Mules stop late 2PAT, hold on to shade Cubs

MULESHOE — At the end of a wild football game, it came down to Muleshoe’s ability to stop a late 2-point conversion.

The Mules were able to do that, and they held on for a 39-37 victory over previously unbeaten Brownfield on Friday night.

“We have great kids,” Mules coach and Clovis High alum Jason Richards said. “It was a tale of two halves. We started really slow, but down five (at halftime) to a really good football team, I just told them, ‘Let’s go play football.’”

Muleshoe (5-1) rallied from an 11-point deficit late in the half and won its fifth in a row heading into Friday’s key District 2-3A Division I opener at Bushland (6-0), which polished off El Paso Riverside 56-14 on Friday night.

“We’ve got a really good one to start out (district play), but we’ve played a tough pre-district schedule,” Richards said.

Junior running back Daniel Sianez rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard run to get the Mules back in it in the closing seconds of the half after the Cubs (5-1) had opened a 23-12 lead with 29 seconds remaining before the intermission.

Junior defensive back Ramzee Martinez returned an interception 47 yards to give the Mules the lead early in the third canto, and sophomore quarterback Nathan Martens tossed a pair of scoring passes to senior wide receiver Irvin Torres, including an 18-yarder on fourth-and-12 on the first play of the final period to extend the lead to nine points.

The Mules outgained Brownfield 410-310, compiling 236 yards on the ground to offset 275 passing yards for Cubs junior QB Jeremiah Tealer.

“We knew we could slow down their rushing game,” said Torres, who also plays safety on defense and handles punting and PAT duties. “The coaches talked to us (at halftime) and made adjustments, and we played our hearts out in the second half.”

Seemingly in position to run out the clock, Martens late option pitch went awry and Cubs junior linebacker David Garza returned it 68 yards to the end zone with 1:27 left. But Torres interception Tealer’s potential tying 2PAT pass to preserve the lead.

Martens rotated with junior Sebastian Kirven at QB, finishing 12-of-15 for 141 yards as Kirven moved out to a receiver position. Kirven ran 63 yards for Muleshoe’s first score and finished with 110 yards rushing on nine carries, all before halftime.

“Nathan Martens made some big plays, some big passes,” Richards said. “When you’ve got young quarterbacks, as athletic as they are, you want to see them have success.”

Torres, who caught 10 passes for 132 yards, said he’s looking forward to the challenge ahead in district play.

“Bushland’s a good team, but we’re going to give it our all,” he said. “It’s a tough district, but I think we have a chance to take it all.”

Texico 48, Carlsbad junior varsity 0 (Thursday night) — The Wolverines ended a two-game slide with a dominating victory over the Cavemen JV.

Texico (4-2) got 189 passing yards and 117 rushing yards on just eight carries from junior quarterback Cade Figg, who ran for three scores and threw an 8-yard TD pass to sophomore running back Alex Fuentes.

Junior wide receiver Daltyn Cain caught three passes for 120 yards, including an 88-yard play to help set up a score. Fuentes also ran for two scores and freshman Mason Pipkin added one, while sophomore Taye Smith converted on 6-of-7 PAT kicks.

The Wolverines return to action on Friday in their District 4-2A opener at Hagerman.