Area preview: Texico has final hurdle to district title

The Texico Wolverines could breathe a sigh of relief after outlasting rival Fort Sumner 26-20 on Friday and taking the lead in Class 2A District 6/7.

They aren’t quite out of the woods yet, though, not with rival Santa Rosa looming in a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday at Texico.

Record-wise, the Lions (3-5, 1-1 district) are enduring a bit of a down year, but they appear to be picking up steam as the season winds down. They’ve won three of their last four, including a 53-0 rout of Clayton last week, after an 0-4 start.

“I think they started the year with some young kids, but they’ve steadily gotten better and improved,” Wolverines coach Bob Gilbreath said. “You can tell the things they do, they’re doing quicker than at the beginning of the year.”

Santa Rosa always poses a challenge for teams to prepare for with its single-wing attack, although Gilbreath said the Wolverines may have an advantage over others because they run an offense which has some similarities.

“Their offense is kind of designed to get you confused,” he said. “You’ve got guys going one way and the ball going another sometimes.”

Texico likely needs a win on Friday to clinch the district crown. If Fort Sumner picks up the maximum 13 points against Clayton as expected, a Texico loss would drop the Wolverines behind the Foxes.

Farwell (5-2, 2-0 Texas Class 2A Division 2 Region I District 2) at Plains (0-7, 0-2), 7 p.m. (CDT)

The Steers are currently headed toward a showdown for the district championship against Sudan (7-0, 2-0 district) at Farwell on Nov. 8.

This week, they face a Plains squad (0-8, 0-4) which has been outscored by a whopping 423-12 so far.

“I don’t know if they’re young, but they’ve put themselves in bad situations with mistakes and turnovers,” Farwell coach Jhett Norman said of the Cowboys. “They’ve struggled on a consistent basis.”

Meantime, Farwell didn’t play its best football in Friday’s 25-12 win over Springlake-Earth, according to Norman.

“As a whole, I wasn’t pleased with it, and I don’t think (the players were pleased) with the inconsistency of the offense,” he said.

With rival Bovina (3-4, 1-1) looming on the road next week, the Steers don’t want to get caught peeking too far ahead toward the finale. They still have work to do, Norman said.

“If we can clean up some of the mistakes we’re making on offense, I think we can put ourselves in a situation where we can play with Sudan,” he said.

Dora (3-3, 2-2 8-man District 3) at Tatum (7-1, 4-0), 7 p.m.

Dora played well most of the way in a loss at Melrose a couple of weeks ago, and coach Chris Lozano is looking for the same kind of effort this week in a battle of “Coyotes.”

A win would surely cement a berth in the upcoming eight-team 8-man playoffs, while a competitive loss could put Dora in line for a first-round home game.

“If we can go on the road and beat a good Tatum team, it would throw everything into a frenzy as far as (playoff) seeding,” Lozano said. “(Competing well) against the top two teams in the state would be big for us.”

The key components for Tatum are senior quarterback Sebastian Jimenez and junior running back Luis Cervantes, Lozano said.

“They’re very athletic,” Lozano said. “The quarterback is good; we have to keep him contained in the pocket. And our linebackers have to slip up and be able to get their running back to the ground.”

Melrose (7-1, 2-1 8-man District 3) at Mesilla Valley (0-8, 0-4), 7 p.m.

By virtue of its 50-0 win over Logan on Friday night, Tatum has clinched the district championship and relegated the Buffaloes to second place, although it’s quite likely the teams will meet in the upcoming playoffs.

The Buffs are not likely to have much trouble with the Sonblazers, who have been outscored 430-26 for the season.