The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity football team could not overcome a slow start on Friday, as they fell in their district-opener on the road to the Slaton Tigers, 49-33.
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 6-1 overall, 0-1 in district play.
Slaton got the ball to open the contest, starting their first offensive possession at their own 32-yard line. Billy Ray Harris took a toss around the left side for a big gain across midfield to the Littlefield 31-yard line to move the chains for Slaton. Jacob Lopez kept it himself on the next play, but the Tigers were flagged for holding, backing them up to first and 20 from the Littlefield 41-yard line.
Lopez dropped back on first and long and delivered a strike to Z’Qedrian Whaley down the home sideline to set up first and goal from the 10-yard line. Two plays later, Jacob Luna punched it in for a one-yard score to put the Tigers up, 7-0, after the PAT from Jeremy Floyd, with 10:10 to go in the opening quarter.
Littlefield took over after the Slaton kickoff at their own 38-yard line looking to get their offense going.
Zane Champion took a sweep around the right side for eight yards on first down and Blayton Soliz picked up another yard on a run up the middle to make it third and one from their own 49yard line. Champion caught a pass to take the ball across midfield, moving the chains for the Wildcats, but on the next play, Soliz took a run to the right, but he was stripped by Harris, who returned the ball all the way back to the Littlefield 14yard line with 9:19 to play in the first quarter.
Three plays later, Lopez connected with Whaley on a slant to the right side for a five-yard touchdown. The PAT by Floyd was no good, making the score, 13-0, with 8:18 to go in the quarter.
Slaton kept their foot on the gas, as they booted an onside kick that was muffed by Cooper Price and recovered by Caiden Surber to give the Tigers the ball in Littlefield territory.
The first down play for the Tigers went to the slot back, Jayven Lovato, who tried a run around the right side, but he was stopped for a loss by Ben Castillo. Luna picked up five yards on a run to the left, before being brought down by Uriel Ibarra, but on third and eight, Champion was flagged for pass interference, as Lopez was looking for Darion Palacio, giving Slaton a first down at the Wildcat 29-yard line.
On the next play, Lopez called his own number taking it around the left side for a 29-yard touchdown run with 6:47 to play in the first quarter. The Tigers went for the two-point conversion, but Lopez was sacked by Jacob Silvas and Sammy Saenz, leaving the score, 190.
Price covered a short kick from Slaton, giving Littlefield the ball at their own 39-yard line.
Nate Castaneda called his own number on first down, taking off on a run to his left and the Tigers were flagged for a facemask penalty, moving the ball across midfield to the Slaton 46yard line. After losing a yard on first down, and incomplete pass to Champion from Castaneda, the Wildcats were faced with third and long from the Slaton 47yard line.
On third down, Castaneda called his own number again, picking up 20-yards to move the chains down to the Tiger’s 27-yard line, as Slaton took a time out to talk things over with 5:56 to play in the opening quarter. Out of the break, Castaneda hit Champion with a pass to the right, as they picked up another first down, taking it down to the 18-yard line.
Soliz carried it up the middle on first down, but the Wildcats were flagged for holding, backing them up to the 28-yard line of Slaton. Castaneda picked up a few yards on first and long, and two plays later, he dropped back and hit Saenz for a 20yard touchdown pass with 4:50 remaining in the quarter. The PAT from Jayden Barrio was good, making the score, 19-7.
Palacio returned the next kick-off out to their 36-yard line, as the Slaton offense came back on to the field.
They needed just three plays to find the endzone again, as Lopez dropped back on third and five and connected with Daniel Payne for a 59-yard touchdown pass with 3:13 to play in the quarter. The PAT from Floyd was good, pushing the lead back out to, 267.
The Wildcat offense took over at their own 31-yard line after a short kick return from Champion.
Castaneda hit Gabe Mata for an eight-yard pass on first down and he connected with Champion on second down to move the chains, taking the ball up to their own 42-yard line. The drive would stall out and on fourth and eight, the Wildcats ran a fake punt, as Barrio dropped back and was looking for Saenz, but the pass fell incomplete for a turnover on downs with just over two minutes to play in the quarter.
Slaton took over at the Wildcat 45-yard line, as Lovato took a carry around the right side for a big gain down to the 11-yard line to set up first and 10 for the Tigers. Two plays later, Harris would take a sweep around the left side for the 11-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good from Floyd, making the score, 337, with 1:19 to go in the first quarter.
Mata gave the Wildcats great field position with a big return on the kick-off, before he was brought down at midfield by the Tigers.
Saenz picked up a yard on a first-down carry and Daniel Rojas added three more yards on the ground, bringing up third and six. Saenz completed a pass to Barrio to move the Chains for Littlefield and Rojas picked up two yards on a first down run to close out the first quarter with Slaton in front, 33-7.
Rojas carried it again to open the second quarter, moving the chains, taking it down to the 18-yard line for Littlefield. The drive would stall out, but the Wildcats would line up to go for it on fourth and eight, as Castaneda dropped back before taking off up the middle, carrying a Slaton defender on his back as he crossed the goal line for the 17-yard touchdown run. The PAT from Barrio was good, trimming the lead to, 33-14, with 10:02 left to play in the half.
The Wildcat defense forced a three-and-out on Slaton’s next possession, as Palacio punted the ball away with 7:47 to play in the half.
Littlefield took over at their own 29-yard line, but they were unable to capi- talize. Neither team was able to find the endzone the rest of the quarter, as the score stood, 33-14, with Slaton in front going into the locker room at halftime.
The Wildcats took over at their own 34-yard line as the second half got underway, and they were able to sustain a long drive to open the third quarter.
A pass to Champion on first down was stopped for a loss by Palacio, but on the next play, Saenz connected with Price for nine yards to make it third and six. He would call his own number on third down, taking it up the middle to their own 46yard line to move the chains for the Wildcats.
Mata caught a three-yard pass from Saenz on first down, but the Wildcats were flagged for a false start on the next play, making it second and 12. The drive began to stall, and the Wildcats were faced with a fourth and five from the Slaton 41-yard line. They elected to go for it, as Saenz kept it, taking it up the middle for a first down to move the chains again for Littlefield.
Three plays later, Mata drew a defensive pass interference call on Slaton, giving them a fresh set of downs at the Salton 18-yard line, as the Tigers took a time out to talk things over with 8:16 remaining in the third quarter. Out of the break, Saenz connected with Soliz for an eight-yard pass, but on the next play they were flagged again for a false start, backing them up to second and eight from the 17-yard line.
A few plays later, Soliz would punch in a three-yard touchdown run with 6:23 remaining in the quarter. The PAT from Barrio was good, making the score, 3321.
The Wildcat defense would tighten up and forced a punt on Slaton’s next possession, however, the snap was muffed by Palacio and recovered by AJ Cantu at the Wildcat 48-yard line with 3:57 to go in the third quarter.
Littlefield was unable to capitalize on the turnover, as the Wildcats would be forced to go for it on fourth down, as Saenz was stopped short of the line to gain by the Tigers for a turnover on downs with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Slaton’s next drive would extend into the fourth quarter, as they capped it off with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Payne with 10:36 to play in the game. The PAT from Floyd sailed through the uprights, pushing the lead back out to, 4021.
The short kick-off from Slaton rolled out of bounds, giving Littlefield possession at their own 48-yard line to begin their next drive.
Saenz completed a pass to Barrio on the right side to move the chains and Rojas followed it up with a four-yard run up the middle to make it second and six. Saenz and Rojas carried the ball on back-to-back plays, bringing up fourth and seven. The Wildcats were forced to go for it as, Saenz dropped back and delivered a pass towards Barrio, who leaped up over the defender to catch it for the 35-yard touchdown pass. The PAT from Barrio was good, cutting the lead to, 40-27.
Slaton would answer with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Payne and Floyd would tack on a 29-yard field goal, as Slaton went on to take the contest, 4927.
Offensively, Saenz finished the game 15-19 for 120 yards and one touchdown, while Castaneda was 9-14 passing for 82 yards and a touchdown.
In the rushing game, Castaneda led the way with five carries for 60 yards and a score, while Saenz tallied 18 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown. Rojas chipped in eight carries for 24 yards, while Camacho contributed six carries for 11 yards. Champion tallied one carry for 10 yards and Soliz finished with nine carries for 10 yards and a touchdown.
In the receiving game, Barrio led the way with five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, while Saenz caught two passes for 25 yards and a score. Champion tallied eight catches for 35 yards, while Mata finished with four catches for 32 yards.
Defensively, Castillo led the team in tackles with 17, including 12 solo and two for loss. Barrio added nine tackles, five solo and AJ Cantu, Silvas and Saenz each finished with four total tackles. Cantu also had a fumble recovery.
The Wildcats will be at home on Friday to take on the Muleshoe Mules.
Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.