Serving the High Plains

Shorthanded Coyotes can't stop Lake Arthur

SAN JON - Lake Arthur scored on its first 11 possessions during a 77-32 victory over a shorthanded San Jon/Grady team Friday afternoon during the Coyotes' season opener in six-man football.

The Coyotes showed firepower on offense, but their inability to stop the Panthers doomed them. Lake Arthur (1-1) took a 28-6 lead in the first quarter and held a 65-26 advantage at halftime.

"We've got to work on defense," San Jon/Grady coach Adrian Jones said after the game. "That just wasn't good enough. I felt coming into the game we could have done a lot better than that."

The Coyotes were supposed to play their season opener Aug. 23 at Vaughn, but injuries and suspensions forced them to cancel. San Jon/Grady dressed seven players for Friday's game but lost Nick Richardson to a hand injury during the first quarter. That forced San Jon/Grady to use a bare minimum of players on both offense and defense in near-100-degree heat.

Jones acknowledged his team probably was mindful of the heat and another injury that could lead to a forfeit, prompting it conserve its energies.

"Without having a lot of speed and without having guys who can give them some rest, they can't go 100%," he said. "Our guys are exhausted."

However, he said he wouldn't tolerate his players repeatedly walking to the line of scrimmage on defense before the snap. The Panthers took advantage of the Coyotes' failure to set up promptly; Lake Arthur quick-snapped the ball and scored a touchdown on the flat-footed defenders.

"When it comes to getting to the line, you've got to get there," Jones said.

For the Coyotes, Dustin Bryant scored rushing touchdowns of 65 yards and 18 yards. Chad Becerra added a 60-yard TD run. Quarterback Jordan Verbal threw for two touchdowns of 37 and 58 yards, both to Tobe Slater.

Jones said Verbal, a sophomore, is a diamond in the rough.

"He can run the ball a lot better than he thinks he can," Jones said. "He doesn't know his own talents yet. I'm trying to coach him into knowing his abilities and being comfortable and confident. He's just a little timid."

For the Panthers, Angel Fierro and Gael Rivera each scored three touchdowns. But the player that spectators couldn't help but notice was 6-foot-3, 288-pound quarterback Adrian Guillen, who threw for five touchdowns and ran for another. He also proved to be a formidable lead blocker, escorting his team's first play of the game, a sweep for a 47-yard touchdown.

Elida, last season's six-man runner-up, crushed Lake Arthur 61-6 last week. Panthers coach Jose Porras saw plenty of improvement since that.

"I think jitters had a lot do with that loss," he said. "Last week, we had six turnovers. This week, we had one."

The Coyotes host Hondo Valley (1-1) at 3 p.m. Friday at San Jon.

Boise City 44, Logan 0

After a 2 1/2-hour lightning delay, Boise City, Oklahoma, shut out an ailing Logan squad 44-0 at Logan on Friday night in eight-man football action.

Logan coach Dwayne Roberts, whose team endured a second storm delay in as many weeks, said Longhorns quarterback Jantzen Paris played but wasn't at full strength from a strep throat infection. Robert said several players also suffered muscle pulls, depleting a squad that counts only 13 on the varsity roster.

"Between the weather and the sickness going through, it's not been a good last couple of weeks," Roberts said.

Boise City outgained Logan 347 to 82 in yards, including holding the Longhorns to minus-33 yards rushing. Despite being dominated, Roberts said his team had its scoring chances.

"We moved the ball and we had a couple of good series," he said. "We just couldn't punch it in."

Logan (0-2) hosts Magdalena (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday. Magdalena crushed Navajo Pine 60-6 last week and prevailed 44-24 over Ramah in its season opener.

 
 
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