CLASS 1A FRIDAY FLASHBACK

WEEK 5: Jonesboro, Evant, Abbott stand alone as the only remaining undefeated six-man football teams in the Heart of Texas with one more week before district begins

With yet another week of non-district games before Texas six-man football focuses on earning postseason berths, only Class 1A three teams — Jonesboro, Evant and Abbott — remain undefeated in the Heart of Texas region.

Interestingly, last week’s marquee game involved two teams not among the undefeated ranks as Class 1A, Division I’s sixth-ranked May Tigers easily overcame the 13th-ranked and defending state champion Blum Bobcats, 74-28, last Friday night.

Similarly, two of the three undefeated teams cruised to victories as Class 1A, DI’s eight-ranked Jonesboro Eagles soared past the winless Milford Bulldogs, 59-14, while the 25th-ranked Abbott Panthers sprinted past the Iredell Dragons, 52-6.

In the Heart of Texas Game of the Week, the 21st-ranked Evant Elks remained undefeated by outscoring the previously undefeated Penelope Wolverines, 88-66, in a wild one last Friday night.

EVANT 88, PENELOPE 66

EVANT — In a battle of two unbeaten teams, Ethan Hightower ran for seven touchdowns and threw for another as the Class 1A, DI’s 21st-ranked Evant Elks stampeded the Penelope Wolverines, 88-66, in a high-scoring affair last Friday night.

After building a 35-34 lead in the first quarter, Evant (2-0) matched Penelope (4-1) score for score before pulling away in the second half. Elk quarterback Pedro Diaz tossed three touchdown passes, Luis Arellano ran for two scores and hauled in a pass for another, while Daniel Honea caught two scoring strikes.

ABBOTT 52, IREDELL 6

IREDELL — Kadyn Johnson rushed for 182 yards and four touchdowns as the Class 1A, DI’s 25ht-ranked Abbott Pantehrs remained undefeated with a convincing 52-6 road victory over the Class 1A, DII Iredell Dragons last Friday night.

After Iredell (1-2) jumped out to an early lead when Jaime Najera hauled in a scoring strike from Hunter Sheffield, the Panthers (5-0) scored 52 unanswered points to end the game at halftime with the 45-point mercy rule.

Johnson made the most of his five rushing attempts by scoring four times, Robert Munoz, Kyle Gerik and Triston Upton ran for touchdowns as well.

MORGAN 52, EDEN 20

EDEN — Utilizing a balanced offensive attack and an assaulting defense, the Class 1A, DII’s 15th-ranked Morgan Eagles soared past the Eden Bulldogs, 52-20, on the road last Friday night.

Building a 20-0 lead in the first half, the Eagles (4-1) scored four touchdowns through the air and ran for four more scores as six different players found their way into the end zone.

“This was a highly anticipated game for both teams,” Morgan head coach Edward Aviles said. “We both  rely on the spread offense to put points on the board. But the Eagles defense went to work early as they were able to stop the Bulldogs several times in the first half.”

Senior Derik Davenport accounted for three scores, rushing seven times for 119 yards with a touchdown, tossing a touchdown pass and hauling in a 43-yard scoring strike, while senior Ivan Alvarez scored two touchdowns on the ground and passed for two more. Sophomore Adrian Vera-Rico and junior Manuel Muniz scored rushing touchdowns, while sophomores Kason Sims and Dathen Davenport each caught a scoring pass.

Defensively, Vera-Rico led Morgan with 15 tackles and a forced fumble, Alvarez collected 12 tackles and a forced fumble, Derik Davenport contributed eight tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Keylan Watts and Dathen Davenport had six tackles apiece.

“The Eagles defense was very stanching,” Aviles said. “And the pressure from our rushers was key to stopping the Bulldogs. It was a great game for the Eagles.”

COVINGTON 65, WALNUT SPRINGS 43

COVINGTON – Although the Class 1A, DII Walnut Springs Hornets went into the game riding the momentum of back-to-back impressive wins, the Class 1A, DI Covington Eagles celebrated homecoming with a surprising 65-43 victory over the 23rd-ranked Hornets last Friday night.

“It was a tough loss, but I had been concerned all week,” Walnut Springs head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “We had come off a big win as an underdog, and for the first time, this season we were favored. I was concerned that our kids weren’t as focused as they needed to be.

“Going up against a team that hadn’t won a game, and then catching them for their homecoming, doesn’t always result in a positive outcome for the visiting team.”

After enjoying a short-lived 21-15 lead in the second quarter, Covington (1-3) scored 15 unanswered points before halftime to capture a lead they would never relinquish.

“For the second week in a row, we suffered a serious injury,” Flippen said. “Our center Pablo Gonzales suffered a severe laceration on his arm that took 30 stitches to close. Little things like that get in player’s heads. And at the time Pablo went out, we were leading.”

But the Hornets (3-2) were far from done yet, pulling to within one point in the third quarter before falling behind by 14 again. Walnut Springs answered Covington scores two more times to make it a one-score game before the Eagles pulled away with 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

“We have to pull ourselves together and prepare for our homecoming game,” Flippen said. “That isn’t always an easy thing to do.”

OGLESBY 72, WACO EAGLE CHRISTIAN 26

WACO — Davin Barrow ran for five touchdowns and Ian Markum score three more as the Oglesby Tigers scored 50 unanswered points to overwhelm Waco Eagle Christian Academy, 72-26, last Friday night at Paul Tyson Field.

Despite trailing 25-22 at halftime, Oglesby (4-1) wore out the Eagles (0-1) in the second half of their TAPPS Six-Man Division III season opener to close out the game early by virtue of the 45-point mercy rule. Barrow finished with a game-high 378 yards rushing on only 23 carries.

Once again this season, THE SPORTS BUZZ provides award-winning coverage of the 2020 Texas high school football season, focusing on Class 3A, 2A and 1A schools in the 10-county Heart of Texas region — which includes Bosque, Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, Hood, Johnson, McLennan and Somervell counties.

Within the Heart of Texas region, THE SPORTS BUZZ covers 21 Class 1A-Six-Man schools spread out across eight districts in two divisions. Be sure to check back every week for the Class 1A Friday Flashback and Gridiron Grades featuring district standings, scores and upcoming matchups for all 21 Class 1A teams from the Heart of Texas.

Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS

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