They also have some things they need to work on, as to be expected in August. Only the Rebels tend to win this crosstown rivalry far more often than not, meaning they’re closer.
It was appropriate that Tascosa coach Ken Plunk notched his 100th win at the school by beating the team against whom he got his first win, as the Rebels maintained control for a 28-7 victory, his 14th victory over the Dons in his 15 years at the school.
While the faces may have changed as they always do, the method was generally the same for the Rebels, who used their signature strong running game and opportunistic defense to keep the Dons at bay.
“We did what it took and there are obviously going to be some things we need to get better at,” Plunk said. “I have a tendency in tight games like that to get extremely conservative and we’re going to have to get where we’re not quite as conservative.”
Both teams showed definite flashes of offensive potential in the first half behind their sophomore quarterbacks, but Tascosa’s experience showed more, as the Rebels led 21-7 at halftime.
Tascosa scored on its first three possessions as sophomore quarterback Coltyn Fulton showed off his talents running and passing. Senior Treshun Wilson, though, finished off the first two drives with scoring runs from 2 and 10 yards to take a 14-0 lead.
Despite lacking varsity experience, Fulton showed his potential in a big way in his varsity debut at quarterback. Fulton ran and threw for 119 yards each, an anomaly in Tascosa’s ground-bound flexbone attack, and he led all rushers.
“I was pretty nervous throughout the week and when it got closer and closer to game day we had our pep rally and I was just ready to go,” said Fulton, who completed 6-of-11 passes. “I think we’ll throw the ball a lot more this year. We have a lot of weapons at the receiver position and I think it will be a good season. We need to communicate more on the field.”
The Rebels took advantage of a short punt to drive only 46 yards for their first score and converted a fourth down. Later, Tascosa stopped Palo Duro on downs and drove in for another touchdown.
The Rebels responded with a scoring drive of their own, as with 1:40 left in the half, Fulton hit T.J. Tillman on a 34-yard scoring pass for a 21-7 lead.
Palo Duro had an effective running game, with a pair of sophomores, as Amariyea James ran for 98 yards on 15 carries and Lewis had 90 yards on 21 carries. The problem for the Dons came throwing the ball, as they had only three yards passing, and both of their throws in the second half were intercepted to thwart potential scoring drives which would have tightened the score.
“We didn’t play good enough,” said PD coach Eric Mims, whose team had only 64 yards offensively in the second half. “Offensively we’ve got to put more points on the board and got to be consistent on winning third downs. I’m proud of our guys efforts, but this is a results-oriented business and we didn’t get the result that we wanted tonight.”
The one dark cloud in Tascosa’s victory came when Wilson left the game with what looked like a severe leg injury in the fourth quarter. His status was uncertain as of Thursday evening.
“It’s special, there’s no doubt,” Plunk said. “You’re going to win 100 if you coach long enough. I think back to the kids I coached and that means a lot more to me than 100 wins.”