Mules advance; Steers, Mustangs eliminated

LITTLEFIELD — Muleshoe survived a back-and-forth game with Brownfield on Thursday, and the Mules are on to the second round of the Texas Class 3A Division I playoffs.

Senior quarterback Zach Hasley threw a pair of touchdown passes, including a 32-yarder to junior Irvin Torres in the fourth quarter as the Mules outlasted the Cubs 21-17 in the bi-district round at Littlefield H.S.

Their reward is a date with defending 3A-I champion and third-ranked Jim Ned (11-0) at 3:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday at Lubbock’s Lowery Stadium. The third-ranked Indians opened with a 49-12 rout of Peaster, also on Thursday, and have won 25 in a row dating to their 2020 season opener.

Meantime, Farwell in Class 2A Division I and Bovina in Class 2A Division II weren’t as fortunate on Friday night as both teams’ season came to an end with bi-district setbacks.

Hasley completed 12-of-18 passes for 141 yards, also throwing a 5-yard scoring pass to sophomore Sebastian Kirven in the second period. The first tally for the Mules (6-5), who have won four in a row, came on a 14-yard run by sophomore Zach Radloff which tied the game 7-7 in the second period.

Brownfield (3-8) gained 340 yards, including 229 through the air, but the Mules shut the Cubs out in the second half after trailing 17-14 at the break.

Radloff rushed for 104 yards for the Mules, while Torres caught eight passes for 98 yards.

Post 49, Farwell 12 — At Levelland, the Antelopes (5-6) led 6-2 at the quarter and pulled away from there to advance to an area round contest against Coleman, which beat Anson 62-16 in its playoff lidlifter.

After Post scored the game’s first TD, Steers sophomore Corey Stancell made it 6-2 by returning the blocked PAT kick all the way for a 2-point defensive conversion. He also scored on a 21-yard run in the second quarter, pulling Farwell (8-3) to 13-8, but the Steers didn’t score again until a touchdown run by senior Carlos Castillo midway through the final stanza.

Seagraves 38, Bovina 3 — The Eagles built a 28-0 halftime lead and blanked the Mustangs until senior Angel Lara kicked a 39-yard field goal in the final period.

Seagraves (8-3) will face Stratford (10-1) in the area round this week. The Elks opened with a 72-14 thumping of Wheeler in the bi-district round.

Running backs Ethan Salazar and Zharion Smith combined for 233 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Eagles. Meantime, Seagraves’s defense limited Bovina (4-7) to seven first downs and 82 total yards.