District 2-5A Division I
Tascosa beats Lubbock-Cooper, clinches No. 1 seed
All the elements which have gotten the Tascosa Rebels to the postseason five straight years were in play Friday night at Lubbock-Cooper.
As a result, the Rebels came back home with a No. 1 playoff seed and district bragging rights.
With the district title on the line on the road, Tascosa responded when it counted against Cooper. The Rebels closed the game with 21 unanswered points and dominated the second half to beat Cooper 28-14 and claim sole possession of the district lead heading into the last game of the regular season.
Tascosa (8-1, 5-0 in district) hosts Lubbock Coronado to close the regular season next Thursday, and with a win, the Rebels will claim the outright district title.
What mattered most against Cooper (7-2, 4-1), though, was getting that top playoff seed. The game contained that type of intensity in the first half, as the teams traded touchdowns and were tied at 141 at the half.
Cooper scored first, and the Rebels answered both touchdowns with scoring runs by quarterback Hudson Farris, who had a career night. Farris scored on runs of 25 and 1 yard and led the Rebels with 111 yards on 21 carries.
In the second half, Treshun Wilson took over on the ground, scoring on runs in the third and fourth quarters and finishing with 92 yards on 19 carries. Tascosa picked up all but six of its total yards on the ground.
The Rebels were also physical on defense as they limited the Pirates to 191 total yards and just over 17 minutes of possession.
District 2-5A Division II
Dons fall late to Abilene Wylie
Against a team which had already clinched a playoff berth, the Palo Duro Dons played like a team with plenty at stake Friday night at Dick Bivins Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Dons, their bid came up short.
In a game in which the offenses took over in the second half, Abilene Wylie just happened to have the ball last against Palo Duro in a District 2-5 Division II game. Wylie’s Kadin Long threw his third scoring pass of the game, a 5-yarder to Ryan Price with 33 seconds left to send the Dons to a 27-24 defeat.
Palo Duro (2-7, 1-3 in district) can still make the playoffs by beating Plainview next week.
Against district leading Wylie (6-3, 4-0), the Dons appeared primed to pull off the upset. Avery Randle threw a 13-yard scoring pass to Charlie Love with 4:09 left in the game to give Palo Duro a 24-21 lead in what was a back-and-forth second half.
But that was more than enough time for Wylie to rally. The Bulldogs moved down the field, aided in part by a pass interference penalty to put the ball on PD’s 10-yard line.
On third-and goal, Long hit Price for the winning points.
Palo Duro got as far as its own 44, but Randle’s Hail Mary pass was intercepted as time expired.
After giving up a touchdown on Wylie’s first possession, Palo Duro stiffened defensively for the rest of the first half. That hard work paid off when the Dons finally got on the board on Kameron Brown’s 4-yard scoring run on fourth-and-goal to tie it 7-7 with 15 seconds left in the half.
Brown had a huge game for the Dons, running for a game-high 164 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, including a 64-yard scoring run late in the third quarter.
Wylie methodically marched down the field after the opening kickoff, with Malachi Daniels running in from 1 yard out for a 7-0 lead.
District 3-4A Division I
Canyon downs Dumas in dramatic fashion
The Canyon Eagles never quit erasing an 8-point deficit to Dumas over the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter to walk away with a thrilling 22-21 victory on Friday night at Happy State Bank Stadium.
The Eagles trailed Dumas 21-19 taking over the ball at their own 25-yard line with 2:56 to play. Sophomore quarterback Boston Bell delivered two big pass plays to Hunter Cunningham and Carson Cockrell getting Canyon into Dumas territory. Running back Chris LaBue did the rest with hard running to the Demons 15-yard line as the Eagles spiked the ball with three seconds remaining. That set the stage for kicker Elijah Smothermon, who had missed a 38-yard attempt in the first half, but without hesitation Smothermon knocked through a 32-yard game-winner completing the comeback for Canyon and giving the Eagles a 22-21 victory.
Canyon had trailed 21-13 at the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter before a Javin Cash touchdown cut the deficit, 21-19. Besides great work from Cash on defense, and the offensive line, LaBue was a key cog in the comeback for Canyon. Running out of the Wildcat formation, LaBue took his first carry for a 39-yards for a score giving the Eagles a 13-8 third quarter lead. LaBue ran downhill the entire second half giving Dumas fits finishing the game with 16 carries rushing for 155 yards with a score. Cash was all over the field defensively making 21 tackles with six for a loss. Dumas quarterback Emmanuel Ibanez was outstanding in defeat rushing for 175 yards with two TDs, threw for 108 yards with another touchdown, and added an interception on defense.
Canyon (8-1 overall) put itself in great position for second place in District 3-4A Division I at 2-1. Dumas (5-4 overall, 1-2 in district) is in a three-way tie for two playoff spots with Pampa (5-4, 1-2) and Hereford (1-8, 1-2).
Hereford shocks Randall
In what might have been the biggest upset of the year in the area, No. 1 playoff seed Randall came tumbling down hard at previously winless Hereford.
The host Whitefaces got off to a hot start on offense and Randall couldn’t keep up, as Hereford won 35-24 for its first win of the season and stayed in the playoff hunt with one game left in the regular season. Hereford (1-8, 1-2) will make the playoffs by beating Dumas next week.
The Raiders (7-3, 3-1) came into the game already knowing they were the district’s No. 1 playoff seed after beating Canyon last week in a rivalry game. They might have been suffering a hangover from that having to face a winless team a week later.
Hereford freshman quarterback Kalub Ramirez threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter as the Herd jumped out to a 21-7 lead. Ramirez had an epic game, completing 20-of-29 passes for 376 yards and five touchdowns. Zevan Gonzales had five catches for 193 yards and the last three touchdowns, including a 27-yarder in the fourth quarter for some insurance.
The loss spoiled a prolific rushing performance by Randall. Riley Davis ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and Dylan Ray had 126 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Turnovers, though, were a big factor, as Randall had three and the Herd had none.
District 2-4A Division II
Perryton beats Borger to set playoff field
The district’s four playoff teams were set after Perryton beat Borger 34-26 clinch a playoff spot and officially eliminate Borger from the picture.
Perryton (3-6, 2-1) could mathematically get anything from the district’s No. 1 to No. 4 seed. Borger (2-7, 0-3) could finish tied for fourth with Levelland, but would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker and will thus stay home for the postseason.
The Rangers used a strong running game to get past Borger. Isaias Dominguez ran for 214 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries and Frank Jimenez ran for 110 yards and two scores on 12 carries.
Borger quarterback Tray Toliver completed 11-of-16 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown. Tyler Brooks had seven catches for 151 yards and a touchdown. Logan Gray made 14 tackles, eight of those solo for the Bulldogs.