Amarillo High wins shootout over San Angelo Central

Perhaps they felt the need to let out some pent-up frustrations, but the Amarillo High Sandies gave fans an offensive show Friday night in their home opener against San Angelo Central at Dick Bivins Stadium.

After not even running an offensive play at Odessa High in the season opener of a game which was suspended due to lightning, the Sandies made up for lost time against Central when they had the ball. Jett Lopez in particular had a huge game, throwing for five touchdowns as Amarillo High survived an offensive shootout for a 48-45 victory.

Making his first start at quarterback after serving as a backup last season, Lopez made a strong first impression against the Bobcats. Lopez, a junior, completed 19-of-34 passes for 297 yards. Two of those scores went to Oliver Parsons, another junior.

The only complaint for the Sandies (1-0) was that they couldn’t quite put away Central (0-2). Amarillo High led 48-29 heading into the fourth quarter before Central inched back in at, but ultimately fell short.

Tascosa thumps Wichita Falls Legacy

Tascosa didn’t give a warm welcome to new school Wichita Falls Legacy on the road, as the Rebels picked up their first win of the season, 34-7.

It certainly was a major improvement over the season opener, which Tascosa lost 33-21 to Palo Duro by allowing 26 unanswered points to end the game.

The Rebels (1-1) used their patented rushing game to wear down Legacy (0-2). They had two ball carriers go over 100 yards, as Derrion Howard ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and Za’Cory Fisher had 142 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries.

All told, Tascosa ran for 539 yards and didn’t throw for a single yard. The ground game more than compensated with four runners going over 50 yards.

Tascosa’s defense also was up to the task, not allowing Legacy in the end zone. Legacy’s only points came on a kickoff return for a score.

Class 4A 

Dumas rolls over Borger

Dumas continued to dominate on both sides of the ball, putting the clamps on Borger and dominating in the third quarter to roll to a 38-14 victory in the home opener.

It was actually a tight a game in the first half, as it was tied at 14-14 at halftime. Just like the previous week’s win over Caprock, though, Dumas (2-0) took control of the game after halftime.

Colton Mills threw half of his four touchdown passes in the third quarter as the Demons stretched their lead to 35-14. Mills threw scoring passes to four different receivers.

Dumas may have been more impressive on defense than anywhere else, as the Demons held Borger (0-1) to a measly 54 yards of offense, including only three yards rushing. The Demons haven’t given up 100 offensive yards yet to either of their first two opponents.

Hereford rolls past Estacado

Hereford continued to put up big offensive numbers against Lubbock ISD schools to open the season, as the Whitefaces took control of the game on the road late in the first quarter to beat Lubbock Estacado 41-21 and stay undefeated.

The Herd improved to 2-0 despite falling behind Estacado (1-1) 7-0 in the first quarter. Hereford closed the quarter with 21 unanswered points as Tell Bryant scored on a 3-yard run and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Zayden Rincon.

Herd quarterback Kalub Ramirez completed 15-of-25 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score. Brylyn Lopez ran for 171 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and also caught a scoring pass.

Tyi Duque had four catches for 101 yards for Hereford.

Canyon doubles up Andrews for first win

Coming to Happy State Bank for the home opener definitely helped Canyon, as the Eagles bounced back from a tough loss to Perryton a week earlier, cruising to a 32-16 victory over Andrews to even their record at 1-1.

Canyon used a prolific ground attack to wear down Andrews (1-1), producing two 100-yard rushers. Colt Cruth led the way with his second straight 100-yard game, picking up 130 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, and Ryan Rivera added 106 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

The best news for the Eagles, though, might have been on the other side of the ball. After giving up a ton of offense in a 45-44 loss at Perryton, they kept Andrews in check defensively for most of the game. Joel Moore and Brayden Drager both had nine tackles for the Eagles.

Randall routs Monahans to stay unbeaten

Randall scored an impressive win in its first road game of the season, showing a balanced offensive attack to roll over Monahans 43-14 and move to 2-0.

The constant so far this season for the Raiders has been starting early, as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead and made Monahans (0-2) play catch-up and they still haven’t trailed for one minute this season. Dylan Ray ran for a pair of long touchdowns to start the scoring from 32 yards in the first quarter and 79 in the second.

That started a huge game for Ray, who ran for 228 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries.
Kaison Benton had another solid game for Randall in his second start at quarterback. He threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns. That was part of a big offensive effort in which the Raiders racked up 462 yards of total offense.

Tyren Combs ended the scoring in exciting fashion for the Raiders, returning an interception 56 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Plainview pummels Pampa in home opener

In their first game at newly christened Zach Thomas Stadium, the Pampa Harvesters could have used some help from its namesake Friday night.

The Harvesters took the field after the stadium was officially named after Thomas, their most successful player and Pro Football Hall of Famer at linebacker. Ironically, Pampa looked most vulnerable defensively, as the Harvesters couldn’t slow down Plainview in a 51-18 loss in their home opener.

Pampa (1-1) never led against Plainview (1-1), which moved the ball at will. Max Neff had a tremendous night running the ball for the Harvesters, picking up 190 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, including an electric 48-yard touchdown to open Pampa’s scoring in the first quarter.

That was about it as far as the good news in the game, though. Quarterback Seth Mayberry led a prolific offensive attack which the Harvesters seemed helpless to stop. Pampa cut the lead to 28-18 in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs closed the game with 23 unanswered points.

Mayberry torched Pampa through the air, going 15-for-22 for 275 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. His favorite target was Maddox Ellis, who had six catches for 144 yards and a touchdown. Blaze Chambers also ran for flour touchdowns.