Area football roundup: Texico cruises past Rattlers

Another high school weekend passes as the steady march toward state tournament play continues.

Farwell and Floyd were missing from this past weekend’s fray — the Steers because of a bye, the Broncos due to forfeit.

But everyone else was in action, and the weekend featured a huge win for championship-minded Elida, a must win for Texico, a first loss for Melrose and a second defeat for Dora.

Texico 55, Tucumcari 0

TEXICO — It was one of those nights for Texico.

When a team 50s another, it’s always one of those nights.

With a great overall performance, the Wolverines sent Tucumcari packing early and improved to 3-4 on the season while dropping the Rattlers to 1-6.

“The kids executed things really well,” Texico head coach Bob Gilbreath said. “We did play well in all phases. We were able to score points in every phase of the game, so it was good all the way around.”

There was a big Texico play from each phase:

n Offensively, sophomore Cade Collins bolted for a 50-yard touchdown.

n Defensively, junior linebacker Josh Myers returned an interception 30 yards for a score.

n On special teams, Anders Nelson returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown.

Just solid play from everywhere, even behind center, as junior quarterback Gabe Dickerman threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for another score. The rushing touchdown was from a yard out, but Dickerman set it up with a 40-yard run toward the goal line.

“I was really pleased with my quarterback,” Dickerman said. “It was probably one of his best games.”

And the above players weren’t the only to make an impact.

“We had seven different kids score touchdowns, it was crazy,” Gilbreath said. “To have a lot of kids contribute to the outcome of the game, it was good.”

And Gilbreath didn’t forget the trenches.

“Our offense and defensive lines really played outstanding,” he said. “Our kids are getting better every week. It all starts with them.”

Texico begins district play this coming Friday with a road game at Clayton (1-5). Kickoff time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Elida 49, Springer/Maxwell 6

ELIDA — The Tigers certainly had a happy Homecoming.

Facing a fellow unbeaten, Elida built a sizeable halftime lead before blanking Springer/Maxwell in the second half and routing the Devils by 43.

Elida improved to 7-0 overall, 3-0 in the all-important district chase. Springer-Maxwell dropped to 6-1, 2-1 district. Those numbers on the right side, the district records, are the ones that made this game so huge.

“It puts us in the driver’s seat for playoff seeding, the district seeding,” Elida head coach Jereme Woodruff said.

To perform so well against a high-quality team was big for Elida as the season hit October.

“I am very thrilled, very thrilled about the way the kids played,” Coach Woodruff said. “It was great.”

Woodruff said the lopsided score is a bit deceptive. Springer/Maxwell played much better, much more competitive, which was good for Elida.

“We’ve played a lot of these games this year and have been able to pretty much end it pretty early and kind of stamp it pretty soon and get some guys experience,” Coach Woodruff said. “This one, it was kind of one you had to play four quarters. I know the score says 43, but these guys made us earn it. They came at us hard, they played hard. We just happened to play better than they did. Our defense played lights out.”

Especially sophomore Rylan Creighton, who had two quarterback sacks in the end zone for safeties. “So just a huge game from him,” Coach Woodruff said.

Running back/cornerback Colton Ferguson had two rushing touchdowns and knocked down a few passes that could’ve turned into Springer scores.

Middle linebacker Tyler Belcher was forcing fumbles and knocking down passes all night. “He was just all over the field tackling people,” Coach Woodruff said.

Johny Woodruff and Wesley Poling threw two touchdown passes each. One scoring toss went from Poling to Woodruff on a reverse pass.

The game was still competitive by first quarter’s end, with the Tigers leading only 13-6.

They scored 12 unanswered points in the second quarter to carry a 25-6 lead into halftime.

The second half was all Elida, with nine points in the third quarter and 15 more in the fourth, while the defense shut Springer out.

The Tigers put on a great show for the many who had come out hoping to witness one.

“It was really nice to have the support,” Coach Woodruff said. “I think we had close to 300 or 400 people at the game. ... It was neat to see.”

The Tigers will remain home this coming weekend, hosting San Jon/Grady (2-4) on Saturday night, beginning at 7 p.m.

Tatum 32, Melrose 14

MELROSE — The Buffaloes may well win their fifth state title in the last six years.

But if they do, it won’t be an undefeated championship run. That was assured by Tatum on Friday night as the Coyotes beat the Buffs by 18.

As a result Melrose dropped to 5-1 overall, 1-1 district. The Buffaloes now look ahead to this coming Friday, when they host Dora, beginning at 7 p.m.

Logan 20, Dora 6

LOGAN — Momentum didn’t come into effect in Friday’s game at Logan High School.

The Coyotes headed in coming off a 48-point win over Gateway Christian last weekend. Logan was smarting from getting 50-ed at Melrose on the same night. But, the Longhorns rebounded nicely and beat Dora by two scores Friday.

Logan was only up by a modest 6-0 score after one period, 12-0 at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Longhorns outscored Dora 8-6 in the fourth to lock down the victory while dropping the Coyotes to 2-2 overall, 1-1 district. The Longhorns improved to 3-3 overall, 1-1 district.

Dora will visit Melrose this coming Friday, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.