Canadian wide receiver Twister Kelton (3) breaks loose for a second quarter touchdown against West Texas High on Friday night at Wildcats Stadium. [Alan Hale/ For Press Pass Sports]
The No. 2-ranked Canadian Wildcats came out in midseason form thanks to an explosive offensive performance during a 77-26 beating of West Texas High on Friday night at Wildcats Stadium.
Canadian pushes its regular season win streak to 16 straight games dating back to 2018.
The Wildcats scored on every first half possession of the first half, getting an outstanding performance from their multiple weapons.
It was a stellar debut for Canadian gunslinger Joshua Culwell. The 6-foot-3, 190 pound senior QB made the most out of his long awaited first start after being hurt most of last season.
Culwell was on the money from the get go, leading Canadian to a 56-point first half. He finished his impressive night with 291 passing yards on 15-of-22 passing with six touchdowns.
Receiver Twister Kelton made five of those catches for 105 yards and a pair of scores. On the ground talented hard-nosed running back Hayze Hufstedler did his damage piling up 158 yards on only nine carries for three touchdowns.
Comanches quarterback Avian Cruz totaled 386 yards and four touchdowns.
Canadian (1-0) travels to Iowa Park (1-0) for a showcase nondistrict game at 7 p.m. Friday.
WT High (0-1) visits Stratford (0-1).
Canadian 77, WT High 26WT High 26 — 26
Canadian 28 28 14 7 — 77
Childress out guns Panhandle
In arguably the most crazy season opener Childress and Panhandle combined for 113 points on Charlie Johnston Field at Bobcats Stadium in Childress.
When the finally dust settled Friday night, it was the Bobcats out gunning the Panthers in a wild 68-45 shootout.
The two teams combined for 1,275 yards of offense, 857 of those coming in the passing game, and punched in a total of 17 touchdowns.
Childress was able to break the game open in the late stages of the first quarter. After Panhandle tied it up, 14-14, the Bobcats offense took over outscoring the Panthers 28-7 in the last 13 minutes of the half, taking a commanding 42-21 lead into the break.
The Bobcats duo of quarterback Collin Bishop and receiver Devron Sims became a deadly combination.
Bishop had a career night throwing for 500 yards on 22-of-36 passing with six touchdowns. Sims snagged 13 of those passes for 265 receiving yards and three TDs.
Panhandle sophomore Landyn Hack made his first start at quarterback in replacement of injured starter Wes Jones. Hack was 15-of-26 for 357 yards, tossing four touchdowns. He also ran for 109 yards. Receiver Zion Mercer made seven catches for an impressive 219 yards with a pair of TDs.
Childress (1-0) travels north to face old rival Perryton at 7 p.m. Friday. Panhandle (0-1) will try and rebound at Gruver (0-1).
Childress 68, Panhandle 45
Panhandle 14 7 12 12 — 45
Childress 20 22 19 7 — 68
Spearman Division I prospect Brenen Thompson makes a great catch against Stratford on Friday night at Lynx Stadium. [Ernie Bown/ For Press Pass Sports]
Spearman stuns Stratford
The Spearman Lynx opened eyes across the Texas Panhandle and took out a measure of revenge in the process with a 42-6 route of Stratford on Friday night at Lynx Stadium.
The Elks embarrassed Spearman a year ago, 56-0, however, it was the Lynx with the upper hand this time around.
All eyes were on Spearman’s Division I prospect Brenen Thompson, who was a difference maker, but it was quarterback Jack Wilkerson stealing headlines in the season opener. Wilkerson was deadly with his arm and his feet leaving the Stratford defense scratching its head totaling 392 yards of offense. The Elks couldn’t the speedy Wilkerson on the ground, as he sliced through Stratford for 241 yards on 19 totes, and added 151 in the air combining for five touchdowns.
Thompson added two catches for 73 yards.
Spearman’s defense limited Stratford to 129 yards as the Elks never found a rhythm.
Spearman (1-0) visits Sunray (1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Elks (0-1) try to avoid an 0-2 start when they host West Texas High (0-1).
Spearman 42, Stratford 6
Stratford 6 — 6
Spearman 8 21 7 6 — 42
Friona doubles up Brownfield
Friona picked up where they left off last season gaining a 26-13 win at Brownfield on Friday.
The Chieftains (1-0) started off slow but revved it up with a 19-point third quarter.
Friona quarterback Bryan Chavira threw for 59 yards with a TD, and ran for a score of 65 yard touchdown. Junior running back Jacob Bautista added 105 yards with a score.
Defensively, Friona Alberth Arguelles made 15 tackles.
Friona 26, Brownfield 13
Friona 7 19 — 26
Brownfield— 6 7 — 13
Tulia fends off Floydada
Head coach Steven Coursey made it a successful debut as the Hornets new head football coach as Tulia held off Floydada 28-26 at Younger Field in Tulia on Friday.
Tulia rolled to a quick 22-7 halftime lead, however, the Whirlwinds chipped away in the second half. In fact, Floydada punched a touchdown in with three minutes to play im the game cutting Tulia’s lead at 28-26. But the Hornets defense stepped up and stopped Floydada’s 2-point conversion, recovered the onside kick, and were able to run the clock out.
Hornets receiver Brayden Franco made three catches for 78 yards with a TD. Teammate Zachary Hernandez added 85 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Tulia 28, Floydada 26
Floydada 7   0  13  6  — 26
Tulia     15  7   6   0 — 28
Class 2A
Clarendon pulls away from Seymour
After a shaky first quarter and maybe the effects of 110 degree heat, Clarendon was able to get away from Seymour for a season-opening 45-14 victory in a muggy Seymour on Friday.
Holding a tight 18-14 halftime lead, the Broncos wore down the Panthers in the second scoring 27 unanswered points thanks to a punishing stable of backs.
Clarendon chewed up 225 yards on the ground led by Sylvester Ballard’s 96 yards on 10 carries and two TDs. Antwan Bassett added 9 carries for 55 yards.
Clarendon (1-0) heads home for a matchup with Ralls at 7 p.m. Friday.
Clarendon 45, Seymour 14
Clarendon 6 12 13 14 — 45
Seymour 14 — 14
Shamrock takes down Crosbyton
The Shamrock Irish are off to a great start to 2020 after doubling up Crosbyton on the road 28-14 on Friday night.
Shamrock moves to 1-0 on the year, while Chieftains fall to 0-1.
Irish QB Shea Jernigan had a terrific performance playing in his eye-opening 34th varsity game. The senior scooted for 87 yards on the ground, and went 5-of-6 passing for 168 yards with three TD tosses. Jernigan’s go-to receiver Sean Wright caught three passes 98 scores.
Shamrock 28, Crosybton 14
Shamrock 8 16 6 — 28
Crosybton 6 8 — 14
Vega halts Hornets in season opener
Vega’s ground and pound game from 2019 has transitioned well into 2020 as Riley Tiemann and a stable of backs were too much for Highland Park during a 32-0 shutout at Longhorns Stadium on Friday.
Ryan Grawunder is the new signal caller for Vega, filling in the massive hole Carson Kirkland left in the offense after graduation. That void seems a bit smaller after the first victory of the season as Grawunder found the endzone three times with two coming on the ground and one by air.
Riley Tiemann led a Vega ground game that tallied 300 yards ending his night by chewing with 118 of those yards on 11 carries for two scores.
Vega (1-0) will look to continue their success next week against Boys Ranch in the Battle of Oldham County.
On the other end of the ball, Highland Park (0-1) will look to bounce back against Hale Center on Friday night.
Vega 32, Highland Park 0
Vega 13 6 13 — 32
H. Park —
Sunray snaps two-year season opening skid
For the first time since 2017 the Sunray Bobcats were able to snag a win to open a season.
Sunray was able to pull away from Sanford-Fritch for a convincing in their season opener at home against the Sanford-Fritch Eagles 42-14 Friday night.
The game was back and forth through the first quarter with the Bobcats holding a 15-14 lead over Sanford-Fritch.
From that point forward Sunray took over scoring 27 unanswered points over the final three quarters.
Tate DeBord was outstanding for the Bobcats as the QB accounted for 323 of the teams 348 total yards.
The senior did his damage both in the air and with his feet going 5-13 passing with 159 yards and touchdown pass, and rushed it 21 times for 164 yards.
Sunray (1-0) will hope to make it two in a row at Hooker, Okla. on Friday. Sanford-Fritch (0-1) will face Spearman (1-0).
Sunray 42, Sanford-Fritch 14
Sanford-Fritch 14 — 14
Sunray 15 7 13 7 — 42
Wheeler blanks Booker
Wheeler jumped out to a 29-point first quarter lead and never looked back for a 64-0 trouncing of the Booker Kiowas on Friday night in Wheeler.
Senior running back Hesston Marshall picked up where he left off last season, piling up 181 yards on carries, finding the endzone times. Marshall also included a 46 yard pick six.
Daniel Rascon spilled Marshall, putting up 115 yards of his own rushing the ball on only six carries with a TD.
Wheeler (1-0) will come face River Road (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Booker —
Wheeler 29 15 20 — 64
Bovina shakes off slow start
The Bovina Mustangs started the season on the right foot with a 36-13 win at Boys Ranch Friday night.
It was a slow start for both teams as Boys Ranch got the scoring started with 10:39 left in the second quarter. From there, the Mustangs took over, going on a 36-6 run in the final 34 minutes of the game.
Bovina’s offense was fueled by dual-threat quarterback Cole Emery who led the team in both passing and rushing yards. Emery stockpiled 171 yards through the air to pair with 59 on the ground on 21 rushes.
Caleb Thompson was the bright spot for the Roughriders in Friday’s loss as the running back was able to find the end zone for both of Boy’s Ranch’s scores.
Bovina (1-0) will look to carry this momentum going into Farwell next week for a big Week 2 matchup. Boys Ranch (0-1) looks to bounce back as they play host to the Vega (1-0) in the Battle of Oldham County.
Bovina 36, Boys Ranch 13
Bovina 0 13 7 16 — 36
Boys Ranch 0 7 6 0 — 13
Farwell wins defensive showdown
Scoring was hard to come by Friday night in Ralls where Farwell squeaked our a hard-fought 7-0 victory over the Jackrabbits.
The lone score of the game came from the first quarter on a 19-yard pass and catch from Steers quarterback Leefe Actkinson to Kolter Henderson.
Both team struggled with consistency in their offenses as the teams combined for four turnovers in the affair. Both went an identical 1-for-5 on fourth down and combined were 8-for-23 on third down. Whether it be rusty offenses or good defenses, the Steers were able to squeak it out for their first victory of the season.
Farewell (1-0) goes into Week 2 to face a Bovina team that put up 36 in their win. Farwell (0-1) is going to carry over some of their defense in this one to compete.
Farwell 7, Ralls 0
Farwell 7 — 7
Ralls —
Youthful Gruver struggles
It was a long night for the Gruver Greyhounds who are going to have to find a new identity after graduating a big senior class, as well as getting a new head coach in Lee Brandon last spring to replace longtime coach Terry Felderhoff.
Gruver’s youth showed in the 2020 season opener as Texhoma, Okla., tramped the Greyhounds 40-6 at Red Devils Stadium on Friday night.
Gruver simply had no answer for former Stratford fullback and Texhoma senior Britt McQuitty. McQuitty, who transferred from Stratford last spring, McQuitty with 83 yards and a score as well as six tackles on the defensive side of the ball. Texhoma was efficient both on the ground and through the air as their signal caller Trenton Mitchell went a clean 5-of-10 with 149 yards and three touchdown tosses.
The Greyhounds (0-1) will host Panhandle (0-1) on Friday.
Texhoma 40, Gruver 6
Gruver 6 —
Texhoma 14 19 7 — 40