The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity football team cruised past the Brownfield Cubs on Friday, 55-9, in a home victory at Wildcat Stadium.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 4-1 overall on the season.
The Cubs got the ball to begin the contest but after a first down run by Jeremiah Williams took the ball up to their own 37-yard line for a first down, on the next play quarterback, Trae Timmons was tackled in the backfield fumbling the football, and it was recovered by Jakob Kirkland for a turnover with 11:12 to play in the opening quarter.
Littlefield took over at the Brownfield 27-yard line, as senior, Eizeah Coleman, caught a pass out to the left for positive yards. Coleman again caught a pass on second down, and a series of runs by senior, Major McNeese, had the Wildcats facing a fourth and goal from the three-yard line. Senior quarterback Chip Green, would keep it himself on fourth down, taking it up the middle for the score with 9:45 to play in the quarter. The PAT from senior kicker, Adam MacDonald, was good, putting Littlefield in front, 7-0.
Brownfield got the ball after a kick out of bounds at their own 36-yard line and they were able to take the ball into Wildcat territory at the 27-yard line, but on second down, Timmons was picked by sophomore, Jayden Barrio, who returned the ball back out to the Littlefield 41-yard line with 6:44 to play in the first quarter.
The Wildcats took over at their own 41-yard line and after a pass fell incomplete on first down, senior, Ian Mendez carried the ball on three consecutive plays, setting the Wildcats up with first and 10 from the Brownfield 21-yard line. Green kept it on a quarterback run on first down picking up six yards and on the next play, McNeese moved forward for two more yards, bringing up third and two.
McNeese carried the ball again on third down, taking it up the middle to the 11-yard line to move the chains for the Wildcats and on the next play, Mendez capped off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run with 4:07 left to play in the quarter. The PAT from Macdonald was good, making the score, 14-0.
The Cubs got the ball back at their own 21-yard line, but would end up having to punt it away on fourth down with 1:23 to play in the quarter.
The Wildcats took over at their own 33-yard line and after an incompletion on first down, McNeese was stuffed for no gain on second down, bringing up third and long. The Wildcats ran a screen to McNeese, who made it fourth and manageable. They would elect to go for it on fourth down in their own territory, as McNeese plunged ahead for a first down, taking the game into the second quarter.
The Wildcats were flagged for holding to begin the second frame, and on first and long, Green dropped back and fired a pass down the Littlefield sideline that connected with senior, Gabriel Villanueva, for a first down at the Cubs’ 25-yard line. On the next play, McNeese took it up the middle for a house call, scoring on the 25-yard touchdown run with 11:34 to play in the game. The PAT from MacDonald was no good, leaving the score, 20-0.
The Cubs would respond on their next drive, after starting at their own 36-yard line, Williams would take a run up the middle, cutting out to his left for a 64-yard touchdown run with 11:22 to play in the first half. The PAT was good from Ayden Molina, making the score, 20-7.
The Wildcats got a big return from Villanueva on the kick off, as he took it up to their own 43-yard line, where the offense would take over for their next drive.
The Wildcats used a combination of runs from Mendez and Green to march the ball down the field, before Green capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run on the quarterback-keeper. The PAT from MacDonald was good, making the score, 27-7.
Brownfield took over at their own 30 after the kick-off rolled out of bounds and Timmons kept it himself on first down taking it up to the 42-yard line to move the chains for the Cubs, but they would go three-and-out after that, punting the ball away on fourth down with 7:38 to play in the half.
After a touchback, the Wildcats took over at their own 20-yard line, but the drive was derailed two plays in, as Green was picked off by Timmons, looking for senior, Bradyn Redman, as Timmons returned it across midfield to the Wildcats’ 42-yard line with 7:04 to play in the first half.
The Cubs would draw the Wildcats offsides on first down, before going three-and-out, having to punt the ball away from the Littlefield 47-yard line with 4:27 remaining in the second frame.
The Wildcats would take the ball down to the Cubs’ 11-yard line, before Green was stuffed on fourth and two for a turnover on downs with 1:49 to play in the half.
Brownfield took over deep in their own territory, but on second and seven, Williams was popped by junior linebacker, Ben Castillo, who knocked the ball loose, before falling on it for a turnover with 1:02 to play in the half.
Littlefield took over at the Cub’s 15-yard line and wasted no time finding the endzone, as Green hit Villanueva on a slant for the 15yard touchdown. The PAT from MacDonald was good with just under a minute remaining in the half and the Wildcats leading, 347.
The Cubs would have nothing going on their next drive, as they lined up to punt from their own 21-yard line, but after a timeout by the Wildcats with 38 seconds left in the half, the punt was blocked by Castillo, giving Littlefield the ball at the Brownfield six-yard line.
The Wildcats would end up trying a 21-yard field goal on third and goal, but the attempt from MacDonald was no good, leaving the score, 34-7, going into the locker room at halftime.
The Wildcats got the ball to begin the second half, as they got a big return from junior, Zane Champion, giving the ball at the Brownfield 44-yard line to begin the second half.
Mendez picked up three yards on a first-down run and two plays later, Green connected with Redman on a deep pass to the right to set up first and goal from the one-yard line. Green would sneak it in on the next play and the PAT was good from MacDonald, pushing their lead to, 41-7, with 11:04 to play in the third quarter.
The Cubs couldn’t string together anything offensively, as they were forced to punt it away with 10:13 to play in the quarter. Littlefield took over at their own 35-yard line to begin their next drive.
Littlefield’s offense continued to click on all cylinders, as a run by McNeese on second down took the ball down to the Cubs’ 44-yard line to move the chains. Green hit Villanueva on a pass to his left for four yards and McNeese picked up two more yards on second down to make it third and four.
On third down, Green called his own number taking the ball around the left side for a first down at the 34-yard line. He Cubs were flagged for defensive pass interference on first down, as Green was looking for Villanueva and two plays later, Mendez ran it in for a 19-yard touchdown, followed by the PAT from MacDonald, stretching the lead to, 48-7.
The Cubs took over after the kick-off at their own 32-yard line and Williams broke contain on first down, reversing field to his left, taking the ball across midfield to the 48- yard line, but the Brownfield drive would stall out, as they punted the ball away again with 6:57 to play in the quarter.
A shanked punt gave Littlefield the ball at their own 42-yard line and two plays later, McNeese broke free on a run up the middle, taking it 58-yards to the house for the score. The kick was good from MacDonald, extending the lead to, 55-7, with 6:30 to play in the third.
Later in the fourth quarter, The Cubs would stop Jose Payan in the endzone for a safety, trimming the lead to, 55-9, as the Wildcats took the contest in non-district play.
Offensively, Green finished 1022 passing for 160 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also added 14 carries for 76 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
McNeese led the rushing attack with 13 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while Mendez tallied 18 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
The receiving game was led by Villanueva, who hauled in four catches for 76 yards and a score. Redman chipped in two catches for 54 yards, while Coleman finished with two catches for 15 yards and McNeese added one catch for 10 yards.
Defensively, Castillo led the way with 11 tackles, two for loss, one sack, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a blocked punt. Jakob Kirkland tallied nine tackles, two for loss, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Reyes finished with nine tackles and Barrio added three tackles and an interception.
The Wildcats will be at Coahoma on Friday to close out the pre-district schedule.
Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.