Mustangs on verge of district title

BOVINA — After wading through a challenging pre-district schedule which included losing their starting quarterback for four games, the Bovina Mustangs are on the verge of a Class 2A Division II District 2 title.

Standing in the way is Smyer, which visits Bovina for a 7 p.m. (CDT) kickoff on Friday night.

A win over the Bobcats (4-3, 1-0 district) would assure the Mustangs (3-4, 2-0) the crown and the top seed from the district in the upcoming 2A-II playoffs.

Bovina coach Coby Emery said the Mustangs have to stay focused against a program which is trying to turn the corner under second-year coach Scott Funke, who last year led Smyer to its first winning campaign (6-5) since 2005.

“Their head coach took my place as the defensive coordinator at Wink when I left there,” Emery said of Funke. “They made a lot of headway last year, and he’s continuing to improve Smyer’s program.”

The main challenge for the Mustangs figures to be containing 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior quarterback Ethan Ramirez, who is a capable thrower but isn’t afraid to take off and run either, Emery said.

“Their offense definitely goes through the quarterback,” Emery said. “It’s kind of a recurring them for us this year — you have to worry about one guy getting loose.

“Defensively, they put a lot of pressure on you. They play a lot of man(-to-man) coverage in the secondary.”

The Mustangs close the regular season on Oct. 30 at New Home, which is the only team with two district losses to this point. That means that with a win this week, Bovina would have a potential head-to-head tiebreaker against any of the remaining teams.

Amarillo River Road (3-5, 0-2 Class 3A Division I District 1) at Muleshoe (2-4, 0-1) — Both squads are coming off lopsided losses to district powerhouse Bushland, and are looking to stay out of the cellar. All but one of the five teams in 3A-I District 1 will advance to the postseason, and the Wildcats and Mules are the only teams without a win.

“We’re 5-point dogs (underdogs), but I feel good about it,” said Mules coach Jason Richards, whose squad had a bye last week. “This is probably the biggest game in Muleshoe in the last three years.”

The Wildcats have a talented quarterback in senior Lance Welps, son of coach Bryan Welps.

“They run the option, so he’s kind of their guy,” Richards said. “He’s a stud, (but) everybody that has contained him has beaten them.”

Last week’s open date did his squad some good, Richards said. Now he’s hoping to see a bit more balance on offense from his squad.

“”We had a good week,” he said. “We need another good week of practice and then play like we know we can.

“We need to establish our run game. That would open up everything else.”

West Texas (3-4, 1-1 Class 2A Division I District 1) at Farwell (6-1, 2-0) — The Steers face back-to-back home games against their top two challengers in looking to nail down a district crown.

Senior quarterback Avian Cruz leads the Stinnett-based Comanches’ offense and gives them a solid run-pass option.

Another top player is fullback-linebacker Rock Reiswig, whom Farwell coach Darren Kelley describes as “a big load.”

“They’re good enough to beat you,” he said. “No. 3 (Cruz) is a heck of a football player.”

The Comanches are coming off a 67-50 loss to Panhandle (5-1, 2-0) last week, and could pose a stiff test for a Steers defense which has allowed only seven touchdowns this season.

A win on Friday could all but assure Farwell of no worse than the No. 2 playoff seed from the district, and would set up a showdown for first place next week against Panhandle. The Panthers are coming off a split in their last two games in which they scored 138 points and allowed 141.