Regional football preview: Texico faces tall task

TEXICO — The Texico High football team will be in for a challenge when it travels west to take on Fort Sumner. “They’re not ranked number one in 2A by accident,” Texico coach Pat Crowley said.

The Wolverines will face a high-powered Foxes offense that has scored 94 points over its opening two games in the 7 p.m. kickoff today.

“They run it and they pass it very well,” Crowley said. “They spread it around, they show you lots of formations.”

Texico will need to watch out for Fort Sumner quarterback Jude Segura’s scrambling abilities when the play breaks down.

Meanwhile the Wolverine offense has gotten off to an inauspicious start this season with a shutout against Portales and just one score last week against Dexter, but Crowley thinks Texico is not far off from where it needs to be.

“We were a block or two away from making great plays,” Crowley said.

Dora at Tatum, 7 p.m.

Following a week off Dora returns to action tonight at Tatum in a battle of the Coyotes.

“I know a little bit about them and they’re just not a team that you can sleep on,” Dora coach Mason McBee said.

Offensively McBee said he saw a flash of what Dora is capable of in the Coyotes season-opening victory, but moving forward they need to work on limiting turnovers.

“It’s time that we start to play clean across the board,” McBee said.

Defensively Dora will be tasked with slowing down Tatum quarterback Sebastian Jimenez. “We need to contain the quarterback, he’s fast and shifty.” McBee said.

Melrose vs. Mancos, Colorado, 4 p.m.

Melrose will look for a repeat of last week’s result as it faces Mancos after a 58-6 road win over Mescalero last week.

“This will probably be the most physical, biggest team we play,” Melrose coach Dickie Roybal said. Mancos will also enter today’s contest 1-0 after a 31-0 win over Plateau Valley last week.

The neutral-site game is at Menaul High School.

On offense Melrose will try to shore up its line play after making changes up front this season. “Our line, we’ve got to do a better job on the line,” Roybal said.

The quickness of the Bluejays on offense will test Melrose’s defense. “On defense we’ve got to contain their speed. They like to get on the edge and go,” Roybal said.

Floyd vs. Animas, 3 p.m. Saturday

Floyd will look to move past a 57-6 loss to Vaughn in its season opener when it faces Animas in a neutral-site game at Mescalero.

“As always, it’s a big game,” Floyd coach Steve Foust said of the matchup against Animas. “They’ve got a great running back, they’ve got a new coach so not quite sure what to expect from that.”

The Broncos offensive success this week will depend on its offensive line allowing running back Juan Delgado to make plays.

“We have to control the line of scrimmage,” Floyd coach Steve Foust said. “We have a great running back, we just have to get him some holes.”

Defensively Floyd will need to slow down Delgado’s counterpart at running back. “They’re going to try to get him the ball all over the field, we have to keep him contained,” Foust said.

Farwell at Crosbyton, 7:30 p.m. CDT

A pair of 0-1 teams will face off today when Farwell travels to Crosbyton.

The Steers have worked on their passing attack this week in order to prevent against their opponents stacking the line like it experienced in a loss last week.

Farwell coach Danny Brittain said shoring up the offensive line will be key to jump-starting the running and passing games. “They got a lot of big guys up front,” Brittain said of the Chiefs offensive and defensive lines.

Crosbyton’s offense will be led by runinng back Tim Childers. A 2,000 yard rusher last season, Childers picked up where he left off in the Chiefs season opener, rushing for over 270 yards and four touchdowns.

“If he gets outside we’ll have a hard time catching him because he’s fast,” Brittain said.

Bovina at Shamrock, 7:30 p.m. CDT

Bovina hits the road for the second straight week for a matchup against Shamrock tonight.

Bovina coach Jonathan Lambright said he wants to get the ball to his top playmakers, naming wide receivers Jadon Quintana and Bryan De La Torre as critical players, and maintain a good tempo on offense.

“Our whole offense is uptempo. We just have to keep the tempo consistent,” Lambright said.

The Mustangs will also look to avoid the strength of Shamrock’s defense in the middle of the field. “We are just going to have to stay outside and not run into the middle of the defense,” Lambright said.

Muleshoe at Snyder, 7:30 p.m. CDT

Muleshoe will look to bounce back from a 20-point loss to Levelland in its home opener when it goes on the road to face Snyder, which also dropped its season opener last week.

Mules coach David Wood saw some development from his players over the course of the game and hopes it will continue this week.

“There were some young kids first game on varsity and as the game went on they got used to the speed of the game,” Muleshoe coach David Wood said.

Wood will be looking for improved poise and decision-making from his offense as the Mules look to cut down on turnovers.

Muleshoe will need to do a better job forcing the opposing offense into punts, with Wood looking to force some three-and-outs.

Friday will also present Wood with the first chance to see how some of his players respond to playing on the road.

“First road trip with some young kids, that can be big sometimes,” Wood said.