The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity football team throttled the Coahoma Bulldogs on Friday in their home district-opener at Wildcat Stadium, 55-21.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 5-1 overall, 1-0 in district play.
The Wildcats totaled 404 yards of total offense, including 242 rushing yards and 202 passing yards.
The Wildcats got the ball to begin the game, and after a promising start to the drive, a handful of miscues forced them to punt the ball away from their own 27-yard line with 10 minutes to play in the opening quarter.
Coahoma’s Austin Perkins returned the punt up to the Littlefield 42-yard line, where the Bulldogs began their first offensive drive. Boyd Cox kept it himself, but he was stuffed by MJ Randle after just a yard. On second and nine, Cox dropped back and hit Perkins deep down the left side to set up first and goal from the two-yard line. Billy Bailey tried a run up the middle but was stopped short of the goal line by Sam Hill.
On the next play, Jaidyn Vineyard tried a run to the right, but he had the ball stripped out and it was picked up by Major McNeese, who took it 98 yards the other way for the Wildcat touchdown with 8:27 to play in the quarter. The PAT by Angel Salazar was good, making the score, 7-0.
The kick-off was muffed by Bailey, who covered it at the Bulldog’s 10-yard line, but they had nothing going offensively, going three-and-out, as Cox was forced to punt it away with 7:04 to play in the first quarter.
The Wildcats wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover, as Green rolled out to his left and found Brady Jones, who turned it up field and sprinted down the visitor’s sideline for the 43-yard touchdown. The PAT by Salazar bounced off the right upright and was no good, leaving the score, 13-0, with just under seven minutes to play in the quarter.
Coahoma got the ball back after the kick-off at their own 32-yard line. On first down, Vineyard took a carry up the middle to the 48yard line to move the chains for the Bulldogs, but the drive stalled, bringing up a fourth and six from just inside Wildcat territory. They elected to go for it, but the pass intended for Bailey fell incomplete for a turnover on downs, with 5:08 to play in the first quarter.
Littlefield took over at their own 49-yard line, as Green kept it himself, but was stopped for no gain on the play. On second down, he dropped back and hit Omar Martinez with a deep ball on the right side to set up first and goal from the four-yard line. Green kept it himself on first down, but was tackled for a loss by Johnny Ray Valencia. But, on the next play, Green hit Josiah Garcia on the slant route over the middle for the nine-yard touchdown pass. The PAT from Salazar was good, pushing their lead to, 20-0, with 3:48 to play in the quarter.
Coahoma took over after a touchback on the kick-off at their own 25-yard line and were able to take the ball 75 yards, capping off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Vineyard with one minute remaining in the opening quarter. The PAT by Reagan Chapman was no good, leaving the score, 20-6.
McNeese fielded a short kickoff, giving the Wildcat offense the ball at their own 34-yard line to start their next drive. Randle ran a sweep ti the left, but was ran out of bounds by Chapman for no gain on first down. Green’s next two passes fell incomplete, but the Bulldogs were flagged for an offsides penalty, giving the Wildcats a third and four from their own 40-yard line.
Green would keep it himself, taking it up to the 46-yard line to move the chains for the Wildcats and on their next play, his pass fell incomplete over the middle looking for Garcia, as the first quarter came to a close.
Green opened the second quarter with a quarterback keeper up the middle, taking the ball across midfield to the Bulldogs’ 41-yard line for a first down. Hill picked up a yard on first down and on the next play, Green hit Randle with a pass on the left side, who took it down to the 29-yard line for another Wildcat first down.
Hill carried the ball around the left side for seven yards on first down and back- to- back keepers by Green set the Wildcats up with first and 10 from the 13-yard line. On first down, Green rolled out to his right and hit Omar Martinez for the score with 9:36 to play in the half. The PAT by Salazar was good, making the score, 27-6.
A high kick-off was misplayed by Coahoma and Diego Ramirez was able to recover it for the Wildcats giving them the ball on the Bulldog’s 31-yard line with 9:31 to play in the half. The drive would come to a screeching halt, as Littlefield tried to set up the screen, but it was picked off by Jesse Hernandez, giving Coahoma the ball at their own 33-yard line with 9:21 to play in the half.
Coahoma couldn’t get much going offensively, as Cox was sacked on first down by Sir Pratt, backing them up to second and 13. Cox’s pass on second down was dropped by Brandyn Bishop and on third down, a pass was bobbled and the tipped ball was snagged out of the air by Martinez for a Littlefield turnover with 8:38 to play in the half.
Littlefield took advantage of the opportunity and on third and 13, Green hit Martinez with a pass on the right for nine yards, making it fourth and manageable. The Wildcats were able to draw the Bulldogs offsides on fourth down to move the chains for Littlefield. Green took the quarterback keeper up the middle, but was stopped for no gain on first down, however on the next play, he hit McNeese with a pass for nine yards to make it third and one from the 16-yard line.
McNeese took a carry up the middle to move the chains once again for the Wildcas, but on first down, the Wildcats were hit with a false start penalty, backing them up five yards. They were unphased by the penalty, as Green dropped back and rolled to his right, finding Martinez for the 16yard touchdown pass with 6:24 to play in the half. The PAT was no good from Salazar, making the score, 33-6.
Coahoma would answer with an eight-play drive, that was capped off with a 10-yard touchdown run from Vineyard with 3:25 remaining in the first half. The PAT by Chapman was good, making the score, 33-13.
Coahoma’s next kick-off rolled out of bounds, giving Littlefield the ball at their own 30-yard line, and the Wildcats wasted no time getting the offense going again, as on first down, Green called his own number taking it up the middle and kicked it into high gear, as be ran away from the Coahoma defense for a 70-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion pass to Randle was good, making the score, 41-13, with 3:08 to play in the half.
Coahoma tried a 44-yard field goal with two seconds to play in the half, but it was no good, as Littlefield took a, 41-13, lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Wildcat defense forced a three-and-out on the Bulldog’s opening drive of the second half, giving their offense the ball at their own 45-yard line.
A combination of runs by Green and McNeese set the Wildcats up with first and 10 at the Coahoma 45-yard line, as Green hit Randle with a pass, who took it down to the 30-yard line for another first down. McNeese picked up two yards on first down and a pass to Martinez picked up five more yards, making it third and short, before Green took a run up the middle to set up first and goal from the 10-yard line. On the next play, McNeese would take the carry up the middle, using a second effort to get into the endzone for the score. The PAT by Salazar was good, making the score, 48-13, with 8:25 to play in the third quarter.
Coahoma put together a long drive on their next possession, spanning 12 plays, but they elected to go for it on fourth and nine from the Littlefield 38-yard line, as Cox hit Bailey on a screen to the left, but he was tackled short of the sticks for a turnover on downs with 3:26 remaining in the quarter.
Littlefield took over at their own 36-yard line, as Green hit Martinez for three yards. Ian Mendez took a run to the left for three more yards, and on the next play, Green again called his own number, taking the ball up the middle for the 58-yard touchdown run with 2:30 to play in the third. The PAT from Salazar was good, making the score, 55-13.
Coahoma would tack on another score with just under two minutes remaining in the game, as Cox threw a 13-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion run by Vineyard was good, making the score, 55-21, as Littlefield went on to kill the clock, taking the districtopener over Coahoma.
Offensively, Green finished the game 15-23 passing for 202 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, while adding 15 carries for 170 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Hill added four carries for 45 yards, while McNeese tallied seven carries for 28 yards and one touchdown.
In the receiving game, Martinez tallied six catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns, while Jones caught one pass for 43 yards and a score, and Randle added two catches for 26 yards. Garcia caught two passes for 16 yards.
Defensively, Ramirez led the Wildcats in tackles with 12, including one for loss and had a fumble recovery, while Pratt tallied 10 tackles, including three for loss, and Jeremiah Trevino finished with 10 tackles. McNeese had seven tackles, one for loss and a 98-yard scoop and score touchdown, while Noah Lopez finished with two tackles and a forced fumble. Martinez also added one tackle and an interception.
The Wildcats host Stanton on Friday as district play continues.
Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.