Cowboys rush to victory
Riding a punishing ground attack and stout defense, Happy (5-1) had no problem disposing of McLean on Friday night, lodging a 50-0 victory at the Cowboy Corral.
The Tigers (5-2) opening drive was impressive as the running game deliberately chewed up 40 yards of ground. However, facing a fourth and seven at the Happy ten-yard line, Jack McGee rolled to his right under pressure and dumped off a pass to Stran Henderson who was immediately tackled by Happy’s Joey Blackmon. The very next play, the speedy Blackmon went around the right edge and blazed 70 yards for the opening touchdown.
Blackmon scored three more times in the quarter finishing with 128 yards rushing on eleven carries and a receiving score. His running mate, All-State end Quay Hodges, has been forced into backfield duties because of injuries and found running the ball to his liking. Hodges racked up 106 yards on eight carries and two more touchdowns.
The Cowboys defense yielded 127 total yards to the Tigers, with 40 of those coming in the opening drive. McLean carried the rock 23 times for a paltry 62 yards while McGee was 15-of-24 for only 65 yards. His leading receiver, Henderson, amassed eight catches but only gained 30 yards on a series of dumps that the Cowboys defense shut down time and again.
Warriors stay unbeaten
Miami used balanced scoring over three quarters to take out Nazareth on Friday night, 48-0, at Swifts Stadium.
The Warriors, the only unbeaten Amarillo-area team, ran their record to 7-0 on the season. It was the Haiden Thompson show on offense as the talented senior amassed 181 yards rushing on 16 carries while logging four scores. He was just as dangerous passing finishing 7-of-10 for 148 yards and another score. Sophomore Tyler Anderson helped out Thompson by grabbing three balls for 81 yards and a score.
As impressive as the offense was it was the defense that was equally impressive shutting out the Swifts. Luke Wheeler and Kris Gorecki harassed the Nazareth offense up front all night long. Wheeler finished with 14 tackles while Gorecki had eight but four of those were behind the line of scrimmage. Thompson impacted the game as well on defense tacking on eleven tackles and three tackles for loss.
Mustangs pull the upset
Riding the all-around play of Blu Washington, Wildorado upset Lubbock Kingdom Prep at home Thursday night, 58-42.
The Mustangs (2-5) were 45-point underdogs heading into the game according to sixmanfootball.com but that was simply a number for Rance Barnett’s team.
The speedy Washington was a nightmare for the Warriors defense and special teams. The junior back finished the night with 196 yards on 17 carries and four scores while hauling in two balls for 45 yards and a score. It was the special team’s numbers, though, that broke the back of the visitors. Washington returned three kickoffs on the night taking two of them to the house. For added measure he also tallied ten tackles on defense.
Washington wasn’t the only Mustang with a solid performance. Ryan Cox was 6-of-8 through the air for 122 yards and two touchdowns while notching 11 tackles. Hudson Matt added 11 tackles as well including two behind the line of scrimmage. Barnett’s squad also welcomed Aden Woodard back from injury. Playing limited minutes, Woodard gained 91 yards on nine carries and a score and finished with five tackles.
District play begins for 1-1A Division II
While all other districts with Texas Panhandle teams are still two weeks away from district action, District 1-1A DII kicked off this week.
Thursday night, Silverton (5-2) had no problem with Lefors (1-6) notching a 56-8 win at home.
Friday night, Groom (3-4) headed north and made short work of Darrouzett (0-7) notching a 62-0 win.
Hedley (2-4), the remaining team in the district was idle from district action but went north as well but wasn’t as successful falling to Booker, 61-12. Booker continues to see success at the Six-Man level moving to 5-2.
With Silverton and Groom heavy favorites to advance in this district, this coming Friday night sets up as a battle for the district crown as the two squads face off in Groom.
Last year, Stephen Kuehler dove in at the goal line with two seconds left to propel the Tigers to a 54-52 victory at Silverton. Now, the Owls travel to Groom looking for a measure of revenge. Look for Silverton’s head coach, Kevin Hurn, to lean on spread back Sawyer Francis to control the game. Francis can dominate a game on both offense and kickoff returns as he uses his speed and six-foot three frame to find the endzone.
For the Tigers, they will need to use their spread attack to consistently move the ball down the field while chewing up time and converting those into scores. Groom has played a solid schedule this year and will hope to use that experience and home field advantage to log an upset over the favored Owls.
News and Notes
Follett (5-2) continues to roll notching a 54-6 win over Claude (2-5) Friday night. The Panthers will have a bye this week as they prepare for district action in style by traveling to Miami in a massive matchup that will likely produce the district champ.
After three straight weeks of close games, Valley (3-4) made short work of the injury riddled Bucks from White Deer (3-4) at home Friday night notching a convincing 52-0 win.
Congratulations to former Tascosa signal caller, Ryan Barnett, the son of Wildorado head football coach, Rance. Ryan scored his first career collegiate touchdown with a 65-yard pick six for Wayland Baptist on Saturday. Barnett is playing strong safety for the Pioneers.
State Notes
The best game of the night involved two top 10 teams in District 16-1A Division II. No. 9 Richland Springs (7-0) rallied past No. 7 Cherokee (5-1) for a 40-32 win.
The Indians led 32-24 headed to the fourth quarter but the Coyotes used two scores in the final stanza and a rock-solid defense to capture a big district win.
The other top 10 district matchup was in District 12-1A Division I where No. 4 Abbott (7-0) had no problem in topping No. 10 Aquilla, 52-6 at home Friday night.
Riley Sustala continues to terrorize defenses as the junior spread back ran for 164 yards and four scores while passing for another and Joey Pavelka led a Panther defense with ten tackles in holding the Cougars to 68 total yards.
No. 5 Whiteface (7-0) held off No. 8 Springlake-Earth, 34-22, on the road Friday in a physical, hard-fought contest. The top three teams in Division I, Knox City, Westbrook and Gordon all cruised to easy victories while the top four teams in Division II, Benjamin, Jayton, Klondike and Oglesby, did the same.
Our final note involves tragedy that struck Whitharral last week when the Panthers Tucker Parkinson passed away in a car accident.
The 15-year-old Parkinson, who was known to have a big smile and quick wit, was honored by Six-Man schools across the state who wore green on Tuesday in his honor. Friday night, Whitharral played Hart and the Panthers lined up for their first play with only five players and took a delay of game in honor of their fallen teammate. The most heart tugging moment, though, came from his teammate Rayden Potter. As Potter raced into the endzone for a score, he held up three fingers to honor Parkinson who wore No. 33.