The Whitharral Panthers got an uncharacteristically low scoring 24-20 road win over the Amherst Bulldogs last Friday to take the UIL Class 1A-2 Region I District 2 High School Football Championship.
The Panthers found themselves down 6-0 midway through the second quarter.
Shamadrick Weaver finally put the Panthers on the board after a five-yard touchdown with only 45 seconds left in the first half.
Jack Griffin’s kick was good for an 8-6 Whiteface lead, but the Bulldogs answered with a 50-yard touchdown by Joel Garcia on the kick return for a 12-8 Amherst lead.
Whitharral took over on the Amherst 36-yard-line with 37 seconds left in the quarter.
An 11-yard pass from Jeryn Ellerd to Victor Saenz took them down to the 25, where, two plays later, on fourth down and four yards, Weaver again found an opening for a score.
Griffin’s kick was good for a 16-12 Whitharral lead. The Panthers would remain in the lead for the rest of the game.
Weaver had the final Panther score, on a 50-yard run on the first play of a fourth quarter drive for a 24-12 Whitharral lead with 7:24 left in the game.
Amherst put another touchdown with two-point kick up at the 2:04 mark, but it was too little too late. Ellerd went 3-for-5 for 23 yards passing. Weaver went 1-for-7 for 15 yards with two interceptions.
Weaver had 17 carries for 169 yards and three touchdowns. Kaden Smith had two carries for 57 yards. Brent Robinson had two carries for 24 yards. Ellerd had a single two yard carry. Saenz had two catches for 18 yards. Ellerd had a 15 yard reception. Ryan McDaniel had a single five yard catch.
Nomar Gomez had eight tackles and an interception. Robinson and Saenz had five tackles each. Cason Wischkaemper had 4 ½ tackles. Weaver had four. McDaniel had three. Dawson Rodgers had 1 ½. Ellerd and Smith each had one.
Ellerd also had an 11 yard kick return. The Panthers will have a rematch with Silverton in the Bi-District playoff round Friday night in Lockney at 8 p.m. Silverton won the regular season meeting 34-30.