The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity football team opened up district play on Friday with a dominating, 62-15, victory over rival Muleshoe, at Wildcat Stadium.
The Wildcats set the tempo early, as the opening kick-off was muffed by Noah Hernandez, who picked the ball up in the endzone, but he was dropped by Nehemiah Beanes for a safety to put the Wildcats in front, 2-0.
The Mules punted the ball away and it was returned for a short gain by Blayton Soliz, giving Littlefield the ball at the Mules’ 44-yard line.
Sammy Saenz called his own number on first down, picking up seven yards on a carry up the middle, before he was brought down by Davian Sital. Saenz connected with AJ Cantu on a pass to the left, taking the ball down to the Muleshoe 31-yard line moving the chains for the Wildcats.
Jonas Camacho took a carry up the middle on first down for five yards, and on the next play, Saenz kept it himself, taking it up the middle for a 26-yard touchdown run with 11 minutes to play in the opening quarter. The PAT from Jayden Barrio was good, making the score, 9-0.
The Mules were pinned deep in their own territory on the kick-off, and were unable to get anything going, before punting the ball away from their own 15-yard line, with 9:46 remaining in the opening quarter.
Littlefield took over at their own 41-yard line and after an incomplete pass on first down, Camacho took a carry up the middle for eight yards to make it third and two for the Wildcats. Saenz would move the chains on the next play with a quarterback keeper, taking it across midfield to the Mules 48yard line, but a false start on first down, backed them up to their own 48-yard line.
Camacho would take a run up the middle to erase the penalty yardage and on the next play, Saenz hit Barrio on the right side, who took it down to the 25-yard line to move the sticks again for the Wildcats. Back-to-back runs from Saenz and Camacho gave Littlefield another fresh set of downs, and on the next play, Saenz hit Barrio in the back of the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 7:25 remaining in the quarter. The PAT from Barrio was good, pushing the lead to, 16-0.
After a touchback, Muleshoe took over at their own 25-yard line and on first down, Leland Ortega took a quarterback run up the middle for a 75-yard touchdown run. Ramiro Regalado nailed the PAT to trim the lead to, 16-7, with 7:10 to play in the first quarter.
The Mules tried for an onside kick, but the kick was short of the line to gain, giving the Wildcats the ball at the Muleshoe 46-yard line.
Saenz connected with Soliz for a 10-yard pass to move the chains and on the next play, Soliz picked up two yards on a run up the middle. Two plays later, Soliz’s number was called again, as he carried the ball up the middle, taking it down to the nine-yard line. Saenz would punch it in on the next play to make the score, 23-7, after the PAT from Barrio with 6:18 remaining in the quarter.
The Mules covered an onside kick at their own 38yard line, but they were unable to get their offense going, as they went threeand- out, punting the ball away with 4:49 to play in the quarter.
Littlefield took over at their own 43-yard line, as Cantu took a carry around the right side for four yards. Daniel Rojas was stuffed on a run up the middle, but on the next play, Saenz found Barrio on the right side, who was able to stretch the ball to the 45--yard line for a first down.
Rojas carried the ball on back-to-back plays, taking it down to the Mules’ 21yard line, and on the next play, Saenz connected with Cantu on a 21-yard touchdown pass with three minutes to go in the quarter. Barrio drilled the PAT to push the lead to, 30-7.
Aiden Garcia called for a fair catch on the kick-off, as the Mules took over on offense at their own 31yard line.
Muleshoe’s drive took the game into the second quarter and on third and goal from the three-yard line, Ortega found a wide open Hernandez for the threeyard touchdown pass. Sital would punch in the twopoint conversion after penalties on the first two attempts to cut the lead in half, 30-15, with 11:18 to go in the first half.
Brandon Espinoza gave the Wildcats a solid return on the kick-off, as the offense took over at their own 40-yard line. They needed just one play to find the endzone, as Saenz dropped back and found Barrio deep over the middle for the 60yard touchdown pass with 10:55 remaining in the half. The PAT was no good, making the score, 36-15.
The Mules would go three-and-out on their next possession, punting the ball away with 10:01 remaining in the half, but the punt was partially blocked, before being downed at the Littlefield 41-yard line.
Soliz picked up three yards on the first down run, and on second down, Saenz connected with Barrio, who slipped a tackle and broke loose for a huge gain down to the Muleshoe seven-yard line to set up first and goal. Two plays later, Soliz would punch it in for the three-yard score, but the PAT from Barrio bounced off the right upright, leaving the score, 42-15, with 8:22 remaining in the second frame.
The Mules took over on offense after the kick-off, but after taking the ball into Wildcat territory, on second and long, Ortega was picked off by Eddie Gomez, looking for Adrian Muniz with 5:30 to play in the half. Littlefield took over on offense using a series of runs from Camacho and Saenz to move the chains. On second and second and six from their own 30-yard line, Saenz connected with Beanes for a first down to the Muleshoe 29-yard line. Saenz would hit Beanes again on first down for eight yards, and two plays later, Camacho would take a carry up the middle for a first down, taking it down to the 12-yard line.
A few plays later, Jacob Fuentes took a sweep around the right side, he fumbled the ball going into the endzone, but he was able to recover it for the touchdown with 2:33 to play in the half. The PAT was good, pushing the lead to, 49-15, going into the locker room at halftime.
The Wildcats went threeand- out to open the second half, as Muleshoe downed the punt at their own 39yard line. They were able to drive the ball across midfield, before being forced to punt it away on fourth and long.
Littlefield took over at their own 13-yard line; Camacho carried it on first down, and the Wildcats were back to the line quickly, as Saenz connected with Beanes on the next play, taking the ball up to the 29-yard line to move the chains. Camacho picked up eight yards on first down, and on the next play, Saenz hit Barrio for a first down, taking the ball up to their 45yard line.
Two plays later, Saenz would hit Cantu with a pass for eight yards and Camacho would pick up another four yards on third down to bring up a fourth and one situation. The Wildcats elected to go for it, as Saenz kept it himself, taking it down to the 38-yard line to move the chains for the Wildcats.
Saenz would hit Cantu for another first down and Camacho followed it up with a run up the middle to move the chains again for Littlefield. Three plays later, Saenz dropped back and found Beanes in the corner of the endzone for the sixyard touchdown pass with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter. The PAT was good, pushing the lead to, 56-15.
The Mules got the ball back after the kick-off at their own 31-yard line, but the drive was short-lived, as Ortega was picked off by Beanes, who returned it to the Muleshoe 31-yard line with 3:35 to play in the quarter.
The Wildcats used a heavy dose of Rojas in the ground attack to drive the ball down to the goaline, where Rojas punched in a four-yard score with 1:46 left to play in the third, making the score, 62-15, after the missed PAT. The score would stand, as Littlefiled moved to 1 -0 in district play with the victory.
The Wildcats totaled 563 yards of offense, including 305 yards passing and 258 yards rushing.
Offensively, Saenz finished the game 19-26 passing for 305 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, while also adding 14 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Camacho led the rushing attack with 16 carries for 95 yards, while Rojas tallied 11 carries for 70 yards and a score, and Soliz contributed five carries for 23 yards and a touchdown. Fuentes also had one carries for one yard and a touchdown.
In the receiving game, Barrio led all receivers, with seven catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns, while Beanes chipped in four catches for 64 yards and one score, and Cantu added six catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Wildcats were led by Cantu, who tallied 10 tackles. Beanes chipped in five tackles, four solo, two interceptions and a safety. Rojas contributed nine tackles and one sack, while James Lockridge chipped in six tackles, two for loss, and Gomez finished with wo tackles and one interception.