Wolverines, Jal to clash in 2A finals

TEXICO — A couple of losses in midseason, including a 48-0 shellacking at the hands of border rival Farwell, didn’t do anything to get the Texico Wolverines discouraged.

In fact, Texico finds itself hosting Friday’s 7 p.m. Class 2A state championship game against unbeaten and top-ranked District 4-2A rival Jal.

Since that loss to Farwell on Sept. 16, only the Panthers (12-0) have beaten the Wolverines over their last seven games, and they had to work hard to nail down a 41-35 victory at Texico on Oct. 14. It was the fewest points they’ve scored in a game this season, and far and away their closest contest.

Still, Texico coach Bob Gilbreath has no illusions about the challenge ahead.

“They’re really good on both sides of the ball,” he said. “But we’ve come a long way, and we’re better than when we played them the first time.

“We need to keep the ball away from them. We had two turnovers and a blocked punt in the second half (of the earlier meeting), or we might have won the game.”

Meantime, two area teams remain alive after he first round of the Texas playoffs. In Class 3A Division I, Muleshoe (8-3) takes on defending state runner-up Brock (7-4) at 7 p.m. (CST) on Thursday at Sweetwater, while Farwell (9-2) faces Sonora (9-2) on Friday in Class 2A Division I at Big Spring.

Both tilts are slated to kick off at 7 p.m. (CST).

Texico (9-2), seeded third in the 12-team bracket, is coming off a 41-27 road shellacking of second-seeded Santa Rosa in Friday’s semifinals.

Sophomores Alex Fuentes and Taye Smith combined for five touchdowns against the Lions (9-3), who have given up 64 points in two games against Texico this season and 40 combined in their other 10 outings.

“It’s hard to win a football game when you play good people,” Gilbreath said of the Panthers. “When we played them the first time, they were just rolling over everybody. But I tried to tell the kids, ‘We can play with them,’ and they really responded.”

Muleshoe vs. Brock — All it took for the Mules to get through the bi-district round against Brownfield last Thursday at Levelland was a 40-point outburst over the final eight minutes of the half.

Trailing 24-0, the Mules (8-3) opened a 16-point halftime lead and rode that to a 47-37 win over the Cubs. The victory gives the Muleshoe its most wins in a season since going 9-2 in 2015.

This week, they’re facing a team in Brock which has already lost more games than in any season in at least 10 years.

“The four losses were to really good (Class) 4A programs,” Mules coach Jason Richards said of the Eagles, the defending 3A-I state runnersup. “They’ve got really good size, and they’re very sound at what they do.”

Since starting 0-4 and being outscored 118-76 over that span, the Eagles (7-4) have reeled off seven consecutive victories, outscoring those foes 331-95.

Brock finished 15-1 last season, including a 49-14 third-round win over the Mules in the postseason. The Eagles eventually lost in the finals to Lorena 35-18.

Among Brock’s main players are junior quarterback Tyler Moody and sophomore running back Brett Tutter. Richards said the Mules hope to be in manageable situations on offense.

“They’re big up front,” he said. “We have to stay ahead of the chains.”

Up next for the winner is a date with either defending 3A-I champion Jim Ned or Mules district rival Bushland.

Farwell vs. Sonora — Steers coach Darren Kelley said his squad may be looking at something of a mirror image of itself when they face the Broncos.

“They’re a lot like us; they kind of run the same offense,” Kelley said. “We’ve got to be able to stop the run. Offensively, we’ve got to be able to take care of the football.”

Junior quarterback Jaime Buitron threw for two scores and ran for 174 yards and another TD as Sonora survived late to beat Olney 28-27 on Thursday. Junior running back Edgar DeLuna caught one of the scoring passes and also ran for 100 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos.

The winner will get either Hawley (11-0) or Panhandle (9-2) in next week’s regional round.