Sundown vs Sanford Fritch
On Friday, November 12th, the Sundown Roughnecks went head to head with the Sanford-Fritch Eagles in the Bi-District Playoffs at Lockney Field. The Roughnecks caged the Eagles and took home the gold ball with the final score of 52-13. Our Roughnecks had an outstanding offensive game with 486 total yards and averaged 10 yards per play, a high for the season.
Starting the game off in the first quarter, # 7 EJ Hernandez ran the ball in for a three yard touchdown with 5:00 minutes left on the clock. The score was Sundown 6 and Sanford-Fritch 0. Once again, Hernandez ran through the Eagles defense for a 39 yard touchdown ending the first quarter with Sundown ahead 12-0. Gavin Hoover, a senior defensive lineman for the Sundown Roughnecks, commented, “We started fast and the momentum we gained in the beginning by making a defensive stop at the seven yard line kept us going until the end.”
Advancing into the second quarter, EJ charged through the Eagle defense again for 24 yard Roughneck touchdown and #3 Kevin Garcia kicking a successful PAT! After the PAT, the score was set at Sanford-Fritch 0 and Sundown 19 with 10:07 minutes remaining in the first half. After a turnover on downs, Hernandez ran for another touchdown, this time four yards out, with the PAT kicked by Garcia being good. Ending the first half, #7 crossed the goal line again for his last touchdown of the half from one yard out. The score after two quarters was Sundown 32 and Sanford-Fritch 7.
Returning back onto the field after halftime, #14 Koy Torres, a junior, ran for his first 29 yard touchdown of the game putting the Roughnecks 38 and Eagles 7. With 5:09 on the clock, #29 Isiah Flores ran for his first touchdown for the night followed by a good PAT by #3. Ending the game, #29 Isiah Flores ran the ball for a 14 yard touchdown, his second of the game, followed by a good PAT kicked by Garcia, making the score S-F 13 and SUN 52.
The Sundown offense and defense dominated the game from start to finish, with many players having a phenomenal game! First up, #7 EJ Hernandez had a grand total of 187 rushing yards with 5 TDs and was nominated for the Lubbock AJ’s Lone Star Varsity Athlete of the Week! Grayson Drake, a senior linebacker for SHS, complimented his teammate, “EJ had perfect vision and saw all the cut back lanes.” Junior #14 Koy Torres rushed for a total of 86 yards, and Junior Isiah Flores had a total of 78 rushing yards and two TDs. Chipping in, Sophomore Jayson Martinez had a total of 59 rushing yards. The running backs totaled 414 rushing yards for the game! A huge shout out once again to the offensive lineman for being the unsung heroes and doing their job on the line.
Roughneck Nation can wish the team good luck and come to the send off on Friday, November 19 at 2:30 on the Elementary playground. The Area game is at Big Spring at 7pm vs. the Hawley Bearcats. It will be broadcast on KLVT Radio. Let’s go Roughnecks!