Steers to face Stratford in area round

It’s a long arduous road to a Texas state football championship. And Farwell has taken just one step so far.

Friday, the Steers (10-1) will try to take the next one when they play Stratford (6-5) in the Texas 2A D2 Area round at River Road High School not far outside of Amarillo. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Farwell posted its 10th-straight victory last Friday by routing Van Horn 53-6 at Hobbs High School in the Bi-District round. Now comes a tougher test against a Stratford team that won even bigger last weekend — 84-8 over Smyer.

“They’re always pretty good,” Farwell head coach Danny Brittain said of Stratford. “Last year they made it to the semifinals in the division above us and they had a chance to win that game. So they’re pretty good. They’re big up front, they run the football, that’s what they predominantly do.”

But that doesn’t necessariy mean Black Friday will be a bleak Friday for the Steers. In fact, Brittain thinks his team should match up well with the Elks.

“Our run defense has been the strength of our defense all year,” he said. “We’ve only given up an average of 55 rushing yards over the 11 games we’ve played. That’s our strength. If we can get them out of what they do, which is run, we’ll be alright.

“Offensively, we’ve been able to throw and run all year, so I think we’re going to be OK in that respect.”

In the throwing department, Leefe Actkinson began the season sharing time at quarterback with Leo Ruiz, but settled in as the Steers’ main passer several weeks ago. Through last Friday’s Van Horn game, Actkinson has passed for 1,249 yards and 17 touchdowns with eight interceptions.

Ruiz has stayed sharp by being an integral part of the rushing attack and getting some quarterbacking time late in games. He has rushed for 10 touchdowns.

Farwell’s deep ground game is led by Ricardo Ortega’s 1,219 yards (9.3 yards per carry) and 11 scores. Patrick Pena has rushed for 790 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jose Rodriguez leads the Steers in receptions (23), overall receiving yards (639), receiving yards per game (58.1) and touchdown catches (eight).

Jonathan Sotelo is the team leader in sacks (4.5), while Rodriguez and Ramon Reyes lead in interceptions with five each.

It’s a roster full of players who can contribute in various ways. And the good news for Farwell is, that roster is almost completely intact heading into Friday’s Stratford game.

“We’re in pretty good shape,” Brittain said. “We’ve only lost one kid, and we may get him back this week, we’re not sure. Everybody else is as healthy as healthy can be after 11 games. A few bumps and bruises, but aside from that, we’re in pretty good shape.”

With multi-faceted players, a stout run defense and good health, it seems Farwell has a decent chance of advancing to the Regional round.

“I think we can,” Brittain said. “We’ll have to play well. I’m not going to say it’s going to be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination, but if we can go out and not have mistakes, I think we’ll be OK.”