Offensive miscues and penalties spelled disaster despite a noble effort from the Pampa Harvesters (0-1) defense in a 29-12 loss to the Caprock Longhorns (1-0).
“That’s one thing we’ve really worked on,” Head Coach Floyd White. “We’ve got to get 11 hats on the ball and fly around. We did that in the entire first half and we really played well in the second half. We gave ourselves some short fields.
“Because we gave ourselves some short fields they were able to make a play or two and next thing you know they’ve got a couple of scores. I’m proud of the way we played, defensively. But we’ve still got to continue to get better.”
Caprock opened the game with possession and the Harvester defense wanted to set the tone for the season on this possession, and set the tone they did. Forcing the three-and-out.
The Harvesters took over possession at their own 38-yard line at the 10:03 mark in the quarter. Sophomore Phoenix Lopez took the first carry of the game 14 yards to move the chains. Carries from sophomore Madden Campos and junior Aiden Hammond moved the ball seven yards. The Harvesters fell short of the first down marker and punted the ball.
The stout Harvester defense held strong on the ensuing Longhorn possession. Junior Jeryn Owens took the rock to start the next drive for seven yards. Three plays later, Lopez rushed for another two yards to move the sticks for the Harvesters. Caprock was the beneficiary of fumble they took back for the touchdown to take the 8-0 lead after the two-point conversion,
Owens looked to provide a spark for the Harvesters on the ensuing kick return, taking the ball to the Longhorn 45-yard line. Two plays later, Lopez found senior Baron Botello on the far sideline for a fresh set of downs. After a false start, Lopez scrambled for 13 yards. The next play, a Pampa fumble was recovered by Caprock to end the Pampa possession.
“That’s the sign of a young team,” White said. “A young team can go, go, go, go and go, and then all of the sudden they make a bone-head play and you’re going back 15 [yards]. You’ll be go, go, go and go, then you jump offsides. Then you go, go, go, go and go, then you miss a block and take a sack. That’s the sign of a young team and we’re a young team. But the thing about our team is we’re showing resiliency and I’m proud of these guys and how they continued to fight.”
The Harvesters forced a Caprock punt on their next possession, setting Pampa up at their 24-yard line. Lopez rushed for 14 yards to start the next drive. The Harvesters had two more carries from Campos and Hammond but the drive stalled.
In the second quarter, Lopez found Campos in the flat for 10 yards for a first down. Campos and Owens traded carries for another fresh set of downs. But the drive was hamstrung by an eight-yard sack by the Caprock defense.
“Jeryn (Owens, Junior, Running back/Linebacker) just a great energy guy, a fierce competitor and it doesn’t matter what he does,” White said. “We can win a lot of games with young men like Jeryn. All we’ve got to do is kind of get him to temper his temper sometimes.”
Pampa’s very next drive saw the Harvesters get carries from Owens, Newton, Campos to methodically drive down the field. But the drive was stopped by a sack followed by a personal foul.
Caprock took the ensuing drive down the field and eventually attempted a field goal. But the effort was blocked by Senior Conner McKinley to end the half.
The Harvesters found paydirt at the start of the fourth quarter, but the drive started in the waning moments of the third quarter.
Senior Kaden Newton started the drive with a 26-yard punt return to set the Harvesters up at the Pampa 42-yard line. Hammond toted the rock for eight yards, followed by a six-yard rush from Owens to move the chains. Pampa, led by Owens, continued to move the ball down the field and convert first downs. Newton, Lopez and Hammond also contributed to the drive as the third quarter ended. The first play of the fourth quarter saw Lopez find Senior Gunter Thomas in the corner of the endzone to put Pampa on the board 15-6 after the failed two-point conversion.
The Caprock Longhorns answered with a touchdown of their own early in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing Pampa drive, the Harvesters took over at the Pampa 36-yard line.
Newton and Campos both moved the chains early in the drive. As his junior counterpart did earlier, Campos was the star of this drive, hitting runs of nine and five to keep the drive alive. Lopez later scored a touchdown from six yards out. After the failed two-point conversion, Pampa trailed 18-12 with 10:07 to play.
Eventually the Longhorns were too much for the Harvesters late and Caprock took the game 29-12.
The Harvesters take the road next week to the northwest Texas Panhandle when they travel to take on the Dalhart Wolves.
“We don’t know a lot about them,” White said. “We’ve spent our time looking at Caprock and Caprock only. We really wanted to play well in our opener. But one thing I can tell you is Coach Reed always has those guys up and ready to play. If I’m not mistaken they won nine games last year. So they played 12 (including playoffs). Whenever you play 12 games you’ve got a good solid team. I expect nothing but their best when we go up there and play them.”
By the Numbers
Pampa finished the night with 241 yards of total offense, including 200 yards on the ground, while running 65 offensive plays and controlling the football for 35:23. The Harvesters picked up 19 first downs and converted 8-of-14 third-down opportunities.
The rushing attack was led by Junior Jeryn Owens, who carried 15 times for 67 yards. Sophomore Madden Campos added 45 yards on 11 carries, Senior Kaden Newton rushed eight times for 31 yards and Junior Aiden Hammond finished with 29 yards on nine attempts. Sophomore Phoenix Lopez carried 12 times for 27 yards and scored Pampa’s lone rushing touchdown.
Lopez completed 3-of-7 passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. Senior Gunter Thomas hauled in a 21-yard touchdown reception, while Campos and Baron Botello each recorded 10-yard catches.
Pampa’s two touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. Lopez connected with Thomas for a 21-yard touchdown to get the Harvesters on the board before Lopez later scored on a 6-yard run.
Defensively, Sophomore Mason Mitchell and Thomas each recorded three tackles, while Senior Ira Smith finished with three total tackles and a tackle for loss. Flores had two tackles. Hammond, Owens, Newton, Botello, LeBlanc, Sophomore Cade Wilson, Sophomore Ramiro Baca and Junior Kenneth Ryan each had a tackle.
Thomas and McKinley had the blocked field goal.
Scores from around the area
Wall 42, West Plains 35.
Las Cruces, N.M. 21, Dumas 7.
Canyon 59, Snyder 13.
Hereford 38, Borger 13.
Dalhart 27, Perryton 20.
Randall 50, Roswell, N.M. 37.
Wheeler 46, Highland Park 0.
White Deer 73, Groom 36.
Booker, Okla., 64, Miami 0.
McLean 54, West Texas High 8.
Motley County 38, Claude 34.
Canadian 63, Panhandle 38.
