Stifling second half leads Sunray past Wellington in Class 2A Division II regional semifinals

In a tale of two halves, a fast paced first half dominated by offense became a defensive chess match in the second between two excellent programs in Sunray and Wellington.

In the end, Sunray’s defense bent but never broke in those final two frames that propelled the Bobcats to a 36-22 victory over the tradition-rich Skyrockets in highly anticipated Class 2A Division II regional semifinal at Happy State Bank Stadium.

Sunray (11-2) didn’t look like a team playing in the third round for the first time in 12 years showing a veteran presence on both sides of the ball especially when it counted. The Bobcats now advance to their first state quarterfinal in 16 years when they take on another Texas Panhandle team in Clarendon (10-3) at 7 p.m. on Friday back at Happy State Bank Stadium. Wellington ends another fantastic year at 9-4.

“This win is huge for not just our team but our community,” Sunray head coach Wes Boatmun Said. “The support has been phenomenal. The support for the players and for the school is tremendous. Sunray is a great place and we’re proud to still be going on. This is a huge deal.”

A fan of offense couldn’t have asked for more in the opening 24 minutes of this contest. There was a total of 51 points in the first half with Sunray leading 29-22 at the break.

The Bobcats, who never trailed the entire way, jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the early stages of the second behind an Arnold Mendoza three-yard touchdown run and a Damian Barragan 26-yard field goal.

But back came Wellington and a very surprising pass attack. Quarterback Carson Tarver delivered a strike to Brendan Garcia in stride for a 27-yard pitch and catch. Following a two-point conversion, Wellington was back in the game at 10-8.

That was how the entire first half went. Wellington chasing Sunray closing the gap at 23-22 late in the second before quarterback Armando Lujan made a huge 35-yard connection to Barragan inside a minute before halftime giving Sunray some breathing room up 29-22 going into the third quarter.

The second half is where the game slowed down and both teams settled in, and the defenses stepped up making key stops. But the first key moment came with just under six minutes left in the third. Facing a fourth and short at the Sunray four-yard line, Wellington running back Travion Lewis was stuffed for no gain by the Bobcat front.

Then came the opening play of the fourth quarter. Wellington once again had driven the ball deep into Sunray territory facing a fourth and eight at the Bobcat 12. Once again, the Sunray defense stepped up shutting down a reverse pass taking over at the six-yard line with 11:54 to play.

“It was a huge part of the game and the biggest difference in the game,” Boatmun said. “The defense came through for us not once but twice. They saved this thing for us. There wasn’t much scoring in the second half so my hats off to the defense. They forced turnovers and made the stops when they needed to.”

Wellington head coach Greg Proffitt agreed with Boatmun’s comment.

“We had that key stretch of not getting a score in the second half,” Proffitt said. “We stopped them twice but then we had penalties and didn’t get the ball in. Then we didn’t get it in again in the fourth. We had some great seniors play their final game and I’m so proud of them. But hats off to them they were better than us on this night.”

Sunray was able to put together a huge drive that sank the sails of the Skyrockets on the ensuing possession. Starting from their own six-yard line, Lujan immediately gave the Bobcats breathing room going 42 yards on a quarterback keeper getting Sunray out of the shadow of its own endzone and into midfield.

Mendoza went to work chewing up yards behind a powerful offensive line and Lujan had timely connections to his valuable weapons. The dagger for Wellington came around the six-minute mark of the drive when Mendoza punched in his second score from three-yards out capping a 10-plus play, 94-yard drive giving the Bobcats a commanding 36-22 lead with 6:35 left in the game.

“It’s nice to get those kinds of drives,” Boatmun said. “That was very timely. Using the entire field is something we try to do and something that was crucial at that part of the game.”

Mendoza had another superb outing totaling 53 yards on 15 carries but did find paydirt two times. Lujan delivered in his biggest game to date going 15-of-27 through the air for 215 yards with two TD passes and toted the rock 17 times on the ground for 169 yards. Barragan and Kagan Davis led the receiving unit both snagging three passes. Barragan had 57 yards with a score and Davis finished with 59 yards.

“That’s a really good football team,” Proffitt said. “They are so good on offense, and they can hurt you in a lot of ways. They are good up front; they have a great quarterback, and their running back runs hard. I thought the way we played in the second half was great. We had two chances to go get a score and get the momentum, but we never got over the hump. But I’m proud of my team.”

Wellington QB Carson Tarver threw for 119 yards with two TDs and rushed it for 89 yards on the night.