District 2-3A Division I

Shallowater hands Bushland first loss

A sluggish start and a double-digit first half deficit was too much for the No. 2-ranked Bushland Falcons to overcome as a second half rally fell short to a talented Shallowater squad, 43-28, at Falcons Stadium on Friday night.

After a hot 8-0 start to the year, Bushland (8-1 overall, 2-1 in district) suffers its first defeat of the season falling to 8-1 and more than likely a District 2-3A Division I championship lost. The Mustangs stay hot moving to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in district.

“We played hard, and I love this team,” Bushland head coach Josh Reynolds said. “This isn’t the playoffs yet. So, we have to learn from this and correct the mistakes we made and play cleaner football.”

Bushland had crucial miscues putting the Falcons in a 14-0 hole. Trailing 7-0, Bushland was driving to tie the game, however, a Dawson Jaco pass went off the hands of receiver Austin Rider and into the hands of Shallowater defensive back Josh Grimes for a touchback in the end zone. That led to a Cannon Reed touchdown giving the Mustangs a 14-0 advantage. On the following possession, Jaco delivered a strike to Cole Purcell who was hit immediately and while falling down Shallowater defender Clayton Vincent picked the ball clean off Purcell’s shoulder pad for a second straight interception. That was a part of three first half turnovers as Bushland found itself in a 27-7 halftime hole.

The second half was a different story. The Falcons fell behind 34-7 early in the third quarter but never quit. Jaco found Stratton Molloy on a 9-yard strike making it 34-14. Moments later, Jaco kept it himself on a 16-yard sprint to the end zone and all of a sudden Bushland had life at 34-20 toward the end of the third quarter. Finally, the Falcons forced a Shallowater turnover which Bushland capitalized when Jaco drove his team down the field capping off the fourth quarter drive on a 5-yard screen to Kade Gavina and the Falcons were right back in it down 34-28 with 10:17 to play. But that was as close as the rally came for Bushland. Like Shallowater did most of the night, the Mustangs went back to a power run game behind its strong offensive line and Reed in the backfield. The Mustangs answered with a statement march down the field that saw Reed score his fifth touchdown of the game on an 8-yard scamper putting any Bushland comeback out of reach at 40-28 with eight minutes left.

Reed, who suffered a concussion in the final minute of the game, was too much for Bushland galloping for 189 yards on 32 carries punching in five TDs. Trevor Winn did damage at the receiver spot for Shallowater snagging two catches for 104 yards. Jaco finished the game throwing for 400 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Cole Purcell had a huge performance snagging 11 balls for 140 yards to lead the Falcons.

Muleshoe sneaks past River Road

In a game where points were hard to come by, Muleshoe did just enough to hold off upset-minded River Road 14-6 at home.

Muleshoe earns its first district win moving to 1-1 in District 2-3A Division I and 6-2 overall. River Road slips to 2-7, 0-3.

Muleshoe quarterback Sebastian Kirven was more than efficient throwing for 186 yards on 10-of-12 completions with a pair of touchdowns. Receiver Irvin Torres was the go-to target hauling in five catches for 94 yards with a score.

District 3-3A Division II

Childress pummels Spearman

After falling to Canadian in the district opener, Childress has rebounded in a hurry getting its second straight district win taking down Spearman in convincing fashion 41-7 at Fair Park Stadium on Friday night.

This was a lopsided affair with the Bobcats stacking up 418 yards of offense to Spearman’s 118 total yards and only seven first downs. Childress broke the game open in the second quarter with a 20-point quarter taking a commanding 27-7 lead into halftime. Running back Da’reon Mathis ran strong going for 191 yards on 17 carries with three scores. Receiver Lamont Nickleberry did what he does by snagging seven catches for 126 yards with a score.

Childress is 2-1 in District 3-3A Division II and 4-4 overall. The Lynx fall to 2-6, 1-2.

Tulia nabs first district win

Tulia snapped a three-game losing skid and kept its playoff hopes alive by thwarting Dimmitt 56-15 on the road.

The Hornets jumped all over the Bobcats running out to a 28-7 halftime lead. The Dimmitt defense had no answer for running back Damian Cedillo. The speedster showed off what he could do knifing through the Bobcat defense for an eye-opening 302 yards on only 25 carries with six touchdowns.

Tulia is now 3-5 overall and stays in the postseason hunt at 1-2 in District 3-3A Division II. Dimmitt is still seeking its first win of the year at 0-8, 0-3.

Canadian takes sole possession of first place

The No. 4-ranked Canadian Wildcats took over sole possession of first place in District 3-3A Division II and clinched a playoff spot in the process by dismantling Friona 56-13 at home on Friday night.

Canadian (6-2, 3-0) keeps its offense rolling piling up 564 yards against the Chieftains (4-4, 2-1). It’s the fourth straight game the Wildcats offense has gone over 500 yards. Quarterback Camren Cavalier had a huge part in all the yards going 12-of-19 through the air for 292 yards with a pair of touchdown tosses. Cavalier also ran for 129 yards with three more scores, including a 98-yard TD run. Receivers Julian Dominguez and Preston Miller had impressive outings. Dominguez led the team with five receptions for 162 yards with two scores, while Miller had three snags for 101 yards and a TD.

CLASS 2A

District 1-2A Division I

Panhandle, Stratford, Farwell cruise

The upper half of District 1-2A Division I did what they were expected to on Friday night. Stratford stayed perfect in the league race downing Sanford-Fritch 51-0, Panhandle blanked West Texas High 73-0, and Farwell eased past Highland Park 54-12.

Stratford extends its impressive win streak to 20 straight games dating back to last season. The Elks (8-0, 3-0) also clinched a playoff spot on Friday night with the victory. Stratford’s defense was in full shutdown mode holding the Eagles to 68 total yards. Offensively, the Elks put up 478 yards led by quarterback Bryce Braden who went 9-of-11 for 253 yards with four touchdowns.

Panhandle bounced back from a tough district loss to Stratford by dominating WT High. Quarterback Landyn Hack had a typical night going 6-of-9 passing for 144 yards with three touchdowns, and rushed for 66 yards with three more TDs. The Panthers are 6-2 overall and 2-1 in district.

Farwell is also 2-1 in district and 7-1 overall after beating Highland Park 54-12. Quarterback Alec Actkinson and running back Corey Stancell both went over the 200-yard mark rushing. Actkinson toted the rock only seven times for 232 yards with two scores, as Stancell added 201 yards on 16 carries with four touchdowns.

District 1-2A Division I

Sunray thumps Gruver

The Sunray Bobcats opened eyes on Friday making themselves known as serious contenders with a 56-12 blowout win over the Gruver Greyhounds.

The offensive explosion was led by sophomore sensation Armando Lujan. The gunslinger had an unbelievable outing that left Gruver’s defense scratching its head. Lujan torched the Greyhound secondary with his arm completing 24-of-40 passes for a school-record 485 yards with five touchdowns. Lujan then used his feet to rush for 143 yards on 14 carries for another three TDs. On the night, Lujan totaled 625 yards of offense with eight total TDs. Receiver Damian Barragan benefited from Lujan’s effort setting a school-record of his own catching 10 balls for an impressive 239 yards with three touchdowns. Dawson Bennett added 96 yards receiving with a pair of scores.

Sunray is 2-0 in District 1-2A Division II and 7-1 overall. Gruver falls to 6-3, 1-2.

Vega stays hot

Make it three straight wins for Vega after the Longhorns earned a hard fought 20-0 shutout at Booker on Friday night.

The Longhorns are also playoff bound moving to 3-0 in District 1-2A Division II and 5-4 overall. Booker falls to 4-3, 0-2.

Both defenses played superb as neither team made it to 300 total yards. Vega was able to stifle the Kiowas to only 178 yards and 10 first downs. Offensively, Joaquin Segovia did enough on the ground to get the Longhorns the victory. The speedy dual threat QB chewed up 140 yards on 19 totes for two touchdown runs of 20 and 10 yards.

District 2-2A Division II 

Wellington, Shamrock, Clarendon all get W’s

Wellington, Clarendon and Shamrock all took care of business once again in Week 9 as expected.

The No. 3-ranked Skyrockets clinched a playoff spot moving to 3-0 in district and 7-1 overall with another shutout this time of Wheeler, 64-0. The Wellington defense is in the midst of an unbelievable scoreless streak. The Skyrockets haven’t given up a point through three district games or their past 14 quarters since the first half of the Panhandle game in Week 6. The Skyrocket defense was so sound against Wheeler that the Mustangs offense mustered a total of 38 yards and three first downs. Gumaro Rincon did his part on the offensive side rushing for 102 yards for Wellington on seven carries with a touchdown.

Clarendon blistered Memphis 47-14 to also clinch a playoff spot moving to 3-0 in district and 6-2 overall. Texas Tech commit Jmaury Davis was on another level for the Cylcones piling up 201 yards on the ground on 18 carries with a pair of TDs. Harrison Howard did his job through the air going 11-of-15 for 139 yards with four touchdown tosses.

Shamrock took care of business thanks to a 49-6 rout of Quanah. The Irish (6-2) are a game back of both Wellington and Clarendon at 2-1 in district. Caden Peevey was unstoppable for Shamrock torching Quanah for 253 yards rushing on 11 carries with four touchdowns.

District 3-2A Division I 

Bovina beats Hale Center

Bovina has now won back-to-back District 3-2A Division II games after getting a 32-14 home win over Hale Center.

The Mustangs are in good position for a postseason berth at 2-1 in district and now 3-5 overall. Darian De La Rosa had a monster game for Bovina in the backfield. De La Rosa put the Mustangs on his back carrying the rock 31 times for 276 yards with two rushing touchdowns and returned a fumble 43-yards for another score. Quarterback Daniel Herrera added a solid outing going 11-of-19 for 105 yards and ran for a score.