Bushland advances past Jim Ned
Bushland took advantage of every possession and played bend don’t break defense to down Jim Ned 28-10 in a Class 3A Division I area round game on a very cold night at PlainsCapital Park Lowrey Field in Lubbock on Friday night.
The Falcons (11-1) move back into the third round of the playoffs for the third time in four years and will now get a showdown with Brock (8-4) in a top 10 regional semifinal in Vernon on Friday with a time to be determined.
“Being back in the third round is big for our program,” Bushland head coach Josh Reynolds said. “But we’re not satisfied. We want to push past the third round and set the bar higher, so we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
The Bushland defense was on the field for 32 minutes against Jim Ned’s run-heavy attack. The Indians, who finished the season at 8-4, used ball control in their favor taking 11 minutes off the first quarter clock on the opening drive. But the Falcons defense stood tall holding Jim Ned to a field goal then Bushland’s offense went right to work. Not two minutes later into the early stages of the second quarter quarterback Dawson Jaco capped off a 6-play, 58-yard drive on a 11-yard pitch and catch to Ivan Soto putting the Falcons up 7-3. After Jim Ned took a brief 10-7 advantage, the Bushland offense tacked on two big scores in the final minutes of the half. Jaco found Cole Purcell on a 17-yard touchdown, and on the following possession Jaco hit Baylor King for a 9-yard TD as Bushland took a 21-10 lead into halftime.
“We knew Jim Ned wanted to limit possessions in this game,” Reynolds said. “They took 11 minutes in the first quarter, but our defense held them to a field goal. That was big from a momentum standpoint. We did really good with every possession we had and proud of how we played.”
Bushland tacked on an insurance touchdown in the third quarter on Jaco’s fourth touchdown pass of the night and second to King on a 65-yard seam rout giving the Falcons full control up 28-10 with 7:25 left in the third. The Bushland defense was stingy especially in the redzone as Jim Ned was only 2-of-5 inside the 20-yard line. Turnovers also played a key role with Bushland getting two interceptions and a fumble in the win.
Jaco finished the evening going 15-of-21 for 217 yards with four touchdown tosses. King snagged four catches for 89 yards with two scores, and Purcell added six catches for 71 yards and a TD. The Falcons defense held a very good Jim Ned team to 270 total yards.
Bushland is the only team left standing from District 2-3A Division I after two rounds of the UIL playoffs. Paradise downed Shallowater, 17-14, Whitesboro mangled Dalhart, 65-15, and Brock ran past Muleshoe 57-20.
Class 3A Division II
Canadian runs away from Early
The Canadian Wildcats pulled away from a scrappy Early Longhorn team for a 42-14 victory at their familiar playoff home, Leo Brittain Field at Lions Stadium in Vernon on Friday night.
Canadian (10-2) is back in the regional semifinal for an 11th straight year while Early finishes its season at 7-5. The No. 4-ranked Wildcats will now go on to battle District 3-3A Division II rival Spearman (5-7) at 2 p.m. Friday at Bulldogs Stadium in Borger.
The Wildcats had a bit of a slow start due to an aggressive Longhorn defense. Canadian built a 14-0 lead off a pair of quarterback Camren Cavalier touchdown runs of 12 and 4-yards in the first quarter. After Early cut the deficit 14-7 in the second quarter, Cavalier found Preston Miller on a 30-yard scoring pass that gave Canadian a 21-7 advantage into intermission. In the second half, the Wildcat defense locked in and the offense was able to pull away. Cavalier hit Wyatt Davis on an 8-yard score that made it 28-7, then Cavalier scored his third rushing TD of the night on a 2-yard scamper putting the contest out of reach 35-7.
Cavalier ended the game rushing for 111 yards on 15 carries with three touchdowns and was 12-of-21 for 173 yards with two more scores. Miller caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown as Julian Dominguez added 76 yards receiving on four receptions. The Canadian defense limited Early to 191 total yards, and only 36 on the ground.
Spearman dominates Alpine
Spearman stayed red hot by blanking Alpine 49-0 on Friday night at Redman Memorial Stadium in Post.
The Lynx, who were the No. 4-seed out of District 3-3A Division II, have caught fire in the playoffs with wins over Abernathy and now Alpine. Spearman (5-7 overall) is set for a rematch with district rival Canadian (10-2) in a regional semifinal at 2 p.m. Friday at Bulldogs Stadium in Borger. Canadian won the first meeting earlier this season 42-3.
Spearman mashed Alpine on the ground totaling 364 of its 381 yards with the ground attack. Cason Mackie had his second straight stellar performance tallying 152 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown. Shad Whiteley chipped in with 108 yards on only three carries with a score.
Childress was the other team representing District 3-3A Division II on Friday night. The Bobcats season came to an end at the hands of Wall in an area round matchup, 44-10. Childress ends its season at 7-5.
Class 2A Division I
Hawley decimates Panhandle
Turnovers and a strong run attack from the Hawley Bearcats doomed Panhandle in a lopsided 72-26 loss in a Class 2A Division I area round clash on a chilly Friday afternoon at PlainsCapital Park in Lubbock.
The Panthers put themselves in a hole early with back-to-back interceptions from quarterback Landyn Hack in the first quarter. Those miscues led to two straight Hawley touchdowns from fullback Austin Crumpton that gave the Bearcats a 14-0 lead. From that point forward Hawley stayed in control as Crumpton, and quarterback Rodey Hooper took over. Hooper dominated with his feet going for 139 yards rushing on only five carries, all in the second half, for three rushing touchdowns. Hooper also went 10-of-17 passing for 203 yards with two more scores. Wide receiver Diontay Ramon was a mismatch for the Panther secondary snagging seven catches for 148 yards and two TDs. Panhandle’s Wyatt Brookshire did rush for 144 yards despite the loss.
Panhandle ends a strong season at 9-3 overall. Hawley, the Class 2A Division I runner-up from a year ago, stay unbeaten at 12-0 and will face Sonora (10-2) in the regional semifinals. Sonora downed Farwell in its area round matchup 18-7 on Friday night. Farwell ends its 2022 campaign at 9-3.
Class 2A Division II
Wellington, Vega set for showdown after lopsided wins
Both Wellington and Vega had no issues getting past its Class 2A Division II area round matchups on Friday night.
The Skyrockets blasted Sudan 48-0 while Vega hammered Seagraves 48-7.
Wellington (11-1) and Vega (8-4) are now set to face each other in a regional semifinal at a day and time to be determined.
Wellington racked up 435 yards of offense against Sudan while limiting the Hornets to 165 yards. Travon Lewis paced a busy Skyrocket backfield stacking up 102 yards on seven carries and score.
Vega ran all over Seagraves for 424 yards. Senior do-it-all QB Joaquin Segovia was unstoppable carrying the ball 14 times for 235 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score.
Clarendon cruises past Ralls
Clarendon is headed to the third round of the UIL playoffs after beating up Ralls 48-14 at Younger Field in Tulia on Friday.
The Broncos improve to 9-3 on the season and will play New Home (11-1) in a regional semifinal at a time and place to be determined. The Leopards ended Sunray’s season coming back to win late 22-21 in a thriller on Friday night.
Clarendon running back and Texas Tech commit Jmaury Davis galloped to 200 yards on 11 carries with four touchdowns. Lyric Smith added seven carries for 85 yards and a TD.