Steers roll to win over Wolverines

FARWELL - The Texico Wolverines made plenty of stops Friday just across the tracks, getting host Farwell to come up short on three drives in Wolverine territory while also notching a defensive touchdown and a kickoff return touchdown.

More impressive for the host Steers, however, is all of that happened and the boys in blue still managed a three-touchdown victory, rolling out 580 yards in a 56-34 victory that seemed all but certain midway through the second quarter.

Sophomore Corey Stancell rushed 28 times for 205 yards and six touchdowns, and the Steers (4-0) gave themselves quite a margin for error on a night when they never trailed and never punted.

Things got off to a slow start, and an 81-yard fumble return by Texico's Max Villareal turned a potential 14-0 Farwell lead into a briefly competitive 7-6 affair, but the momentum inevitably turned to the Steers, ranked No. 18 in the Class 2A Texas Pigskin rankings.

Darren Kelley said he was happy to get out with a win and no injuries, but said the Steers will have to cut down on the mistakes for opponents that will provide smaller margins of error.

"We made some stupid mistakes when we had opportunties early, and they got some momentum," Kelley said. "You can't allow that; you've got to put the ball in the end zone."

Stancell certainly did that, with scoring runs of 18, 6, 57, 1, 5 and 35 yards. Quarterback Alec Actkinson certainly played his part, completing 9-of-14 passes to six different targets for 251 yards and a 14-yard second quarter toss to Walker Williams. Actkinson also called his own number six times, rushing for 82 yards and a 7-yard run in the final minute.

Texico (1-3) struggled in the first half, not running a single play inside the Farwell 40, but rallied in the second half with 249 of their total 325 yards after halftime on a run-heavy attack. Texico coach Bob Gilbreath said he probably regretted not going to the rushing game a little earlier.

"I decided at halftime we needed to run the ball more," Gilbreath said. "Our quarterback wasn't as sharp as he has been, but he was facing a lot of pressure."

Cade Collins and Cade Figg did most of the running damage for the Wolverines, with Collins going 20 times for 147 yards and Figg running enough quarterback options to manage 53 yards on 11 carries. Collins rushed for second-half touchdowns of 4 and 9 yards. Figg completed 9-of-25 passes with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Queener against one interception.

The game featured some final-minute fireworks, with Actkinson's touchdown run followed up by a 67-yard kickoff return from Jahvon Askew to close out the scoring.

Jackson Wilbourn went 8-for-8 on conversion kicks for Farwell, whch visits Sundown Friday.

For Texico, the schedule that keeps on giving features a Friday contest at Eunice, which is still technically the defending Class 2A champion for its 2019 win since there was no title awarded in the 2020-21 athletic year.

"I knew this schedule was going to be a gauntlet," Gilbreath said. "There weren't any breathers."