Wildcats Stumble on the Road against Denver City

The Littlefield Wildcats’ varsity football team stumbled in the second half on Friday night against Denver City, as they fell to the Mustangs on the road, 28-14.

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 1-1 overall on the season.

The Wildcats received to open the contest, taking over at their own 31-yard line. Junior tailback, Ty’Jae Chambers carried the ball on first down, but the Mustangs were flagged for being offsides, giving Littlefield a first and five from the 36-yard line. Chambers carried the ball for a short gain on first down and a sneak by senior quarterback, Blake Green, took the Wildcats into Denver City territory with a fresh set of downs at the Mustangs’ 48-yard line.

Green connected with Rios on a pass for nine yards and senior slotback, Xavier Esquibel, carried the ball up the middle, taking several Mustang defenders for a few extra yards to move the chains for the Wildcats. The drive would stall out at the Mustangs’ 24-yard line as Green missed senior, Chris Brown, on fourth down for a turnover on downs with 7:16 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Mustangs took over at their own 23 yard line and marched it down the field led by quarterback Mario Sanchez, as they capped off a 17-play, 77-yard drive with a bullet pass from Sanchez to Spencer Freeman for the nineyard touchdown with 1:21 to play in first quarter. The PAT by Juan Herrera was good putting the Mustangs up, 7-0.

The Wildcats took over at their own 23-yard line after a short kick return by Brown. Chambers carried it up the middle on first down for seven yards and Green hit Rios on the next play for eight yards and a Littlefield first down. On first down, Chambers took it up the middle to the Wildcats’ 45-yard line, as the first quarter came to a close.

Chambers picked up six yards to open the second quarter, giving the Wildcats a fresh set of downs, as they took the ball into Denver City territory. Chambers picked up seven yards on first down and Green ran a sneak up the middle to pick up another first down for Littlefield. With the ball at the Mustangs’ 24-yard line, Chambers carried the ball on backto-back plays to make it first and 10 for the Wildcats at the 13-yard line.

Green picked up two yards on first down and Chambers added three more on second down, before Chambers took it up the middle on third down, stretching the ball across the goaline for the touchdown with 8:10 to play in the first half. Brown’s PAT was good, tying the game, 7-7.

The Wildcats were re-ignited, as their defense forced a three-and-out, forcing a punt by Uriel Rodriguez with 5:54 left to play in the half. The Wildcats took over at their own 30-yard line, as Chambers carried the ball on three consecutive plays to give them a first and 10 at the Mustangs’ 37-yard line. The drive was derailed, as Littlefield was flagged for a false start penalty backing them up to first and 15. Green dropped back to throw on first and long, but he was picked off by Uriel Rodriguez, with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

Denver City would capitalize on the turnover as they took the ball down the field, running over three minutes off of the clock. They capped off the 11-play, 48-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run around the left side by Sanchez with 41 seconds to play in the second quarter. The PAT by Herrera was good, putting the Mustangs up, 14-7.

The Wildcats took the ball up to the Denver City 25-yard line, but with no time remaining, Green was picked off in the end zone by Rodriguez to end the half.

The Mustangs began the second half at their own 32- yard line, as Rodriguez took the hand-off up the middle, cutting to the far sideline for a huge gain deep into Littlefield territory. Set up with first and 10 from the Wildcats’ 21-yard line, Sanchez was sacked by Brown for a oneyard loss. On the next play, though, Sanchez connected with Rodriguez for a 22-yard touchdown pass with just under 11 minutes to play in the third quarter. Herrera’s PAT was good stretching the Mustangs lead to 14 points, 21-7.

Littlefield was unable to get anything going offensively on their first drive of the second half, as they went three-andout, forcing Brown to punt the ball away with 9:32 to play in the quarter.

With the ball on the 50-yard line, Sanchez led the Mustangs down the field once more, capping off a seven-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run, as he beat Brown to the pylon for the score with 7:12 remaining in the third. The PAT by Herrera was good extending their lead to, 28-7.

The Wildcats’ offensive struggles continued, as Green was sacked on fourth down by Carson Little, as Littlefield turned the ball over on downs with just under five minutes to play in the third quarter.

Denver City took over and took the ball deep into Littlefield territory, but Brown gave the Wildcats a breath of life, as he picked off a”Sanchez in the middle of the field, returning it up to the Littlefield 18-yard line with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter.

Chambers carried the ball on first down for no gain and after a Littlefield time out with 1:39 to play in the quarter, Green picked up three yards on second down to set them up with third and 7 from their own 21-yard line. Green scrambled for a first down, taking the ball up to the Littlefield 30-yard line. Green picked up three yards on a sneak up the middle on first down and Esquibel broke loose down the Littlefield sideline for a big gain, giving them a first down at the Mustangs’ 47-yard line.

Green threw the ball away on first down to avoid a sack and end the third quarter. The Mustangs were flagged for being offsides on the first play of the fourth quarter, making it second and five. Chambers picked up a first down, taking it down to the Denver City 35- yard line. Salinas got the carry on first down, picking up three yards and on the next play, Green broke contain and picked up a big gain before being brought down by Rodriguez. On first and 10 from the 12-yard line, Green ran around the left side for two yards, and a tipped pass was caught by Ethan Hackler for a short gain, bringing up third and five.

Green was sacked by Manny Gonzales on third down, pushing them back to fourth and eight from the 10-yard line. The Wildcats lined up to go for it, as Green dropped back and rolled out to his left. He heaved a pass up towards the end zone with a defender in his face, and the ball was caught over the Denver City defense by junior, Jaron Cabello for the touchdown with 7:35 to play in the game. Brown’s PAT was good, trimming the score to, 28-14.

The Littlefield defense forced a punt with 4:35 remaining, but with 3:26 to play in the game, Green was picked off by Rodriguez to ice the game, as the Wildcats fell to the Mustangs, 28-14.

The Wildcats will be on the road next Friday, as they travel to Post to take on the Antelopes.