The Tascosa Rebels now know that a District 2-5A Division I championship is probably out of the question this season, but Friday night at Dick Bivins Stadium it seemed agonizingly within reach.
Tascosa hosted district leader Abilene High with sole possession of first place and a guaranteed playoff berth on the line. The Rebels showed they could play with the Eagles early on, but finishing the deal proved elusive.
Despite three early opportunities deep in Abilene territory in the first half, the Rebels came away with nothing. It was easy to see that wasn’t ideal against a team like the Eagles, as Tascosa lost 24-6.
While the Rebels (5-3, 3-1 in district) are still in solid shape for a playoff berth and perhaps a first round home game, they couldn’t be blamed for kicking themselves after the first half in particular. Abilene (6-2, 4-0) clinched a playoff berth and a first round game with the win, but the score wasn’t indicative of how competitive the game really was.
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“We didn’t play as good as we could, that’s for sure,” Tascosa coach Ken Plunk said. “We needed to play better than we did. We didn’t need to play perfect but we’ll correct it. One loss is not going to kill us.”
After one half Tascosa could only think about what might have been. The Rebels got the ball in the red zone three times but couldn’t turn any of those trips into points and trailed 10-0 at halftime.
A harbinger of missed opportunities came on Abilene’s first play from scrimmage, when the Eagles fumbled just their side of midfield and Tascosa recovered. However, the Rebels went three-and-out after that. Abilene marched down the field on the ensuing possession but Tascosa’s defense stiffened in the red zone, forcing Elisha Batendji to kick a 29-yard field goal and give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
Tascosa looked ready to grab the lead on the next possession. The Rebels had the ball at their own 29 and Deandre Sanders broke loose for a run which looked like it would put points on the board.
However, Sanders was stripped of the ball from behind at the Abilene 8-yard line and it rolled into the end zone, where Skyler Faimoa pounced on it for a touchback.
Tascosa had another opportunity to score in the second quarter when a drive broke down at the Abilene 3 and Charlie Whittenburg came on to kick a 20-yard field goal. The kick sailed wide right, though, and the Eagles took over at their 20.
“We can’t fumble into the end zone and we missed a field goal we should have made,” Plunk said. “I don’t want to put it all on that because on the play before the field goal we missed a block which could have gotten a touchdown. I’m honestly disappointed.”
The Eagles then marched down the field, and with 1:16 left in the half, Brayden Henry hit a wide-open M’Aujehl Aboso for a 36-yard score to make it 10-0.
Tascosa quarterback Coltyn Fulton returned the ensuing kickoff past midfield and the Rebels looked like a good bet to get some points when the got the ball down to the Abilene 17 with nine seconds left in the half. However, Fulton hung up a pass in the end zone which Charles Meeks intercepted to end the half.
Fulton, though, didn’t return in the second half. He appeared shaken up from a late hit on the sideline earlier in the game where he hit the Bivins track hard. The coaching staff kept him out in the second half with an unspecified injury.
“He took a big shot and we think he’s fine but keeping him out was precautionary,” Plunk said. “We get guys evaluated and if the trainer feels like we need to sit him we do that. He hasn’t been diagnosed with anything. I think he was a little dehydrated but I think he’ll be fine.”
Brayden Lineman played the second half at quarterback for Tascosa and was on the field for the only points of the game for the Rebels. Reese Cabe concluded an impressive drive with a 3-yard scoring run late in the third quarter to cut it to 10-6 and it looked like a ball game.
On the ensuing drive, though, the Rebels were flagged for a pass interference penalty which gave Abilene a first down on a 15-yard penalty. Seconds later, another flag was thrown for an unsportsmanlike penalty against Tascosa for arguing the call, giving the Eagles 30 yards in field position without having to do anything offensively.
“I’m disappointed in the 15-yarders,” Plunk said. “We were being selfish and we’re not thinking. We disagreed with a call and had to make a comment about it.”
Only 20 seconds into the second quarter, Symanni Strahan scored on a 2-yard run to give the Eagles a 17-6 cushion.
Tascosa was still alive and mounted a drive past midfield, but Lineman hung up a pass which Jordan Brown intercepted to return the ball to Abilene. Abosa got his second scoring catch of the night when he beat the Tascosa defense and caught a 50-yard bomb from Tristan Beal to make it 24-6 midway through the fourth quarter and end the competitive phase of the game.
It was a long night for both teams since the kickoff was delayed by over 90 minutes due to lightning delays. That, and a long road trip, didn’t seem to faze the Eagles much en route to clinching a playoff berth.
“That’s just part of our makeup and our mental discipline to be able to come up here,” Abilene coach Mike Fullen said. “I told them we’re going to play this game no matter how long it takes and they were prepared. It’s only a big deal if we make it a big deal.”
Aboso was the offensive star of the night with eight catches for 160 yards.
It wasn’t a great defensive performance by the Rebels, but it was hardly a shameful one either. They bent but didn’t break, but on a night the offense couldn’t cash in, it wasn’t quite enough.
“The first half we just played second down atrociously,” Plunk said. “We’d get them in second and 10 and give them nine or 10 yards. We adjusted in the second half and we were fine if we didn’t get the penalties.”
Offensively, the Rebels ran for 230 yards, a decent total but not up to their usual standard rushing the ball. Sanders led the way with 91 yards on only four carries.
Tascosa can still clinch a playoff berth by winning either of the final two games of the season at Bivins against Amarillo ISD rivals Caprock or Amarillo High. With the loss, the Rebels are now tied with Amarillo High for second place in the district.