Stratford’s Cody Rinne (left) and Walker McBryde celebrate after a touchdown catch against Wink on Friday at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock. [Keirstyn Kelley/ Press Pass Sports]
Stratford shined bright under the lights of Jones AT&T Stadium on Friday night in on its way to a massive 42-13 win over Wink in a Class 2A Division II state quarterfinal.
The Elks (13-1), winners of 12 straight games, make it back to the state semifinals for the second time in three years, and the 10th time since 1999.
“Making it back to the state semifinals has been one of our expectations this year,” Stratford coach Matt Lovorn said. “It feels good to finally be there, but there is still more work to be done.”
Stratford now gets set for the Hamlin Pied Pipers (11-2) at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Greg Sherwoord Bulldog Memorial Stadium in Plainview. This will be a rematch of the week 5 matchup between the two teams. The Elks took the first meeting handily 39-6.
It didn’t take Stratford long to get in a groove offensively scoring on just the second play from scrimmage. The Elks high-powered offense scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives, taking a commanding 21-0 lead.
For a second straight week, Wink found itself behind 21-0, but another comeback was out of the question against a defense as powerful as Stratford’s.
The Wildcats’ lone offensive touchdown came on an 8-yard pass to freshman running back Matt Rosas. Besides the one score, Stratford held Wink to just 227 total yards on the night with two takeaways.
It was a big night offensively for Elks senior quarterback Walker McBryde. The signal caller ended the night with 245 yards on 18 of 22 passing. He finished the game with three passing touchdowns and added another on the ground.
“Walker did a lot of things right for us tonight,” Lovorn said. “He threw the ball well and ran the ball well. He did a great job of reading Wink’s defense and doing what needed to be done.”
Stratford totaled 456 yards of offense.
Running back Britt McQuitty added 109 yards for the Elks on 12 carries with a score. Slot back Iuden Romero ended his night with 87 yards rushing, 90 yards receiving with a TD.
Stratford 42, Wink 13
Stratford 21 0 14 7 — 42
Wink 0 7 0 6 — 13
First quarter
S— Ty McBryde 5 pass from Walker McBryde to Ty McBryde (kick failed
S— Iuden Romero 2 run (McQuitty run)
S—Cody Rinne 22 pass from McBryde (Reyes kick)
Second quarter
W— Matt Rosas 8 pass Kanon Woods (kick good)
Third quarter
S— Abraham Villegas 13 pass from McBryde (Reyes XP)
S— Walker McBryde 4 run (Reyes kick)
Fourth quarter
W— Mason Morgan 93 fumble return (conversion failed)
S— Britt McQuitty 15 run (Reyes kick)
Stratford Wink
First Downs 20 10
Rushing Yards 232-82
Passing 243-145
Total Yards 475-227
C-A-I 18-22-0 14-27-1
Punts Avg. 1-32 3-25.5
Fumbles 1-1 1-1
Penalties 5-55 10-95
Individual stats
Rushing— Stratford:Britt McQuitty 12-109, Iuden Romero 12-87, Wink: Matt Rosas 9-33.
Passing—Stratford: Walker McBryde 18-22-0-243. Wink: Nicholas Gray 14-27-1-145.
Receiving— Stratford: Iuden Romero 6-90, Ty Mcbride 5-65,; Wink: Matt Rosas 5-63.
Hamlin ends Skyrockets season
Wellington’s Marc Ramirez leaps for yards against Hamlin on Friday night in Vernon. [Daniel Youngblood/ Big Country Preps]
For a second consecutive season Hamlin has put an end to the Wellington Skyrockets season.
The Pied Pipers did it in less upsetting fashion in this go around, handling Wellington 43-22 in a Class 2A Division II Region II state quarterfinal on Leo Brittain Field at Lions Stadium on Friday.
Hamlin (12-2) moves on to face Region I champion Stratford (13-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday in Plainview. The Elks handled Wink 42-13 on Friday night.
Wellington ends a great season at 12-2 overall.
The Pied Pipers broke a scoreless game open with a 22-point second quarter. Running back Jevon Williams led the way with 116 yards and three scores. Hamlin quarterback Braydin Warner was efficient, going 9 of 10 for 257 yards with two TD passes.
John Michael Holcomb led the Skyrockets with 147 yards on 20 carries.
HAMLIN 43, WELLINGTON 22
Wellington 8 14 — 22
Hamlin 22 14 7 — 43
SECOND QUARTER
WEL — John Holcomb 44 run (Holcomb run), 10:20
HAM — Jevon Williams 19 pass from Braydin Warner (Jackson Sepeda run), 7:13
HAM — Austin Lozano 45 pass from Warner (kick failed), 4:41
HAM — Cutter Martin 58 pass from Warner (Austin Brown pass from Sepeda), 2:14
THIRD QUARTER
HAM — Williams 42 run (Warner kick), 10:29
HAM — Martin 87 pass from Warner (Warner kick), 4:33
FOURTH QUARTER
WEL — Grant Field 18 run (Field run), 10:40
HAM — Williams 14 run (Warner kick), 7:12
WEL — Holcomb 6 run (run failed), 2:09
WEL HAM
First downs 18 14
Rushes-Yards 51-302 20-143
Passing 23 257
Comp-Att-Int 3-7-0 9-10-0
Punts 3-26.7 1-56
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-50 6-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING —Wellington, John Holcomb 20-147, Jaden Combs 10-39, Mason Folk 8-36, Grant Field 2-30, Creighton Killian 7-28, Marc Ramirez 4-22. Hamlin, Jevon Williams 13-116, Jackson Sepeda 2-19, Austin Lozano 2-11, Braydin Warner 1-2, A.J. Ramirez 1-0, Team 1-(-5).
PASSING —Wellington, Creighton Killian 3-7-0—23. Hamlin, Braydin Warner 9-10-0—257.
RECEIVING — Wellington, Trey Tillman 1-12, Jaden Combs 1-6, Creed Riley 1-5. Hamlin, Cutter Martin 4-161, Austin Lozano 2-52, Jevon Williams 2-32, Austin Brown 1-12.