Canadian downs Seminole
The Canadian Wildcats opened the 2022 season in a strong way dismantling Seminole, Okla., 49-14 at Wildcats Stadium on Friday night.
The No. 3-ranked Wildcats wasted no time getting things going against the Comanches using their high-tempo offense to build a 28-6 lead by halftime.
Canadian found balance on the ground and through the air totaling 465 yards of offense in the victory. Quarterback Camren Cavalier, who is beginning his second year as the signal caller, had a superb night going 23-of-31 for 265 yards with a touchdown toss and a rushing score. Cavalier found an immediate favorite target in Preston Miller. Miller was a mismatch for the Seminole secondary snagging nine balls for 128 yards with a score. In the run game, Isay Ramirez led the way chewing up 82 yards on 16 carries while finding the endzone on three separate occasions.
Canadian opens the year 1-0 overall while Seminole falls to 0-1.
River Road holds off Lubbock Roosevelt
In one of the better games of Week 1, River Road not only gained a little redemption from a year ago but also made some noise across the state knocking off Lubbock Roosevelt 15-12.
The win was significant for River Road after Roosevelt went 14-1 overall last year making a run to the Class 3A Division II semifinals.
River Road trailed the entire way and into the final two minutes of the game before finally punching in a go-ahead touchdown that would be the eventual game-winner with 1:28 to play. Trailing 12-9, Wildcat running back Jaelun Nelson found the endzone from 5-yards out that lifted the Wildcats to the dramatic 15-12 victory. The game-winning score was part of a big night for Nelson who tallied 131 yards on 19 carries scoring both of River Road’s TDs.
River Road is now 1-0 on the year. Roosevelt falls to 0-1 after not losing a regular season game in 2021.
Childress edges Abernathy
In a matchup a lot of fans had their eyes on thanks to what both teams did last season Childress and Abernathy lived up to the billing with the Bobcats walking out of Abernathy with a thrilling 16-14 win in the season opener Friday night.
In a defensive battle, the Bobcats were able to keep their distance from the Antelopes thanks to a big third quarter highlighted by a Da’reon Mathis 42-yard touchdown run. Mathis finished his night 99 yards rushing and that key touchdown. Senior wide out Lamont Nickleberry had 56 yards receiving with a score and added an interception on defense. Quarterback Seth Taylor did the job in his first career start throwing for 116 yards.
Childress is out to a 1-0 start to the season. Abernathy falls to 0-1.
Perryton pummels Dalhart
It was the start head coach Kurt Haberthur wanted to see from his Perryton Rangers. Perryton was effective on both sides of the football, and it showed during a 48-20 dominating win at Dalhart on Friday night.
Perryton’s defense was flying all over the football forcing four interceptions, as well as Dalton L’Esperance making nine tackles. Offensively, the ground game was executed to near perfection. Running back Isaias Dominguez, not only had one of the interceptions on defense for the Rangers, but also stacked up 201 yards rushing on 17 carries with three scores and added a receiving TD. Stetson Garcia was a nice compliment going for 103 yards rushing with a touchdown. Through the air Julian Cervantes did his job throwing for 120 yards with two scores on 13-of-20 passing.
Perryton is now 1-0 on the season. Dalhart is 0-1.
CLASS 2A
Stratford rolls over Spearman
The defending Class 2A Division II state champion Stratford Elks picked up where they left off last season by wearing down Spearman for a 42-13 win at E.L. Sam Bass Stadium on Friday night.
Though they’ve moved up to Class 2A Division I, the Elks left no doubt after this Week 1 opener they’ll be a top contender in their new division with a solid win over a good Class 3A Division II squad in the Lynx (0-1).
This was definitely a tale of two halves. Spearman actually led 13-7 at the break but Stratford took over in the second half with a dominating performance by outscoring the Lynx 35-6.
The Elks (1-0) did what they do best behind their physical line and skilled backfield grinding out 374 of its 462 yards of offense in the run game. Running back Zane Burr carried the load for Stratford rushing for a game-high 155 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Bryce Braden, who is taking over for last season’s state MVP Cody Rinne, had 15 carries for 100 yards with a score, and was 5-of-8 passing for 88 yards with another TD. Wide Receiver Mauricio Duran had 27 yards receiving and a touchdown run to open the game.
The Stratford defense was equally impressive holding Spearman to 147 total yards. Receiver Cade Seaman led the Lynx with six catches for 63 yards and a TD.
Gruver gets past Sanford-Fritch
The Gruver Greyhounds found the win column on the opening night of the 2022 season with a hard fought 24-7 over Sanford-Fritch at Greyhounds Stadium on Friday night.
The Greyhounds used a strong second half to pull away from the Eagles to get the victory. With Gruver leading 14-6 at the break, the Greyhounds held Fritch scoreless in the second half while getting 10 big insurance points to seal it highlighted by a Pratt McLain 61-yard touchdown scamper. McLain led Gruver’s strong ground attack rushing the ball 11 times for 105 yards with a touchdown. McLain also made four catches for 101 yards. Greyhound quarterback Mason Gibson was an efficient 12-of-16 for 205 yards with two TD tosses.
Gruver is 1-0 overall on the year. Sanford-Fritch falls to 0-1.
Farwell stuns New Deal
Farwell put together a second half rally to leave New Deal stunned as the Steers walked away with a 27-21 road victory on Friday night.
Trailing 21-14 at half, the Steers tied the game in the third quarter on a 32-yard touchdown toss from Alec Actkinson to Corey Stancell tying the contest up, 21-21. Farwell then took its first lead since the second quarter that held up when Actkinson hit Joe Crume on a 56-yard pitch and catch with 3:15 left in the third that gave Farwell the 27-21 advantage. The Steers defense then stood tall in the fourth quarter to help get the win.
Actkinson was amazing all night for Farwell going 7-of-11 for 236 yards and four touchdown passes. Stancell added 74 yards rushing and snagged three catches for 138 yards with three TDs.
Farwell is now 1-0 to start the season. New Deal drops to 0-1.
Wellington scores late for the win
Wellington is already showing the flare for the dramatics coming away with an 8-6 win at Frederick, Okla., to open the year on Friday.
Frederick scored in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead and had held the Skyrockets without any firepower for three quarters. Things finally changed in the fourth for Wellington when running back Barrett Phillips broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown run to tie the game, 6-6. The Skyrockets then rolled the dice for the win when Nixon Folk scored on a run play on the 2-point conversion giving Wellington the victory. Phillips was a workhorse for head coach Greg Proffitt’s team carrying the ball 13 times for 86 yards with the lone score. This was a defensive struggle throughout with Wellington tallying 138 yards of offense while holding Frederick to 108 total yards.
The Skyrockets begin the year at 1-0. Frederick is now 0-1.
Lujan leads Sunray over Hooker, Okla.
There was no sophomore slump for Sunray quarterback Armando Lujan as he helped lead the Bobcats to a 32-29 win at home against Hooker, Okla., on Friday night.
This contest almost got away from Sunray. The Bobcats led 32-14 midway through the third quarter only to see the Bulldogs chop the advantage to 32-29 with 5:08 left in the fourth, however, the Bobcats were able to survive.
Lujan was masterful coming off a fantastic freshman season. The young gunslinger torched Hooker going 22-of-30 for 248 yards with four passing touchdowns. Lujan also did it with his feet scampering for 92 yards on only four carries with another score. Benefiting the most from Lujan was receiver Damien Barrogan. Barrogan hauled in six passes from Lujan for 100 yards with a TD.
Sunray is off to a 1-0 start on the year. Hooker drops to 0-1.
West Texas High finds win column
After a winless 2021 campaign going 0-10, West Texas High found the win column on the opening week of 2022 thanks to a huge 22-6 win over Hale Center at home on Friday.
The Comanches (1-0) struggled all of last season to score points but were able to find ways against the Owls to snap a long losing skid. Wesley Cooper helped out the best he could as the senior running back chewed up 47 yards on 12 carries with a score, and freshman Sean Ramos made a big splash thanks to a 70-yard second quarter kickoff return.
Hale Center falls to 0-1.
Boys Ranch is on the board
For the first time in over eight years the Boys Ranch Roughriders are over .500. Boys Ranch went made a long trip on to the South Plains worth beating Ropes 22-12 on Friday night.
After a 49-game losing streak that was broken last season with a pair of wins, the Roughriders are carrying that momentum into 2022 with a season-opening victory. Quarterback Isaiah Brown went 5-of-7 for 102 yards passing and also ran for 106 yards for a combined two touchdowns. Rowdy Barnes dominated on both sides of the ball rushing for 156 yards with a score and made nine tackles on defense.
Boys Ranch is 1-0 for the first time in a long time. Ropes is now 0-1.
Vega works over Bovina
Vega is off to a fast start to the season taking down Bovina 54-14 at home on Friday night.
The Longhorns improve to 1-0 overall as the Mustangs fall to 0-1.
Do-it-all standout Joaquin Segovia simply couldn’t be stopped as he knifed through the Bovina defense totaling 195 yards rushing on only 16 carries finding the endzone on four separate occasions. Quarterback Casen Brorman was effective throwing for 71 yards with a pair of scores.
Sundown sinks Shamrock
Sundown and Shamrock had quite the battle to kick off the season at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon on Thursday evening.
The Irish gave the Roughnecks everything they wanted but, in the end, a bigger Sundown team wore down Shamrock for a 19-6 victory.
Shamrock led 6-0 going into halftime, but the tides turned in the third quarter when Roughneck running back Alex Bocenegra broke loose for a 56-yard score that put Sundown up 7-6 and the Roughnecks never looked back. Sundown tacked on two more scores down the stretch to pull away.
Shamrock did hurt itself going 1-for-4 in the redzone. Quarterback Kit Macina ran for 60 yards with a touchdown and threw for 160yards despite the loss. Caden Peevey racked up 13 tackles.
Shamrock is 0-1 on the season. Sundown improves to 1-0.