Childress running back Dareon Mathis is tackled by Stanton’s Ryan Andler during a Class 3A Division II bi-district game at Tyer Stadium in Floydada on Thursday night. [Nicole Dill/ For Press Pass Sports]
Stanton Stuns Childress
In one of the more shocking moments of the state in recent memory, No. 3 Childress was left absolutely stunned Thursday night at Tyer Stadium in Floydada.
After completing an undefeated regular season for the first time in 31 years, the Bobcats were unable to complete a comeback to No. 4-seed Stanton as the Buffaloes pulled of a 39-34 monumental upset in a Class 3A Division II bi-district game.
Childress, who was penciled in by many as the Region I favorite, ends the season at 9-1 overall. The Buffaloes (5-6) advance to the area round to battle Friday’s Brady-Anthony winner.
Childress had rallied back from a 19-0 first half deficit to its first lead of the game, 28-25, with 9:39 left in the fourth quarter.
Un phased, the Buffaloes marched down the field in five plus minutes scoring on a Christian Moreno 32-yard run putting Stanton back on top 32-28 with 4:14 left.
The Bobcats had one final chance. Facing a 4th and 9, at the Stanton 35-yard line with 1:30 to play, quarterback Collin Bishop went back to pass, but was stripped by Moreno who went 58 yards for the icing on the cake that put the contest out of reach 39-28.
Childress did get a quick score on a 34-yard pitch and catch from Bishop to Lamont Nickelberry with a minute to play, however, Stanton recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve one of the biggest upsets in the state.
The steady Buffaloes run attack put up 267 yards on the night led by Miguel Moreno’s 14 carries for 66 yards with three TDs. Teammate Andler added 76 yards on 17 carries, while Orona had the go-ahead touchdown and clutch defensive score late.
Bishop led the Bobcats going 16-of-25 for 232 yards with a pair of touchdown tosses, and ran for 67 yards adding three more TDs. Receiver Lamont Nickelberry snagged seven catches for 128 yards for two scores.
Stanton 39, Childress 34
Childress 0 14 7 13 — 34
Stanton 7 12 6 14 — 39
Class 5A
Randall routs Wyatt on road
The Randall Raiders completely wiped out a three-game skid to end the regular season In their Class 5A Division II bidistrict meeting with Fort Worth Wyatt on the road Thursday night.
Randall opened the game with 49 unanswered points and never let Wyatt have a chance in rolling to a 63-21 victory. The Raiders (6-5) showed they had recovered from a three-game losing streak in District 3-5A Division II to end the regular season.
Quarterback Braxton Burd was the catalyst for Randall’s offense in taking a 35-0 halftime lead. Burd got things going by scoring on a 46-yard run in the first quarter. He also threw a pair of touchdown passes to Nathan Baker.
Burd finished his night by scoring on runs of 18 and 49 yards in the third quarter before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Baker had an equally big night for the Raiders. He also ran for a touchdown and caught a third touchdown pass from backup quarterback Nathan White in the fourth quarter to conclude Randall’s scoring.
Wyatt (7-4) didn’t get on the board until the third quarter, well after the issue had been decided.
Randall moves on to next week’s area round, where the Raiders will face either Canutillo or El Paso Jefferson.
Randall 63, Fort Worth Wyatt 21
Randall 14 21 21 7 — 63
Wyatt 0 0 14 7 — 21
Class 3A
River Road downs Denver City
River Road picked up its first playoff win since the 2015 season handing holding off Denver City 14-6 in a Class 3A Division I bi-district contest at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldogs Stadium on Thursday night.
The Wildcats improve to 7-4 overall and will now challenge No. 2-ranked Brock (11-0) at a time and place to be determined.
River Road scored all 14 points in the second quarter, using its strong run game, and picked up a huge defensive play.
With the game scoreless early in the second, Elliot Brown came up clutch with a 30-yard pick six putting the Wildcats up 7-0. Toward the end of the half, it was Pryce Seymour finding his way into the endzone from 5-yards out as River Road took a 14-0 lead into half.
Denver City scored in the fourth quarter cutting the lead, 14-6, but the Wildcats defense never relinquished the lead.
River Road piled up 319 of its 341 yards on the ground led by Brown’s 145 yards on 25 carries. Seymour chipped in with 67 yards and the lone offensive TD for the Wildcats.
In another game concerning two teams from the crossover districts. Shallowater had no issues with Dalhart in a 56-18 bi-district victory.
River Road 14, Denver City 6
River Road 0 14 0 0 — 14
Denver City 0 0 0 6 — 6
Stratford quarterback Cody Rinne turns up field for big yards during the a Class 2A Division II bi-district game againdt Wheeler on Thursday night at Happy State Bank Stadium. [Trevor Fleeman/ Press Pass Sports]
Class 2A
Stratford tames Mustangs
It was smooth sailing for the No. 5 Stratford Elks as they cruised to a 72-14 victory over Wheeler in a Class 2A bi-district matchup at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon on Thursday night.
The Elks (10-1) move on to the area round to face Friday’s Bovina-Seagraves winner.
Wheeler ends its season at 4-7.
This contest was never close. Stratford opened the game up 21-0 by the end of the first quarter, extending the advantage, 56-0 by halftime.
Quarterback Cody Rinne did damage through the air and with his legs completing 8-of-10 passes for 151 yards with a score, while rushing for 122 yards on eight carries with three touchdowns. Zane Burr was a nice compliment to Rinne chewing up a game-high 131 yards on only five touches with a TD.
The Elks finished the game 609 total yards, 451 of those on the ground. The Stratford defense held Wheeler to 263 yards of offense with most of those coming in the second half.
Stratford 72, Wheeler 14
Wheeler 0 0 14 0 — 14
Stratford 21 35 14 9 — 72
Clarendon clobbers Sunray
Clarendon opened the Class 2A Division II playoffs in style scoring early and often on the to a 43-6 thumping of Sunray in a bi-district clash Thursday night at Falcons Stadium in Bushland.
The Bobcats defense couldn’t contain the speed of Clarendon running backs Jordan Herndon or Jmaury Davis.
Herndon established himself on the opening drive with a 3-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game that set the tone for an early 8-0 lead.
Herndon was far from done. The junior was far from done, as he found the endzone two more times piling up 137 yards on only 13 carries with five total touchdowns. Davis, the Division I prospect, galloped through the Sunray defense stacking up 141 yards on 12 carries for a TD. In total, Clarendon took it right to Sunray chewing up 377 rushing yards by games end.
The Broncos (10-1) are moving on to the area round where they’ll play Wink (8-3) at a time and place to be determined.
Clarendon 43, Sunray 6
Sunray 0 0 0 6 — 6
Clarendon 24 12 7 0 — 43
Class 1A
Happy takes down state-ranked Wolverines
In a game that wasn’t decided till the final horn sounded, the Happy Cowboys averted disaster taking out the No. 9 Springlake-Earth Wolverines 48-44 in a Class 1A bi-district matchup Thursday night in Anton.
Happy (8-3) moves on to the regional semifinals snd will play Friday’s Knox City-Borden County winner.
The Wolverines (8-2) rallied from a 34-22 deficit to pull within four, 42-38, headed to the final quarter. Both teams played solid defense in the fourth before disaster struck for Happy. With 1:44 remaining in the game, the Cowboys had a snap go over the head of quarterback Camden Sperry and roll into the end zone. Keshan Holmes for recovered the fumble giving Earth their first lead of the game, 44-42 with 1:37 left. On the ensuing kickoff, Happy’s Gus Fields returned the kick to the Wolverine 29-yard line The Cowboys quickly got into scoring range on a 21-yard scamper for T.S. Bow putting Happy at the 1-yard line with 50 seconds to play.
Happy was unable to convert on its first two attempts, and had milked the clock down to eight seconds left. On 3rd and goal, Sperry sprinted to the right finding Johnson with a sidearm 2-yard scoring strike to put the Cowboys back in front 48-44 with only seven seconds left. After the kickoff, the Wolverines had one final play to score, but pressure from Quay Hodges forced Evan DeLeon into an incompletion to secured the thrilling victory.
Sperry finished the night 6-of-16 for 99 yards but five of those six completions went for scores, three of them to Johnson.
Bow added 112 rushing yards and a 36-yard scoring reception. For the Wolverines, DeLeon was effective going 14-of-20 for 211 yards and three scores.Happy 48, Springlake-Earth 44
Earth 6 16 16 16 — 44
Happy 6 22 14 6 — 48