McLean’s Ben Crocket leaps a defender against White Deer during a Tigers 66-22 victory earlier this season. [Mackenzie Teal/ Press Pass Sports]
Defending state champion McLean Tigers made quick work of the Spur Bulldogs to capture their seventh straight playoff victory 54-8 in a Class 1A Division I regional semifinal at Valley on Friday
Reigning Class 1A Player of the Year, Ben Crockett, was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball. The senior had 305 all purpose yards and six touchdowns. If that wasn’t enough, Crockett also had the game ending pick six for the Tigers.
Ben Crocket now has over 2,179 yards on the season and has scored 56 rushing touchdowns.
The victory sends McLean (11-1) to the state quarterfinals for a third straight year and extends the Tigers postseason win streak to seven victories.
The White Deer Bucks have continued to personify the underdog role all season long, and they continue to prove that they should be taken seriously.
The Bucks (10-2) went into Littlefield on Friday night as 33-point underdogs to Ira but came away with an impressive 80-50 win.
The Bulldogs led for the entirety of the first half as the Bucks failed to get the ball moving early.
Ira held a 36-20 lead at half time, but the Bucks got it rolling in the final 20 minutes. White Deer took its first lead of the game when they scored to make it 44-42 with 4:34 left to go in the third, and never looked back outscoring Ira 36-8 the rest of the way.
That sets up the fourth meeting between district rivals McLean and White Deer within a calendar year.
The Tigers have won each of the last three matchups with the last coming on a snow torn field where the Tigers handed the Bucks their only loss of the season 66-22. The rivals will meet once again at 6 p.m. Friday night in Borger in a state quarterfinal.