Antelopes outlast Steers late

FARWELL – Farwell had trouble stopping Abernathy in the first half, then seemed to figure things out.

A missed conversion kick helped keep hope alive for the visiting Antelopes, though, and they rallied for two touchdowns in the final three minutes to stun the Steers 42-41.

Sophomore quarterback Jagger Wiley's fifth touchdown pass of the night, a 24-yarder to sophomore Dre Minfield with 2:24 remaining, capped a 79-yard, nine play drive and made it 41-35. Then the Steers mishandled a would-be onside kick, which turned into a squib kick and was recovered by Abernathy at the Farwell 7, and Wiley's 1-yard quarterback sneak – his first carry of the night – put the Antelopes ahead with 1:16 to go.

Minfield intercepted senior quarterback Jonathan Amstrong's pass on the first play after the next kickoff, and Abernathy (2-2) run out the clock.

Farwell tallied three times in a span of six minutes in the second half, but left the door open just a crack when it failed to convert the PAT with 7:55 to go, leaving the score at 41-28.

Antelopes coach Justin Wiley – Jagger's father – was just happy to get out of Dodge.

"They're better than what they've been the last couple of games," he said of the Steers. "It was a great game. I'm proud of our kids, and their kids fought hard."

The teams combined for more than 900 total yards, including 498 by the Steers (1-3). Armstrong finished 21-of-26 through the air for 213 yards, and added 159 yards on the ground on 16 attempts with a pair of TD runs.

"They're a good football team, but if we tackle and make plays we don't get to the onside kick," Steers coach Darren Kelley said. "The whole game, we played hard – you've just got to make plays when you're ahead. At that point, you've got to put teams away."

Both sides were over 240 total yards at halftime, but the Antelopes edged in front 28-21 when Jagger Wiley and fellow sophomore Darion Duvall hooked up for their third scoring pass of the half, a 23-yarder with five seconds left on which Duvall managing to stay inbounds near the right pylon.

Abernathy didn't score again until the closing moments.

Duvall finished with nine catches for 149 yards while senior Mavrick Shadden added seven receptions for 87. Senior running back Rolando Martinez added 166 yards on 24 carries.

"They're a good program," Kelley said of the Antelopes. "They're the real deal, and we are too. We've just got to show we can finish."

Meantime, Armstrong completed passes to seven receivers, led by senior Ryder McElroy with nine catches for 59 yards. Senior running back Peyton Harris added 81 yards on 10 totes, including a pair of 1-yard scoring runs.

Both teams dropped down in classification this year – Abernathy from Class 3A Division II to 2A Division I and Farwell from 2A Division I to 2A-2.

"In my time at Abernathy, we've never played Farwell in any sport," coach Wiley said. "They have a strong, rich tradition, and that's the kind of teams we want to put on our schedule."

In other area tilts on Friday night:

Grady 28, Roy/Mosquero 16 – Senior Chevy Dickson scored a pair of touchdowns and sophomore Andre Garcia returned a fumble for a score as the Bronchos (4-1, 1-1 6-man District 1) posted a key win over the Blue at Roy.

Dickson tallied on a 10-yard pass from sophomore Zander Ciancio in the first quarter and added a 9-yard run in the final stanza to put the game away.

Garcia's fumble return late in the opening canto put the Bronchos in front 12-0, while senior Deakin Ragland tossed a 16-yard TD pass to sophomore Gavin West to account for Grady's other tally. Ciancio also booted a pair of 2-point conversions for the Bronchos.

Roy/Mosquero (3-1, 1-1) got an 11-yard touchdown run from senior Ayden Clavel in the second period and a 19-yard pass from sophomore Ethan Hazen to sophomore Thomas Deherrera in the fourth. Senior Jackson Fudge kicked 2PATs for the Blue after both touchdowns.

Melrose 52, Escalante 0 – At Melrose, the homestanding Buffaloes (5-0) continued to make short work of their opponents, getting the clinching score just before the intermission to end the tilt at halftime against the Lobos (1-4), who moved down this year from Class 2A, on the 50-point rule.

Senior quarterback Josiah Roybal threw TD passes of 64 yards to senior Brayden Eldridge, 62 yards to senior Nolan DeVaney and 21 yards each to twin brother Josh Roybal and junior Jaxon Odom, all in the first quarter. In the second frame, Odom added a 21-yard TD run, senior Briar Larson went in on a 36-yard run and senior Cy Draper added a 7-yard scoring runs. The Buffs also went 5-of-7 on 2-point conversion tries.

Seagraves 29, Bovina 6 – At Seagraves, senior Julian Munoz ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns and the host Eagles (2-2) pulled away with a couple of second-quarter scores.

Munoz had scoring runs of 51 yards in the first period, 11 yards in the second and 22 yards in the third. Sophomore Devin Espino added eight carries for 127 yards, including an 81-yard TD run late in the half to give Seagraves a 16-point halftime cushion.

Sophomore quarterback Matthew Espinoza got the Mustangs (1-3) on the board with an 8-yard scoring run in the opening segment. He finished 9-of-24 through the air for 115 yards.

In another Friday night matchup in 6-man District 3, host Logan posted a 50-0 win over Elida.

In a Thursday night clash:

Floyd 33, Carrizozo 26 – The Broncos broke into the win column in a non-district road tilt, doing all of their scoring in the first half en route to a 33-13 advantage.

Sophomore Aiden Nieto returned the opening kickoff 60 yards for a score, and later added a 50-yard TD pass reception from freshman Brayden Parks and a 24-yard TD run. Meantime, Parks also threw scoring passes of 45 yards in the opening frame and 10 yards in the second period to junior Issak Bustamante, who also booted a pair of 2PATs.

The Grizzlies (0-4) got three touchdowns from freshman Julius Daughtery.