The Eastern New Mexico News - Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

SHALLOWATER, Texas - Were it not for untimely turnovers, Bovina might have cruised through its Class 2A Division II playoff opener on Friday night.

As it was, the Mustangs managed to turn back Plains 19-7 in the bidistrict round, and advance to a 7 p.m. (CST) area round game against Vega (9-2) on Friday at Kimbrough Stadium in Canyon.

"If the turnover bug doesn't hit us last night, we win a whole lot easier," Bovina coach Coby Emery said on Saturday. "They didn't stop us, we stopped ourselves, but I always felt like we were in control of the game."

Senior quarterback Cole Emery scored a pair of touchdowns for the Mustangs (4-7), while senior running back Andrew Guevara gave Bovina the lead for good with a 28-yard scoring run early in the second quarter.

Both teams had four turnovers, but Plains recovered two Mustang fumbles inside the Cowboys' 30 and intercepted a pass inside its own 10.

With a precarious 13-7 halftime lead, coach Emery said it took the Mustangs some time to take control. Cole Emery's second TD, a 25-yard run on the first play of the final stanza, gave them some breathing room.

"Both teams played really tight the third quarter," he said. "We finally kind of relaxed in the fourth quarter."

Sophomore Darian DeLaRosa rushed for 91 yards and Guevara added 90 for the Mustangs, while sophomore Marcos Vargas finished with 107 yards in 10 carries for the Cowboys.

This week's area round clash is a rematch from a Sept. 25 tilt at Vega, won by the Longhorns 63-13. Vega, which routed Shamrock 54-22 at Borger on Friday night, has not lost since the earlier meeting with Bovina and comes in on a seven-game winning streak.

Sundown 34, Farwell 6 - In another rematch from the regular season, the Steers weren't able to keep pace with the Roughnecks in a Class 2A Division I opening-round tussle on Thursday night at Levelland.

Senior quarterback Carson Holson tossed two touchdowns passes and ran for another score, while junior running back E.J. Hernandez ran for two TDs for Sundown (9-2). The Roughnecks, who Hawley in the area round, won at Farwell 24-6 on Sept. 25.

"We turned it over too many times," Steers coach Darren Kelley said. "We didn't have many breaks go our way, but you have to make some of those happen too."

Farwell (7-4) pulled to 7-6 late in the first quarter on a 6-yard pass from senior quarterback Leefe Actkinson to junior wide receiver Kolter Henderson, but missed the potential tying PAT.

Hernandez pushed the lead to 13-6 on a 5-yard run midway through the second stanza, then scored from 3 yards out in the third period to make it 20-6.

"I think we've come a long way," Roughnecks coach Adam Cummings told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. "We had a lot of kids that just needed to grow into their positions and learn our system. I feel like we've done that, and it shows."

Hernandez rushed for 125 yards while Holson added 73. Holson also went 9-of-17 through the air for 103 yards.

In the earlier matchup, Hernandez ran for two TDs and Holson added another.

Meantime, the Steers dropped their final three games of the season after a 7-1 start.

Kelley said his team had a chance to take a lead late in the first half when Jose Rodriguez went up for a pass from Actkinson in the end zone, but officials ruled an interception for the Roughnecks. He said the Sundown defender took the ball away as the players battled for it.

"In my opinion, Jose went up, caught it and came down in the end zone," Kelley said. "But Sundown's a good football team. We've just got to get to where we can overcome things."