Texico senior defensive end Humberto Burciaga (56) tackles Jerrod Collier during Friday's game at Texico.

Texico senior quarterback Seth Bailey hands off to senior running back Edgardo Meza in the second quarter of Friday's night game in Texico.

Texico seniors Seth Bailey and Edgardo Meza have had, and probably will have, games with flashier statistics. But when their Wolverines were in trouble on Friday, Bailey and Meza put their heads down and their hard running helped Texico to a 21-12 homecoming win over Gruver, Texas.

Bailey, a senior quarterback, rushed for 156 yards, including 112 after intermission. Texico (6-0) went into the halftime break trailing 12-7 to the Greyhounds.

Gruver (1-4) started the second half with two straight turnovers and the Wolverines took advantage on both occasions. On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Greyhounds running back Jerrod Collier was stripped of the ball and Texico’s Garrett Garrison recovered.

A 58-yard drive ensued, with the Wolverines peppering the Gruver defense repeatedly with Bailey and Meza. On a fourth-and-1, Meza plowed forward for a first down at the Greyhounds’ 22. Meza, who finished with 80 yards, found the end zone three plays later on a 6-yard run.

“They did run hard. We had some holes in the first half, but just had some mental breakdowns and we just couldn’t get a series going,” Texico coach Ryan Autrey said. “We didn’t come out in the first half ready and they were hitting us. They hit us and it took us awhile to react to that.”

After falling behind 14-12, Gruver gave the Wolverines another opportunity immediately. On the Greyhounds’ third play after regaining possession, Collier was stripped by Garrison and Texico’s Humberto Burciaga fell on the loose ball.

Bailey squirted out of a pile in the middle of the field and sprinted 38 yards for a score with 4:47 left in the third period.

Gruver, which had only 20 players in uniform, would only penetrate to the Texico 25-yard line once in their remaining possessions during the game.

“Our schedule is full of very good teams and this one (Texico) is no slouch. All of our opponents are ranked in the Top 30 (in Texas). The one win we have is actually against a Texas 2A,” said Gruver coach Fred Tucker.

Texico has a bye next week before starting district play Oct. 16 by hosting Santa Rosa.

Click here fro more photos from the game.