Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Leefe Actkinson carries the ball on a second-quarter possession Friday night. Actkinson rushed for both Farwell touchdowns in the 55-12 setback to Sudan.
By Dave Wagner
SPORTS WRITER
FARWELL — Farwell figured it would have to contain Sudan’s powerful ground game in Friday’s battle for the Class 2A Division II District 2 title.
What the Steers weren’t counting on was a potent passing attack from quarterback Christian Montes and the speedy Hornets.
Montes threw for 267 yards and five touchdowns and Sudan took control early en route to a 55-12 victory. The Hornets will play on Friday at Stanton, probably against Iraan, in a bi-district round playoff game, coach John Cornelius said.
Meantime, the Steers (7-3, 4-1) are slated to face McCamey in a 7:30 p.m. (CST) kickoff on Friday at Lamesa.
“We held up pretty well against the run,” Steers coach Jhett Norman said. “I knew they had some big-play capability, but I didn’t know it would be in the passing game. They hadn’t thrown the ball like that all year.”
Montes, a 5-foot-8, 190-pound junior, converted third-down scoring passes of 64 yards to junior Bode Box and 52 yards to junior Beto Diaz to stake the Hornets (10-0, 5-0 district) to a 14-0 first-quarter lead.
“It’s a big rivalry,” Cornelius said. “We’ve talked about this game periodically throughout the year. It means a lot to the community.
“The kids were prepared and ready to go tonight.”
The Steers (7-3, 4-1) moved the ball well at times throughout the contest, with scoring drives of 75 and 88 yards, but they were hurt by four turnovers and some key penalties. On top of that, they simply had a hard time getting Sudan’s offense off the field.
Junior quarterback Leefe Actkinson rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown and threw for 167 yards and a score for the Steers. Both TDs came in the second quarter, the latter a 10-yard run by Actkinson that pulled Farwell to 28-12 with 43 seconds left.
But Sudan’s Isaac Gonzales brought the ensuing kickoff back 93 yards before he was hauled down at the Farwell 5, and Montes scored on the next play.
The Hornets added a pair of tallies in the third quarter for a 36-point lead, and the final segment was played with a running clock.
Montes totaled 88 yards rushing on 18 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns while Box finished with five catches for 114 yards and three TDs, the others coming on catches of 12 and 21 yards.
Cornelius said the game was tougher for the Hornets than the final margin would indicate.
“Farwell’s Farwell,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for them and for their program. We expected a battle, and we got a battle even though the score tilted our way.”
Norman said their were a few bright spots for his squad.
“I thought we moved the ball well, but every time we seemed to have some momentum it was just turnovers, turnovers, turnovers,” Norman said. “Defensively, I think our defensive line played well, but we just couldn’t stop the pass.”
Junior wide receiver Jose Rodriguez caught four passes for 132 yards for the Steers, including a 27-yard TD catch from Actkinson and spectacular 68-yard grab to help set up Farwell’s second touchdown.
