The Whitharral Panthers came out on top of a tough defensive battle with the Balmorhea Bears to take the UIL Class 1A-2 Region I High School Football Championship last Saturday at Spieker Stadium in Hermleigh.
The Bears led in number of plays, time of possession and yardage.
They also led in the number of times inside the other team’s 15-yard-line without a score.
The Panthers stopped Balmorhea inside their own 15yard-line three times, while the Bears were only able to stop Whitharral once.
“It was a great defensive effort by all of our kids,” said Whitharral Head Football Coach Jeremy Holt. “Nomar (Garcia) had and amazing night with 17 ½ tackles. He’s been a great leader on defense.”
Conditions in the first half were less than ideal with light rain and near freezing temperatures making the ball hard to handle and the turf field slick.
Both teams suffered two turnovers in the wet conditions.
Whitharral lost two fumbles, while the Bears lost a fumble and suffered an interception.
The weather cleared and warmed slightly in the second half of the mid-afternoon game, which helped both teams, but it was the Panthers who were better positioned to take advantage.
“Our offensive line did a great job to allow us to put points on the board,” said Holt.
He also singled out the kicking game.
“Our kicker, Jack Griffin, had a great night that included a 33yard field goal.”
A field goal is something not often seen in six-man football.
Balmorhea started with the ball on the Whitharral 31-yardline, but were shut down after gaining only seven yards.
Whitharral fared even worse on their possession.
They made it to the Bears’ 34-yard-line before Shamadrick Weaver suffered the first Panther fumble of the day.
The Bears’ Adrian Mata recovered and Balmorhea took over again, this time on their own 33-yard-line.
They hammered their way down to a first down and goal at the Whitharral 10-yard-line.
Four plays later, the Bears had been pushed back to the Panthers’ 12-yard-line and a desperation pass from Ethan Villanueva to Landon Lopez sailed over his head for a turnover on downs.
Whitharral managed to get nowhere on their next possession, trading a lost yard for a gained yard and a penalty against Balmorhea for a penalty against the Panthers.
They were forced to punt on fourth down and 15. A long punt by Jack Griffin set Balmorhea back on their own 24-yard-line.
The best the Bears could do, though, was to lose five yards before turning over on downs at their own 20-yard-line.
Whitharral took over with just 17 seconds left in the first quarter.
They were pushed back to their own 34-yard-line before turning over on downs with 9:15 left in the second quarter.
The Bears went on the march again, driving all the way down to a first down and goal on the Whitharral nine-yard-line with 7:45 left in the half.
The Panthers stiffened again. Balmorhea got to the threeyard- line on the first play, then fumbled and were pushed back to the nine on second down.
Third down got them back to the five, but on fourth down, Villaneuva’s pass to Tomas Contreras was intercepted by Brent Robinson who took it to the Whitharral 11-yard-line.
Robison gained two yards on first down, then Weaver broke loose for a 67 yard Panther touchdown.
Griffin’s kick was good for an 8-0 lead with 5:38 left in the first half.
Balmorhea took over on their own 20 and promptly suffered a lost fumble on second down and 15 yards, giving Whitharral the ball and a golden opportunity to go up by two touchdowns.
That’s when the Bears’ defense stepped up. The Panthers got down to a first down and goal from the five-yard-line.
Weaver was hit behind the line of scrimmage for a two-yard loss.
On second down, Jeryn Ellard found Ryan McDaniel open for a four-yard gain.
Weaver was again caught behind the line of scrimmage on third down and stopped at the Bears’ six-yard-line.
Fourth down saw Ellard’s pass to Kaden Smith completed, but at a loss of another eight yards for a turnover on downs at the Bears’ 14-yard-line.
Balmorhea fought their way inside the Whitharral 15-yard-line for the third time on the final drive of the first half.
This time, they had a first down and goal to go on the Whitharral one-yard-line, but with only seven seconds left on the clock. Contreras, who had been the most successful of the Bears’ running backs, got the call.
He ran into Nomar Gomez just inches from the goal-line and was stopped cold as the half-time buzzer sounded, preserving the 80 Whitharral lead as both teams headed into the half-time locker rooms.
The weather cleared during the third quarter and both teams made some adjustments.
The first success came from Whitharral in the form of a field goal, not something that is often seen in six-man football.
The Bears’ kick was returned by Victor Saenz all the way back to the Balmorhea 15-yard-line.
A holding call on first down put the Panthers back to the 25yard-line, but a face masking call against Balmorhea on the next play gave Whitharral a first down and goal at the Bears’ 13-yardline.
By the time fourth down came around, the Panthers had been pushed back to the 16.
That’s when Griffin got the call for a 33-yard field goal.
The kick sailed through the uprights and the Panthers led 120 with 8:34 left in the third quarter.
Balmorhea took over on their own 30-yard-line after the kickoff, managing only eight yards before turning over on downs.
A fumble by Smith, however, gave the Bears the ball back on their own 29 with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
This time, they got down to the Whitharral 37-yard-line before Robinson stopped Lopez for a two-yard loss on fourth down and a yard to go.
Whitharral took over on their own 39 and gained three yards on the first play.
Then, Robinson opened up for a 38-yard touchdown. Griffin had a rare missed kick, but the Panthers led 18-0 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
Balmorhea was down, but not out by any means. After taking over on their own 32-yardline and losing two yards on the opening play of the drive, Contreras found an opening and rocketed down the field for a 50yard touchdown.
The kick failed, but the Bears had cut the lead to 18-6 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.
Balmorhea then stopped the Panthers on their next drive.
Whitharral started at the Bears’ 36-yard-line and turned over on downs at the same spot.
Balmorhea went to Contreras again.
This time, he rumbled for 40 yards before being brought down at the Whitharral four-yard-line by Smith.
Lopez went three yards on first and goal and then went the final yard on second down to cut the Whitharral lead to 18-14 after the kick.
The Bears pinned Whitharral back on their own 27-yard-line, but Robinson made that up quickly, running down to the Balmorhea 28 on the first play from scrimmage.
The Panthers worked methodically, steadily gaining yards until they reached the Balmorhea two-yard-line.
This time, the goal-line stand didn’t hold. The Bears stopped Weaver and Smith’s attempts to run for the touchdown, so Ellerd passed to McDaniel on third down for the 26-14 lead after Griffin’s kick.
The Bears were able to tighten the lead one more time with their next drive.
They started on their own 33-yard-line and marched down to the Whitharral 23-yard-line, before Contreras opened up for the final Balmorhea touchdown of the game.
The kick was blocked and the Bears still trailed 26-20 with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter.
The kickoff went out of bounds, giving Whitharral the ball on their own 30-yard-line.
Steady gains put the Panthers on the Bears’ 21-yardline with 2:15 left when Weaver broke loose for the final touchdown of the game.
Griffin’s kick was good for a 34-20 Whitharral lead with 2:15 left in the game.
Whitharral pinned Balmorhea back at their own 20-yard-line with the kick, but the Bears were not finished.
They worked their way down to the Whitharral 19-yard-line before being stopped five yards short of the first down.
That gave the Panthers the ball on their own 19-yard-line with just over a minute left in the game.
Ellerd took a knee twice and the game was over.
Ellerd went 7-for-10 for 31 yards and a touchdown. Weaver went 2-for-5 for 20 yards.
Weaver also led the rushing with 15 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Robinson had four carries for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Smith had four carries for 39 yards. Cason Wischkaemper had two carries for nine yards. Saenz had a single carry that gained no yardage.
McDaniel caught three passes for 21 yards and a touchdown. Jarrett Fryar had two catches for 19 yards.
Dylin Villegas had a single 15 yard catch. Saenz had a four yard catch. Weaver had a catch for no yards and Smith had a catch that lost eight yards.
Gomez had 17 ½ tackles. Saenz had nine. Smith had 6 ½. Wischkaemper had six. Robinson had 5 ½ and an interception.
McDaniel had 3 ½ and Dawson Rodgers had a tackle.
Griffin went 3-for-4 for two point kicks, had a 33 yard field goal and a 44 yard punt. Saenz had two kick returns for 38 yards.
The Panthers return to Hermleigh on Saturday at 3 p.m. to face the Benjamin Mustangs in the state semi-final game.