Wolverines, Buffs remain unbeaten

TULAROSA – Defending state champions Texico in Class 2A and Melrose in 8-man both won handily on Friday night to remain unbeaten and on course to earn top seeds in upcoming state football playoffs.

In District 4-2A, Texico cruised past host Tularosa 50-0 to improve to 8-0 (3-0 district). The Wolverines finish off their regular season on Friday night at home against Jal (2-7, 0-3).

In 8-man District 3, Melrose capped a perfect regular campaign at 10-0 (6-0) with a 50-0 shellacking of host Tatum.

The NMAA will release its 12-team bracket in 8-man today, with Melrose and three others earning first-round byes. Meantime, selections the 12-team bracket in 2A will be set next Sunday, and Texico is a virtual lock to at least draw a first-round bye.

Texico 50, Tularosa 0 – Junior quarterback Bennett Wahlen completed only two passes, but both went for touchdowns and he added a 1-yard scoring run in the Wolverines’ romp past the Wildcats (6-4, 3-1).

Wahlen’s TD strikes covered 60 yards to senior Edgar Mendoza and 15 yards to junior Maverick Hawkins. Meantime, senior Alex Fuentes had a 73-yard touchdown run and led a 348-yard ground attack with 208 yards on 14 carries.

Other scoring runs were 6 yards by junior Keaton Dumas, 65 yards by sophomore Jett Curtis and 5 yards by junior Kye Conley, the latter ending the tilt on the 50-point rule in the fourth quarter.

Melrose 50, Tatum 0 – The Buffaloes literally led all the way in this one as junior Jaxon Odom brought the opening kickoff back 60 yards for a score. By the end of the first quarter it was 28-0, and Melrose ended it on Odom’s 10-yard TD run in the third segment.

Senior Cy Draper posted a pair of safeties in the opening stanza for the Buffs, both coming when he chased down the punter in the end zone after bad snaps. Senior quarterback Josiah Roybal had a 2-yard scoring run and tossed a 15-yard TD pass to twin brother Josh Roybal, while other touchdowns came on runs of 1 yard by sophomore Trevin Yeary and 2 yards by senior Isaiah Garcia.

Melrose ran in 2-point conversions after its first five TDs, with Odom getting three of them and Yeary and senior Ty Windham one apiece. There was no conversion try after the final touchdown.

The Coyotes (5-5, 3-3), who are likely to be seeded in the middle of the playoff field, went 4-1 on the road during the regular year but just 1-4 at home.

In Texas Class 2A Division II District 1, host Stratford posted a 63-0 victory over Bovina (2-6, 0-3). Although the Elks are just 4-3 (1-1), they’re ranked fourth by MaxPreps in 2A Division II with a district loss to No. 2 Gruver (33-26) and setbacks to 2A Division I members No. 3 Sunray (31-14) and No. 4 Panhandle (33-27 in overtime).

Sunray, which beat Panhandle 59-41 on Friday, and Gruver are both 8-0 for the season while the Panthers fell to 7-1 after their setback.