Texico advances to 2A title clash

TEXICO – As hard as it might be to believe, Texico will be seeking the school’s first state football crown in 15 years on Saturday when the Wolverines host top-seeded Eunice at 1 p.m. in the Class 2A title clash.

Playing in its fifth consecutive 2A semifinal (excluding the 2020-21 COVID season), Texico held off Santa Rosa 29-21 on Saturday. The second-seeded Wolverines (10-2) are after their first state crown since the Mike Prokop-led 2008 contingent stormed to a 12-0 record and outscored its opponents 460-93, but had to eke out wins over Santa Rosa (28-21) in the semifinals and Dexter (28-26) in the championship tilt.

It’s the third time since 2019 that the Wolverines have made it to the finals, including a 41-21 setback to Jal in last year’s finale at Texico. They also met Eunice in an unofficial championship contest during the five-game COVID campaign in spring 2021, losing to the Cardinals 26-19 at Albuquerque.

This season, the teams played at Eunice on Sept. 29, with the Cardinals (10-2) winning 21-14.

Senior quarterback Cade Figg carried 22 times for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Santa Rosa, while junior running back Alex Fuentes tallied on a 9-yard run with three minutes left to make it 29-14. The Lions (10-2), whose only losses were to Texico, made it closer with a score in the final minute.

Figg completed 6-of-12 passes for 100 yards, including a 28-yard TD pass to senior Daltyn Cain in the opening stanza. Senior Nicolas Chavez ran for 146 yards and a pair of scores for Santa Rosa.

Farwell, Muleshoe get playoff rematches – In the Texas playoffs, Muleshoe and Farwell 9-2 records into area (second) round rematches from a year ago.

The Mules face traditional Class 3A Division I power and eighth-ranked Brock (8-3) in a 5 p.m. (CST) Thursday matchup at San Angelo. Last season, the Eagles defeated the Mules 57-20 en route to the 3A-I finals, where it lost to top-ranked and unbeaten (16-0) Franklin 17-14.

In Class 2A Division I, the Steers take on Sonora in a 7 p.m. (CST) kickoff at Snyder. Last season, the Broncos (10-1) defeated Farwell 18-7 in the area round.

On paper, it would appear to be a pretty even matchup – Sonora is ranked 22nd and Farwell 23rd in 2A Division I, according to MaxPreps. Sonora advanced with a 29-27 bi-district round win over Anson.

Meantime, Brock, which started 0-4 last season and then won 11 in a row to reach the championship game, blasted Iowa Park 59-0 in the opening round.