swifts
For the third straight week, Nazareth has been in striking distance of a win to only fall short on the scoreboard as the Swifts fell to No. 3 Whitharral at Swift Stadium, 62-36 Friday night. Up 32-30, the Panthers Dawson Rodgers scored from 28 yards out in the third then Brent Robinson scored on the ground three times in the fourth to steal another potential victory from the Swifts (2-4). Robinson only carried the ball six times for 86 yards but three of those found paydirt in that crucial fourth quarter to give Whitharral (5-1) their fifth straight victory after an opening season loss.
Swifts’ freshman spread back Zane Schulte had quite the night in the loss carrying the ball 26 times for 81 yards while going 8-of-13 through the air for 126 yards and two scores. Will Young threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns with Reid Backus and Caysen High combining for nine receptions and 209 yards while finding paydirt three times.
Valley falls in a wild one
Dick Todd stadium hosted a wild back and forth scoring affair Friday night in Crowell that saw the two teams combine for 123 points in the first three quarters before defense took over and No. 8 Crowell walked away with a 62-61 victory over Valley. The Patriots (2-4) were nursing a 49-46 lead in the third when Crowell’s Austin Hernandez ripped off a long scoring run to put the Wildcats in front 54-49.
The Patriots answered that score and forged back in front 55-54. Hernandez then struck again as he threw across his body to a wide-open Clayton Alvarado, who forced a Patriot defender to whiff on the tackle and took it in for the score and a 62-55 lead for Crowell. Valley then scored again but the extra-point miss left the Wildcats on top 62-61 and a surprising end to the scoring and the Patriots chance at victory.
News and Notes
Follett (4-2) used a strong ground game from David Meeks to beat Paducah 56-6 at home on Friday night.
Meeks ran for 175 yards and six touchdowns while Osiel Ventura added 85 yards and had the rare four-point field goal from 20 yards out. Ventura also tacked on eight tackles and Julian Barton picked off an errant Dragons throw.
For the second straight year McLean (5-1) has gotten off to a solid start despite little fanfare for the school that won the last Amarillo-area Six-Man title in 2018. This time they had no problem taking down Wildorado 46-0.
No. 5 Amherst (6-0) continued its hot start with a dominating 51-6 win over Claude (2-4). Booker (4-2) found Bucks Stadium to their liking with a 50-6 win over an injury riddled White Deer (3-3) team while coach Kevin Hurn and his Silverton Owls found out that Friday night victories are sweet as Silverton (4-2) ran wild over Carrollton Prince of Peace at home, 63-6.
Big games coming Friday night
A couple of games that will have the interest of area Six-Man fans this Friday night could be a look ahead at potential bi-district matchups in November.
Miami, the only undefeated team in the area, takes the long road trip to Nazareth to play a Swifts team reeling from three straight losses in which they were in position to win heading to the fourth quarter. This game features four players we highlighted at the start of the season as key area players in Haiden Thompson and Luke Wheeler for Miami and Will Young and Kayle Rogers for Nazareth.
At the Cowboy Corral, McLean brings in a 5-1 squad that would like nothing better than to make a statement against the No. 10 team in the state. The Tigers aren’t flashy, but they play hard on every snap and have found ways to create offense from multiple players. For Happy (4-1), the season has produced a Week 1 upset by Klondike, two last minute wins and a couple of blowouts. The Cowboys have started finding a rhythm on offense and appears to have fixed some of its pass defense issues.
District 1-1A Division II also kicks off as Lefors travels to Silverton on Thursday night while Groom heads north to play Darrouzett on Friday night.
Hedley (2-3) is the open team this week, but they have a non-district tilt with Booker. Silverton and Groom will be heavy favorites to come out of this district with the red and white Owls as a dark horse contender in Region I.
State Notes
The biggest matchup of the week involved two unbeaten teams in No. 4 Abbott and perennial power Borden County.
This one lived up to the hype as both teams went blow for blow in the first quarter before Abbott (6-0) grabbed a two-score lead with 7:12 remaining in the half when the Panthers do everything player in Riley Sustala hit Brady Schulz for a 59-yard scoring pass.
Ish Rodriguez pulled the Coyotes (5-1) back to within a score on the next possession on a 23-yard touchdown pass but Mason Hejl then found Paxton Pustejovsky from 53-yards out and last year’s state finalist never let the Coyotes any closer in a 78-56 victory. Sustala finished the night with 73 yards rushing, 142 yards passing and four combined touchdowns.
No. 3-ranked Klondike, From Division II, knocked O’Donnell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a convincing 72-24 win on the legs of Creed Warren who racked up 135 yards rushing and four scores.
Also in Division II, Oglesby (6-0) quieted their critics with an impressive 54-8 win over No. 8 May (4-2) out of Division I. Many had wondered if the Tigers fast start was a product of their schedule, but they left no doubt Friday night as Kyler Fossett and E.J. Aviles combined for 246 yards rushing and four touchdowns while Hunter Walter was an impressive 4-4 for 117 yards with all four completions resulting in Tiger scores.
Big matchups litter the landscape across the state this coming week as district action begins for some teams.
In district 16-1A Division II, No. 10 Richland Springs (5-0) heads to Cherokee (5-0) to take on the No. 6 Indians in a bitter rivalry that should produce another great game. Another top 10 matchup occurs in District 12-1A Division I as No. 4 Abbott hosts No. 9 Aquilla (6-0) at Panther Field. Two-time defending Division I champion Westbrook (4-1) starts District 8-1A play with the surprising Highland Hornets who have started the year at 4-1. One non-district matchup to watch for is No. 5 Whiteface (6-0) against a Springlake-Earth (3-2) team that sits just outside the top 10.