Canadian running back Hayze Hufstedler (21) breaks free for a 76-yard touchdown run against Bushland during a nondistrict game Friday night at Falcons Stadium. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
The Canadian Wildcats put up 28 unanswered points midway through the second quarter, and into the third on their way to a convincing 46-19 route of Bushland on Friday night at Falcons Stadium.
Canadian opened up strong up 12-0 lead after back-to-back first quarter touchdown passes from Joshua Culwell to Hayze Hufstedler for 38-yards, and Reagan Cochran on a 46-yard pitch and catch.
Bushland hung in finding some momentum off Wildcat miscues. Bushland cut the deficit, 12-6, when QB Coleman Junell hit Brody Sutterfield on a 32-yard strike. In the second quarter, off a Culwell interception, the Falcons once again made it a one-score game at 18-12 on an Ethan Fuentes 2-yard run with 5:02 remaining in the second quarter.
But from that point forward Canadian proved why they are No. 1 in Class 3A Division II. Culwell led two quick scoring drives that resulted in two touchdown passes to Jake Krehbiel of 14 and 21 yards, giving Canadian a comfortable 32-12 lead into half.
Canadian sealed the victory on the opening play of the second half thanks to Hufstedler who broke a couple of tackles and sprinted into the open field for a 76-yard TD, extending the advantage 39-12.
Hufstedler wore down Bushland’s defense rushing for 164 yards on 10 carries with one rushing and one receiving score.
Despite two picks, Culwell lit up the Falcons secondary going 19-of-31 for 302 yards and eye-opening five touchdowns.
Bushland’s Junell finished 18-of-42 for 144 yards.
Canadian 46, Bushland 19
Canadian 12 20 14 — 46
Bushland 6 6 7 — 19
Childress routes Stamford
The Childress Bobcats have started the season on fire and showed no sign of slowing down with a 56-14 blowout of Stamford at Bobcats Stadium on Charlie Johnston Field on Friday.
Through three games this season, the Bobcats offense has been flat out explosive averaging 52 points a contest.
The Bobcats piled up 479 yards of offense on the Bulldogs with a steady balance. Head coach Jason Sims team ran for 278 yards and threw for 201.
Quarterback Collin Bishop did it both with his arm and his feet. Bishop beat the Bulldogs on the ground toting the ball 13 times for 132 yards and three touchdowns. He then threw for 201 yards with two more scores. Wide receiver Lamont Nickelberry hauled in four catches for 101 yards and a TD.
Childress (3-0) will get a real test when Shallowater (3-0) comes to town for nondistrict showdown at 7 p.m. Friday.
Childress 56, Stamford 14
Stamford 8 6 — 14
Childress 16 21 7 14 — 56
Sunray shuts out Dimmitt
Sunray continues to turn heads with another impressive performance.
The Bobcats picked up enough offense and played stellar defense for a 22-0 shutout on the road at 22-0 of Dimmitt on Friday night.
Sunray, which won one game all of last season, is now 3-0 for the first time since the 2011 season.
It was a defensive battle in the first half with a 7-0 lead for Sunray going into halftime, but Tate Debord was able to get things moving in the second half. The senior quarterback would finish the night with 70 yards rushing on 20 carries and a score, as well as go an efficient 7-13 for 174 yards passing and 2 more scores in the air.
Sunray is off to their first 3-0 start since 2011, they will try to keep the streak alive next week as they travel to take on West Texas High (1-2). Dimmitt (0-3) will continue their search for their first win of the year against Lubbock Roosevelt (3-0).
Sunray 22, Dimmitt 0
Sunray 7 0 7 8 — 22
Dimmitt 0 0 0 0 —
Spearman standout Brenen Thompson races in for one of his five touchdowns against Dalhart on Friday night. [Ernie Bowen/ For Press Pass Sports]
Lynx offense lets loose at Dalhart
A big second half included by an ignited performance by Brenen Thompson propelled Spearman to a 48-27 victory at Dalhart on Friday night.
Leading 25-20 at halftime, the Lynx offense took over in the second half outscoring the Golden Wolves 23-7 in the final two quarters of play.
Spearman’s do-it-all athlete, and Four-star Division I recruit, Thompson had his best game on the young season. Thompson’s speed was a flat our mismatch for Dalhart snagging eight passes for 108 yards with two touchdowns. He had 100 yard kickoff return for a TD, made an 27-yard interception return for a score, and found rushed for 45 yards for a fifth touchdown.
Quarterback Jack Wilkerson chipped in with 172 yards on the ground, while throwing for 134 yards with a combined four touchdowns.
Spearman (3-0) will host Vega (2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. Dalhart (1-2) looks to rebound at Friona (3-0) on Friday.
Spearman 48, Dalhart 27
Spearman 6 19 8 15 — 48
Dalhart 13 7 7 — 27
Chieftains get past rival Mules
In a battle of two rivals separated by less than 30 miles, Friona held off a much improved Muleshoe squad leaving Douglass Stadium, David Wood Field with a 27-20 victory.
Friona looked to be in control opening up a 13-0 first quarter lead on a 2-yard TD run by Mario Bautista, followed by a 67-yard scamper by Malachi Torres. However, the Mules didn’t go away, scoring 12 second quarter points cutting the deficit to 20-12 at half.
Muleshoe had one final rally in them when quarterback Zach Halsey hit Irvin Torres on a 78-yard pitch and catch to put the Mules within seven, 27-20, but Friona was able to hold off with steady defense in the end.
Torres tallied a game-high 209 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. Batista added 125 yards rushing and a score.
Halsey led Muleshoe throwing for 266 yards and two TD tosses.
Friona (3-0) hopes to stay unbeaten against Dalhart (1-2) at 7 p.m. in Friona on Friday. Muleshoe (1-2) squares off against Tulia (3-0).
Friona 27, Muleshoe 20
Friona 13 7 7 — 27
Muleshoe 12 8 — 20
Wellington fullback Marc Ramirez (5) dives in for a score against River Road on Friday night. [Trevor Fleeman/ Press Pass Sports]
Wellington survives Wildcats late rally
The Wellington Skyrockets were able to control hold off a late surge from River Road for a 26-20 win Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.
Wellington got off to a hot start thanks in part to a 20-0 second quarter dominated by the Skyrocket rushing game.
Wellington ended the night with a whopping 279 total yards on the ground with Mark Ramirez carrying the load with 186 yards on 12 carries. But the Wellington offense stalled in the second half as the Wildcats made a comeback. River Road quarterback Lance Welps led his team to to 14 unanswered points closing the gap, 26-20, but unfortunately for the Wildcats they couldn’t scratch any closer. The senior leader Welps his team with 23 carries for 106 yards and three scores.
Wellington (2-0) hits the road again next week to take on Gruver (0-3). River Road (1-2) will make the trip to Lamesa to try and get back to .500 on the season.
Wellington 26, River Road 20
Wellington 6 20 — 26
RiverRoad 6 6 8 — 20
Class 2A
West Texas High quarterback Avian Cruz looks for yards against Gruver on Friday night. [Tucker Stroud/ For Press Pass Sports]
West Texas High fends off Gruver
The West Texas High Comanches took a big lead early and were able survive for a 34-28 against Gruver in Stinnett Friday night.
West Texas was dominant in the first half outscoring the Greyhounds 28-7, thanks in part to the Cruz brothers duo that accounted for every one of the Comanche scores in the game. Older brother, and senior quarterback Avian led the team in with 243 passing yards and 4 touchdown passes, tacking on 90 rushing yards with a score. Little brother, Andreus, was on the receiving end of three of those touchdown passes and 4 receptions for 152 yards.
Gruver was able to slow the Cruz brothers enough in the second half to creep back within a score, on the back of a run heavy offense led by Angel Gasbar with 18 rushes for 63 yards and a score. It was too little too late, however, as the ticked out in the midst of the comeback.
West Texas (1-2) is back at home next week with unbeaten Sunray (3-0). Gruver (0-3) is still looking for their first win as they host Wellington (2-0).
WT High 34, Gruver 28
Gruver 6 7 15 — 28
WT High 6 22 6 — 34
Panhandle outguns Vega
Panhandle picked up its second straight victory with a wild 42-33 win against Vega on Friday at Panthers Stadium.
Panhandle lead throughout the game, including a 21-6 lead after three quarters. Then each team poured on the points. Combined, Panhandle and Vega totaled 48 points in the final 12 minutes with the Panthers edging out the Longhorns 27-21. The Panthers explosive offense finished the game by racking up 412 yards.
Making his first start of the season coming off a hand injury, Panhandle quarterback Wes Jones made his presence felt in a big way. Jones ran for 113 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown, and threw for 150 yards with three TD passes. Running back Landyn Hack, who had started the past two games at QB, scampered for a game-high 115 yards with a score.
Vega quarterback Ryan Grawunder completed 12-of-19 passes for 266 yards and three touchdown tosses.
Panhandle (2-1) has an open week next Friday, while Vega (2-1) will travel to Spearman (3-0).
Panhandle 42, Vega 33
Vega 6 27 — 33
Panhandle 14 7 21 — 42
Hornets hold off Eagles
It wasn’t the prettiest of games but in the end the Tulia Hornets will gladly walk away with a hard fought 18-14 win against a gutsy Sanford-Fritch team Friday night at Eagles Stadium.
Tulia improves to 3-0 on the year while Sanford-Fritch is still looking for its first win at 0-3.
The Hornets jumped out to a 12-0 first quarter lead highlighted by a Hayden Montgomery 40-yard fumble return that was caused by Ethan Reyes. That early lead gave Tulia enough to hang on the rest of the way.
The Hornets defense held the Eagles to 141 total yards. Tulia quarterback led the way offensively throwing for 206 yards on 15-of-24 passing. His lone TD pass came to Montgomery who was a mismatch for the Fritch secondary, hauling nine catches for 180 yards.
Eagles quarterback Kobe Cunningham ran for 70 yards with a score.
Tulia 18, Sanford-Fritch 14
Tulia 12 6 — 18
S. Fritch 6 8 — 14
Wheeler wins a bruiser
The Wheeler Mustangs were able to push through against Quanah on Friday night for a hard earned 15-7 victory at Mustangs Stadium.
It was a slow moving first half for the Mustangs as their only points came from a safety late in the second quarter.
Then, Heston Marshall happened. The dynamic running back, behind great play from his offensive line, had been held exploded for two touchdown runs of 78 and 19 yards in the second half which proved to be the difference. The senior ended his stellar night with a total of 247 of his teams 316 yards on the ground.
Wheeler’s defense was also strong holding the Indians to 128 yards.
The Mustangs (2-1) make a road trip to Highland Park (0-3) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Wheeler 15, Quanah 7
Quanah 0 7 0 0 — 7
Wheeler 0 2 7 6 — 15
The Rock continues to roll
Shamrock is 3-0 for the first time since 2013 after putting away Highland Park 36-16 at El Paso Field in Friday night.
The Irish got it done this week with a flurry of offense from their senior quarterback, Shea Jernigan. The signal caller was active in the run game with 17 carries for 113 yards and two scores. When asked to pass he got it done, going 4-of-7 for another 77 yards through the air. Defensively, it was Sean Wright who found the end zone on a scoop and score touchdown for the Irish.
Shamrock (3-0) will look to keep its streak alive next week as they play host to Boys Ranch (0-3). Highland Park (0-3) takes on Wheeler (2-1) at home.
Shamrock 36, Highland Park 16
H. Park 8 8 — 16
Shamrock 22 14 — 36
Clarendon bucks Bovina
A fourth quarter burst was the difference as Clarendon was able to secure a win at Bovina 30-14 Friday night.
Headed into the fourth quarter, Bovina trailed 16-14.
Clarendon found the extra gear in the fourth by wearing down the Mustangs with a punishing ground game that led to 14 unanswered points. The Broncos relied heavily on the running game Friday night, configuring 281 totals yards on the ground in group effort with three backs rushing more than 75 yards on the night. Clarendon was led by Lamarcus Penigar with 14 carries for 92 yards and a score.
Clarendon improves to 3-0 and will host Hale Center (3-0) in a battle of unbeaten teams Friday night.
Bovina (1-2) will look to stop their skid next week when they face New Deal at home. Clarendon 30, Bovina 14
Clarendon 6 10 14 — 30
Bovina 7 7 — 14
Elks beat up Broncs
A jump across two borders to Kansas didn’t effect the Stratford Elks in a lopsided 38-16 pummeling of Lakin, Kan., Friday night.
After dropping its season opener to Spearman, Stratford has now put together back-to-back wins.
Making his first career start at quarterback, Trever Bell didn’t have any issues with the adjustment. The Stratford senior, who’s dad Adam led the Elks to the school’s first state title in 2000, went 13-of-16 for 139 yards with a touchdown. Bell also used his legs toting the ball 16 times for 139 yards with three scores.
Stratford (2-1) returns home to face Bushland (1-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Stratford 38, Lakin, Kan. 16
Stratford 14 6 16 — 38
Lakin, Kan. 8 8 — 16
Farwell thumps Sudan
The Farwell Steers stayed undefeated thanks in part to a 32-7 lopsided on the road against the Sudan Hornets on Friday.
Farwell built a 13-0 first half lead, and was able to extend that advantage to 25-0 by the end of three quarters.
Running back Guerrero Olmos led the Steers with 149 yards on 26 carries punching in two touchdowns.
Farwell 32, Sudan 7
Farwell 6 7 12 7 — 32
Sudan — 7