Littlefield edges Muleshoe in shootout

MULESHOE — The Muleshoe and Littlefield defenses aren't used to being pushed around like this.

Friday's battle for the District 1-2A Division I championship featured 14 touchdowns and nine turnovers — with only one punt. In the end, the Wildcats took advantage of five pass interceptions to lay claim to a 51-42 win over the Mules.

Littlefield (8-2, 5-0 district) thus earned a first-round bye in next week's playoffs, while the Mules (8-2, 4-1) will face Denver City — a 45-44 loser on Friday to Brownfield on Friday — in a 7:30 p.m. (CST) start next Friday at Lubbock.

Littlefield, which extended its winning streak to seven games, had allowed 156 points (17.3 ppg) coming in. Muleshoe, which had an eight-game winning streak snapped, had given up 107 (13.4) since a season-opening 56-40 loss at Class 3A Shallowater.

Senior quarterback Caleb Wood ran for 173 yards and four touchdowns and also threw for two scores for the Mules, but the interceptions proved to be too much to overcome. Junior safety Aaron Cabelo and sophomore cornerback Trey Harris each had a pair picks for Littlefield, with Cabelo returning one 65 yards for a score after the Mules had opened a 21-12 lead early in the second quarter.

"It was a game where neither team could stop the other one," Wildcats coach Bryan Huseman said. "We left a lot of points on the field with our kicking game (four missed PAT kicks, including one blocked by Muleshoe's Shawn Atwood), but I was proud of our offensive line; they've come a million miles this year."

Running backs Cruzito Lovato and Da'Madrick Moore each scored twice for the Wildcats. Lovato carried 31 times for 176 yards while Moore, playing primarily a slotback position, gobbled up 149 yards on 13 attempt, mostly on counters and traps.

"It's just one of those offensive battles," Mules coach David Wood said. "They're physical, and (after a while) we couldn't hold our own any more."

Cabelo's pick-six was the first of three series in a row that Littlefield stopped Muleshoe with interceptions, and the Wildcats also scored after the other two to open a 31-21 halftime lead. The teams traded points the rest of the way, but the Mules were unable to get the stop they needed to set up a chance for a go-ahead score.

"They've got a great football team," Huseman said. "They're just so good offensively, and they just do a great job with their schemes.

"We were able to make some big plays on defense, and that seemed to get us going."

The teams combined for more than 900 total yards, with the Wildcats outgaining the Mules 508-408.

"We moved it well," said coach Wood, noting the Mules were missing a couple of linemen due to injury. "When you fall behind a team like that, you just hope they'll make some mistakes.

"Defensively, we tried everything under the sun, but they just overpowered us."