Mineral Wells Area News

By DAVID MAY

Special to Mineral Wells Area News

Texas six man football’s top-ranked Gordon Longhorns did Gordon things Friday in a 61-0 two-quarter road win over the Gorman Panthers.

Continuing to fire on all cylinders and dominate in all phases, Gordon improved to 6-0 and 1-0 in District 9-1A-1. The Horns have now mercy-ruled their opponent in 16 straight regular season games. Gordon this season has outscored its opponents 327-28.

The fast and aggressive Longhorns overwhelmed Gorman, which saw its record drop to 1-5, 0-1. Gordon dominated defensively, limiting the Panthers to 52 yards passing with an interception. On the ground Gorman was left with minus 13 yards.

Gordon was so good offensively that the Panthers registered a total of five tackles on the night while the Horns put up 30 points in the first quarter and 31 in the second. The Horns ran just 13 plays on offense, piling up 219 total yards, including 133 rushing yards on eight attempts.

Stryker Reed had three rushing touchdowns on four carries totaling 79 yards. Riley Reed and Whit Fuller each had rushing touchdowns. Asher Salinas had a receiving score.

The defense also got in one the scoring with Brayden Walters recovering a fumble in the Gorman end zone for the game’s second TD, then recording the last score of the night on a 5-yard fumble return.

The Longhorns welcome Bryson in a 7:30 p.m. home game Friday. The Cowboys are 4-2 on the season after winning its district opener Friday over Lingleville, 74-27. Bryson is on a three-game win streak and has a potent offense of its own, putting up 301 points this season while its defense has allowed 178.

In the other district game, Baird edged Perrin-Whitt, 28-21.

Mineral Wells returns home

It is the one that got away. No, it’s not a fishing tale.

Despite Mineral Wells quarterback Owen Gadd throwing for 169 yards and three touchdowns and running back Jovan Ramirez rushing for 163 yards, the Rams left Wichita Falls with their third-straight loss, dropping their District 4-4A-1 opener Friday to the Coyotes, 38-26. 

Despite the big offensive numbers, the Rams (3-4, 0-1) had to try to overcome two interceptions, penalties and missed red-zone chances. A questionable defensive interference call in the fourth quarter nullified an interception with the Rams down by 5.

The Rams will be tested greatly when Springtown comes to Ram Stadium this Friday. The Porcupines (4-2) are coming off a bye week following four straight wins. It will be Springtown’s first district game.

Mineral Wells is doing a lot of things well, especially running the ball, averaging 224 yards per game on the ground, led by senior running backs Jose Garcia (100 ypg) and Jovan Ramirez (91.6 ypg). 

The Rams are hoping to get a couple of key players back from injuries, and will need to cut down on penalties and protect the ball to have a chance at upsetting Springtown. Converting more red zone trips into touchdowns instead of field goal tries is also key.

Kickoff at Ram Stadium is slated for 7 p.m.

Warriors blanked for first district loss

Turnovers plagued Community Christian School in a 42-0 loss Friday at Arlington St. Paul’s Prep.

The loss broke a four-game win streak for the Warriors, who their record drop to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in TCAF District 1 six man standings.

St. Paul’s improved to 3-0 in district and 4-3 overall.

The teams played a scoreless first quarter before the Lions put up 21 points in the second. They added 21 more points in the second half while keeping CCS off the scoreboard.

The Warriors did a lot of good things. Senior quarterback Price Horton threw for 112 yards and added another 55 rushing. Sophomore running back Hayden Yelverton had 14 carries for 75 yards. But Horton threw two picks and lost two fumbles. Helverton also lost a fumble, giving St. Paul’s opportunities to convert those miscues into points.

CCS will regroup and prepare to face Perrin Grace Christian Academy in a “home” homecoming game at Weatherford Christian School. The Colts are in their first year of six man football and carry a reported 1-4 record into the game. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Strawn keeps rolling

The visiting Strawn Greyhounds raced past the Ranger Bulldogs in Division 2 six man action on Friday, winning 64-18.

Strawn completed its non-district schedule with a 5-2 mark. The loss dropped Ranger to 4-3.

Strawn has now won four straight games by a combined score of 247-64, an average 52-point margin of victory over that span.

The Hounds will take this week off and prepare for its second season – district. District 8-1A-2 contains four teams – Newcastle, Gold-Burg, Strawn and Forestburg. 

Strawn draws the toughest of the group for its district opener when it travels Oct. 20 to 6-1 Newcastle for a 7:30 p.m. contest. The Bobcats came into the season picked as the favorite to repeat as district champs. Strawn will have something to say about that.

Santo looks to build off win

As reported earlier this week, Santo snapped a four-game losing streak to capture its first District 8-2A-2 win, defeating the Chico, 41-0, on Homecoming Night in Santo.

The Wildcats (4-2, 1-1) dominated the Dragons from the outset. Chico (1-6, 0-3) wasn’t able to pick up as much as a first down in the first half and hurt itself with miscues and short fields for Santo. Having lost its quarterback in the season’s third game, Santo appears to have settled in with Kalder Halbrook now running the flexbone offense.

Santo will have its hands full this Friday at Lindsay. The Knights are 3-4 and 1-2 and are feeling good about themselves coming off a 41-14 win over Era (1-5, 1-2). Kickoff in Lindsay is set for 7 p.m.

Balanced Bulldogs take district opener

The Millsap Bulldogs won their District 5-3A-2 opener at home Friday, defeating Comanche, 35-22.

Now 3-2 overall, the Bulldogs won their second straight game.

Quarterback CR Tippie had a terrific night, completing 9 of 11 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His effort produced a lofty 161.9 quarterback rating.

The balanced Bulldogs offense saw junior running back Reid Green score three rushing touchdowns while racking up 156 yards on the ground against the Indians (3-3, 0-1). Green had another 41 yards receiving for 197 total yards on the night.

Millsap had 403 total yards, with 251 on the ground.

Nixon Delaune and Kai Hanog caught the two passing touchdowns. Hanog had 61 receiving yards to go with 75 yards on the ground.

The Dogs will stay home this week as Dublin (1-5, 0-1) comes to town Friday. The Lions lost their district opener to Merkel, 47-21. Kickoff at Bulldogs Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

Pirates edged by Baird

The Perrin Pirates dropped a hard-fought game at home to Baird, 28-21, to remain winless on the year.

It was the District 9-1A-1 opener for Perrin.

The 1-5, 0-1 Gorman Panthers come to Perrin on Friday. Gorman is coming off a 61-0 district-opening loss to top-ranked Gordon. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.