Gruver stuns rival Spearman
The first meeting regular season meeting 27 years between Hansford County rivals Gruver and Spearman will go down in the record books as one of its best.
Gruver’s defense held strong with its back against the wall in the closing seconds to hold on for a thrilling 24-20 victory on Thursday as the Greyhounds left Spearman with county bragging rights.
A back-and-forth contest that kept a packed house on their seats came down to the final play of the fourth quarter. With Gruver leading 24-20, Spearman had taken seven minutes off the clock driving the ball from its own 10-yard line to the Greyhounds 5-yard line with only 8 seconds to play. Facing a 4th and goal, Spearman quarterback Carson Seaman made a throw short of the endzone that fell incomplete, as the Greyhounds and their sideline bursted out in celebration after holding the Lynx and earning the hard-fought victory.
The key moment in this clash came early in the fourth quarter. Spearman had taken a 20-17 lead off an Isaac Servantez 49-yard score. But that lead lasted mere seconds as Gruver’s Saul de Santiago took the ensuing kickoff 75-yards that put the Greyhounds right back on top 24-20. Gruver forced three key Spearman turnovers that also swung momentum on multiple occasions. Pratt McLain led Gruver with 72 yards rushing on 15 carries. Quarterback Mason Gibson went 5-of-8 for 59 yards with a touchdown. Lynx backup quarterback Jack Davis played well in relief of Seamon rushing for 119 yards on 17 carries.
Gruver moves to 4-1 overall on the year. Spearman has now dropped its last three ball games falling to 1-4.
Muleshoe knocks off Abernathy
Muleshoe stayed hot by winning its fourth straight game since a season opening loss by getting a 27-20 home win over Abernathy on Friday night.
The Mules improve to 4-1 overall. Abernathy falls to 3-2.
Muleshoe had a big second quarter on a getting a pair of touchdowns from receiver Eliasar Cisneros. Cisneros caught a 72-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Nathan Martens as Muleshoe trailed 14-13. Cisneros then scored on an 8-yard pass from Irvin Torres on a trick play and the Mules led 20-14 at half.
The Antelopes tied the game in the third 20-20 until Muleshoe running back Daniel Sianez broke loose using his speed to take off for a 61-yard score that gave the Muleshoe a 27-20 advantage.
Sianez was tough for Abernathy to stop rushing for 160 yards on 29 carries with a pair of scores. Cisneros stepped up at receiver making eight catches for 134 yards with two touchdowns, and backup quarterback Martes did an excellent job going 18-of-22 for 206 yards with a passing TD.
River Road blanks Sanford-Fritch
River Road snapped a three-game losing skid earning a 24-0 shutout over Sanford-Fritch on Homecoming.
All the scoring came in the first half with the Wildcats (2-3) scoring 16 points in the first quarter on two touchdowns and converting both 2-point conversions. The Wildcats then punched one more score in with another conversion to push the lead 24-0 in the second quarter.
Running back Jaelun Nelson had two of the scores toting the rock 15 times on the night for a game-high 106 yards. Teammate Seth Underwood was a nice compliment to Nelson putting up 98 yards on 18 carries. The Wildcats defense played lights out holding the Eagles to 108 total yards.
Childress finds win column
Childress said goodbye to a nasty three-game skid by blasting Bowie on the road 49-22 on Friday night.
The Bobcats will enter their bye week with a current 2-3 overall record. The Childress used balance passing for 194 yards and rushing for 181 yards for a total of 375. The defense their job as well holding Bowie to 222 total yards.
Quarterback Scout Smith is healthy, and it showed going 9-of-15 passing for 164 yards with two touchdowns. Smith’s go-to target Lamont Nickleberry was a mismatch in the secondary pulling down three passes for 102 yards with two scores, and Da’reon Mathis was strong on the ground rushing for 117 yards on 13 carries with two TDs.
Class 2A
Clarendon beats Tulia in shootout
After an 0-2 start to the year, the Clarendon Broncos are starting to hit their stride getting a solid 41-28 home win over Tulia at home on Friday.
Jmaury Davis was unstoppable leading the Broncos to their third straight victory. The blazing fast senior galloped for 272 yards with four touchdowns and helped Clarendon keep Tulia at arm’s length in the second half. Lyric Smith also had a big night grinding out 108 yards rushing on 17 carries with a TD. Despite the loss, Tulia’s Damian Cedillo rushed for 152 yards with a pair of scores on 21 carries. Quarterback David Molina threw for 224 yards with two TDs.
Clarendon is now 3-2 overall. Tulia drops to 2-3.
Highland Park snaps long losing skid with dramatic win over Dimmitt
A 693-day drought without a win is over. The Highland Park Hornets made sure of with a thrilling come-from-behind 37-33 win at home against Dimmitt on Friday night.
It’s the first victory for first-year head coach Ty Stout and his staff and the first win for Highland Park since Oct. 20 of 2020.
“It was an emotional and very powerful night,” Stout said. It feels like we’re finally able to achieve what we want to. It was a freeing feeling; we had a huge crowd and I’m proud of this team and this community.”
Dimmitt (0-5) led 33-30 in the final few minutes. The Hornets rallied back driving the ball down the field that resulted in the eventual game-winning touchdown when quarterback Brady Thompson connected to Braylen Norman for a 3-yard score with 40 seconds to play putting Highland Park up 37-33. The Bobcats had one final possession, but the Hornets sealed the victory when linebacker Izaviah Campolla deflected a pass that was intercepted by Binh Nguyen to preserve the dramatic victory.
Thompson had another big game going 26-of-45 for 268 yards with three touchdown tosses. He also ran for 81 yards with another two TDs. Thompson’s main target was receiver Elyes Torres who had an incredible night snagging 12 catches for 118 yards with a score.
Wellington doubles up Panhandle
Wellington’s defense came through in the second half to shutdown Panhandle while the offense scored 14 unanswered points for a 26-13 win in a non-district showdown against the Panthers at Powell Field in Wellington on Friday.
The win propels Wellington to 4-1 overall and hands Panhandle its first loss on the year dropping the Panthers to 4-1.
The Skyrockets defense was stellar throughout holding a very explosive Panhandle offense to 208 total yards and 62 passing. Quarterback Landyn Hack and running back Wyatt Brookshire did half the Panthers two first half touchdowns until Wellington took over in the second half. Barrett Phillips had a 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and with the 2-point conversion the Skyrockets took a 20-13 lead. Wellington picked up some much-needed insurance in the fourth quarter on an 8-yard scoring run by Gumaro Rincon giving the Skyrockets a 26-13 advantage.
Rincon led Wellington’s powerful ground game with 169 yards on 17 carries with a score. Phillips added 46 yards and Nixon Folks had 42 yards rushing on seven carries.
Farwell dominates Friona
Farwell closed out its non-district schedule with an unblemished record thanks to another impressive win on Friday night.
The Steers dismantled Highway 60 rival Friona behind the 1-2 punch of Alec Atkinson and Corey Stancell for a convincing 30-6 victory.
Farwell is one of six Texas Panhandle teams still undefeated through the first five weeks moving to 5-0 overall. Friona falls to 2-2.
Farwell used its powerful ground attack to wear down the Chieftains piling up 457 of the Steers 469 total yards on ground. Quarterback Alec Atkinson didn’t throw it much and didn’t have to because he used his ability to get out of the pocket rushing for an eye-opening 235yards on only 11 carries with two touchdowns. Stancell, the talented sophomore, did his part adding 17 carries for 136 yards and a score. Stancell also made seven tackles on defense with an interception.
Sunray blasts Crosbyton
It’s getting to sound like a broken record, but the Sunray offense is really good.
The Bobcats made a trip to the South Plains and put it on Crosbyton 77-20 on Friday.
The Bobcats (4-1) scored on every first half possession to post a 56-14 halftime advantage. Quarterback Armando Lujan spread the ball around going 13-of-19 for 244 yards with three touchdowns, and also returned an 85-yard interception for a score on defense for a second straight week. Dawson Bennett caught three passes for 97 yards with a score and had a 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. teammate Tanner Van Dyk also snagged three balls for 76 yards with a score. The Bobcat defense was stellar forcing eight Crosbyton turnovers.
Shamrock blanks Bovina
The Shamrock Irish kept on rolling with a 44-0 blanking of Bovina at home on Friday night.
The Irish are quietly having a strong start to 2022 closing the non-district out with four straight wins and a 4-1 record.
Caden Peevy led the way with his feet scooting for 102 yards on 10 carries for two scores. Quarterback Kit Macina added 79 rushing yards with a a pair of TDs, and Rodney Holman had a receiving touchdown and threw for a score. Bovina falls to 1-4.
Memphis beats Boys Ranch
The Memphis Cyclones ended a two-game losing streak getting a big home win over Boys Ranch 22-8 on Friday.
The Cyclones defense was superb holding the Roughriders to 152 yards of offense. The Cyclones (3-2) broke up a tie game with a 14-point third quarter. Austin Valle had a 3-yard run that put Memphis up 16-8 after the 2-point conversion. Later in the quarter, Valle found the endzone again on a 1-yard touchdown. Valle finished the game with 55 yards rushing on 18 totes with two TDs. Quarterback Isaiah Martinez went 8-of-13 for 137 with a touchdown pass to Nick Vitala. Boys Ranch falls to 3-2 overall.