CANYON - While it was a blustery day elsewhere, the wind was almost dead on the field of Happy State Bank Stadium during the game as the Pampa Harvesters (0-3, 2-6) traveled to Canyon (1-2, 5-3) to take on the Eagles in a District 2-4A showdown with each team seeking their first District win.
The Harvesters came out strong on defense in the first half, and went toe-to-toe with the Eagles through the first half, holding them to a 22-14 lead. But similar to their loss at Hereford two weeks ago, the Harvesters struggled to move the ball in the second half, leading to the 50-14 Pampa loss.
“Whenever we come out in the second half we have to be able to match the intensity of our opponent,” Head Coach Floyd White said. “We’re having a problem doing that. Ultimately, when that happens, it falls on me. I have to be able to address that. We will have to address that with whatever changes we have to address it with. We have to learn that in order to start winning, we have to stop losing.
“We have a lot of things we are still looking at going into the second half. Matching intensity is one of those things. We have to be able to come out and start a drive and play ourselves into a game so we can get back into the flow of it. Right now, we just are not quite there yet.”
The defenses for both teams played with the urgency of a District win on the line, as it was nothing doing for the first 10 minutes of the game. Canyon eventually built a 15-0 lead with 5:38 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, senior running back/linebacker Christian Davalos returned the ball to the Canyon 28-yard line. Despite a pair of penalties, junior running back/linebacker Max Neff took a toss behind the line of scrimmage for 32 yards and a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, however, and Canyon held a 15-6 lead with 4:42 left in the half.
Canyon answered the scoring drive with one of their own to take a 22-6 lead with 2:55 to go in the half.
Canyon went for an onside kick that was fielded by Pampa and gave the Harvesters favorable field position.
Neff took the rock first for four yards, followed by a pass from junior quarterback Jarren Hill to senior running back/linebacker Aaron Diaz for six yards to move the sticks. Hill connected with senior wideout/defensive back Bryce Lynn for four yards on the next play. Two plays later, Hill scrambled out of a sack for 25 yards and a touchdown. Neff toted the rock on the two-point conversion for two more points to make it a one-possession game at 22-14 with 1:45 left in the half.
Throughout the first half, senior wide receiver/defensive back Britten Joyce, who led the team in tackles with 10, was making stops on defense to keep the Harvesters in the game.
“He’s a great senior, a great senior leader and a captain,” White said. “Every day he comes out there and is just ready to work. I’m just blessed to get out there, be out there, watch him grow and watch him develop into the player he’s become. He’s so much to watch.”
The Harvesters’ offense struggled to move the ball in the second half, mustering only two first downs.
The first came on a 12-yard pass from Hill to junior wide receiver/defensive back Jose Alonzo during a drive that stalled at the Canyon 37-yard line.
The second came on an eight-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Gage Gamblin to junior tight end/linebacker Clayton Ward on another drive that stalled in Canyon territory.
The Canyon Eagles would go on to win 50-14.
The Harvesters will return to Happy State Bank Stadium on Friday, Nov. 1 when they take on the Randall Raiders.
“We’ve got another good team with Randall coming out,” White said. “We’ll be right back out here next Friday night and we’ve got to get our butts back out here ready to play.”
UNOFFICIAL STATS
Jarren Hill went 5-10 for 40 yards; Gage Gamblin went 1-3 for seven yards.
Max Neff led the team in rushing with 79 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries; Jarren Hill had 24 yards and a touchdown on seven carries; Christian Davalos had 13 yards on five carries.
Bryce Lynn had a four-yard reception; Max Neff had a 12-yard reception; Jose Alonzo had two catches for 18 yards and Clayton Ward had a seven-yard grab.
Jeremiah Davis averaged 34.3 yards on six punts, his longest being a 45-yard punt. Davis also averaged 58.3 yards on kickoffs, his longest being 60 yards.
Christian Davalos had 140 kick return yards, including a 54-yard kick return to set up a Pampa scoring drive.
Defensively, Britten Joyce had 10 tackles, Parker Webb had seven tackles, Christian Davalos had eight tackles; Jack Dyer had six tackles and a sack; Isaiah Estrada had four tackles; Bryce Lynn had an interception; Dase Scott, Andrew Waldrip, Boston Botello, Tristan Bagwell and Chace McLaughlin each had a tackle.
John Lee, U.S. History, Pampa High School, john.lee@pampaisd.net
