The only thing that mattered at the end of the evening in the showdown between the Amarillo ISD eastside high schools was who was 2-0 and at least for now, worthy of city bragging rights.
One week after scoring the first victory over Tascosa in a dozen years, Palo Duro reigned over another traditional city foe. The Dons used defense to put this one away, placing the clamps on Caprock to grind out a 12-0 victory for their first shutout over the Longhorns in 21 years.
The style points in this game were almost as sparse as the ones on the scoreboard, but the Dons will take a 2-0 record and some early season momentum after two weeks, regardless of what may need to be addressed.
“We can win ball games a lot of different ways and tonight we stood on the backs of our defense who bowed up and played a great game,” PD coach Eric Mims said. “Offensively we never got in a great rhythm, but that’s a great credit to Caprock’s defense. We didn’t do as well as we’d like offensively but nevertheless we came out with a victory and we’re 2-0.”
There might not have been the chest-thumping giddiness after the game which came with the previous week’s 33-21 win over Tascosa, where the Dons were 28-point underdogs entering the game.
But it was still a win over a crosstown rival which shows the progress they’ve been making under Mims, as it was the first time Palo Duro has beaten both Tascosa and Caprock in the same season since 2012.
What may have been missing was the dynamic offensive performance of a week earlier when sophomore quarterback Julian Reese II made an auspicious varsity debut. Reese didn’t necessarily play poorly in his follow-up game, but the night belonged to PD’s defense in the end.
Neither team sustained a major scoring drive in the first half, as neither one even finished the game with 200 total yards of offense. Good field position and a personal foul set up Palo Duro early in the second quarter as the Dons took a 6-0 lead on a 2-yard run by Darien Lewis.
Lewis scored four touchdowns in the season opener against Tascosa, and he lived up to his short-yardage reputation with his fifth with 9:02 left in the first quarter. It was set up when on third-and-16, Caprock (0-2) was flagged for roughing Reese.
“Every game we go into we think about a shutout even if the offense isn’t working out and we’re going to stick in the game,” said PD junior linebacker Keima’j Barnes, who helped spearhead a stellar effort. “I feel like we’re better everywhere. We’ve got athletes all across the board. It feels good but we’re not done.”
Since Tascosa scored on the first play of the second half of the opener, the Dons haven’t allowed a point. The defense especially compensated for a whole lot against Caprock.
The week one sloppiness carried into the second week for Palo Duro, as the Dons, who had 136 yards in penalties against Tascosa, were flagged 12 times for 125 yards against the Longhorns.
“Tonight, penalties were a little different than last week in that we had a couple of unsportsmanlike calls, and we had one tonight which is still unacceptable,” Mims said. “I expect our program to conduct ourselves with character and class. We had a couple of face masks and holding and I don’t like penalties ever. They definitely change ball games and can cost us.”
Following a short punt, Caprock took over at Palo Duro’s 35-yard line with 41 seconds left in the first half. A pass interference penalty and a 15-yard completion from Stevan Ulibarri to Raiden Ramirez gave the Longhorns a first and goal at PD’s 8.
“We’re not going to change our approach,” Caprock coach Rowdy Freeman said. “My guys work hard Monday through Thursday and they grind. I couldn’t ask anything more out of them. We just didn’t make enough of the plays.”
The third quarter was scoreless with neither team mounting much of a threat offensively.
That monotony was broken up 25 seconds into the fourth quarter when the Dons faced fourth and long at the Caprock 40 and opted to go for it.
The gamble paid off when Reese hit a wide-open Charlie Love II up the right sideline for a touchdown and a 12-0 lead which pretty much sealed it.
“Our defense had been playing well and it was controversial if we should go or not go so ultimately, we decided to stick with the call,” Mims said. “It was a different coverage, and Reese did a great job of reading it because that wasn’t the first read. He came up and went to the second read and threw a great ball.”