Wolverines cruise past rival Lions

TEXICO - Except for the first play of the night and the final minute of the game, Texico pretty much had its way with rival Santa Rosa on Friday night.

The Lions stunned the home team when senior Ricardo Chavez brought the opening kickoff back 92 yards for a score. But it was all Wolverines after that, and Texico rolled to a 43-21 victory behind five touchdowns from senior quarterback Gabe Dickerman (three passing, two rushing).

In fact, the Lions managed only one more score until capping a 67-yard, 11-play march by reaching paydirt in the final 30 seconds.

"The score doesn't show it, but our defense played really, really well," Texico coach Bob Gilbreath said. "And they (Wolverines) executed really well on offense at times."

That could be considered an understatement.

Dickerman was intercepted three times, including twice by Chavez, but finished 18-of-26 for 253 yards. He also rushed for 166 yards as the Wolverines (3-0) piled up 20 first downs and a 454-152 advantage in total offense.

Dickerman led his team on a three-play, 60-yard drive on Texico's first possession, throwing a third-and-6, 56-yard strike to senior wide receiver Gabriel Bailey to tie the score less than two minutes in.

The key moment, though, came later in the quarter. Santa Rosa (1-1) put together a 17-play drive with its single-wing attack, but the Wolverines stopped the Lions on downs at the Texico 4 early in the second period.

"We had that fourth-down stop, and went to more of a fast-paced offense," Gilbreath said. "It all worked out."

The Wolverines used a no-huddle attack to cover the 96 yards in just six plays - the last five completions by Dickerman. They capped it on a 6-yard TD toss to junior Cade Collins, and never looked back.

Dickerman said the opening return by Chavez shook the Wolverines a bit.

"It was definitely unexpected, but we bounced back well," he said. "We kept our heads up and kept executing."

Collins caught a 23-yard scoring pass from Dickerman, snatching the ball away from a Lions defender, to make it 21-7 at halftime. A 2-yard run by Chavez pulled Santa Rosa to within eight early in the third period, but the Wolverines rebounded and quickly regained control with a five-play, 64-yard push capped by Dickerman's 7-yard run.

Six players caught at least one pass for Texico, with Brayden Bender grabbing six for 59 yards.

With only one game left in the abbreviated regular season, the Wolverines could figure in a possible 1-2 matchup for a Class 2A state title if they win their finale on Saturday at Loving.

Dickerman said he's not concerned about that right now.

"I definitely don't think ahead," he said. "I just want to focus on the next game and work hard every day."

Gilbreath, of course, looks at it the same way.

"From a perspective of a coach, we just take them one game at a time," he said. "That's all we can do."