It was all Whiteface last Friday as the Antelopes celebrated their homecoming with a 48-0 win over the visiting Elida, N.M. Tigers in high school sixman football action.
The Antelopes, ranked third among all high school teams in Texas by sixmanfootball.com, scored all their points in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Whiteface move people around to give reps to players that don’t usually play those positions.
Whiteface Head Football Coach Clint Linman said, “The guys played well and handled the business of homecoming week.”
“We had some guys step up and play really well without getting a lot of practice reps during the week,” he continued. “I was really proud of that.
The game was called at halftime due to the 45-point rule that allows a game to be called whenever one team is ahead by 45 points or more at or after halftime.
The Tigers, ranked fourth among New Mexico six-man teams by MaxPreps, started with the ball on their own 35-yard line after a Whiteface onside kick.
Elida was moving the ball well at first. A five-yard run by Will Mochel on first down was followed by an eight-yard run by Hardy Fraze on second down.
Third down saw the Antelope defense stiffen and allow only a yard, then disaster struck the Tigers on fourth when Fraze fumbled to force a turnover on downs.
Whiteface took over on their own 31-yard line. Ethan Kauffman got the call and rambled 48 yards without being touched.
After Damian Castaneda’s two-point kick, the Antelopes led 8-0 with 7:59 left in the first quarter.
It didn’t get any better for the Tigers after that. Elida fumbled the onside kick and Castaneda made the first of his two fumble recoveries on the night.
Whiteface set up on the Elida 35-yard line. At first, the Antelopes weren’t able to move the ball, but Kauffman found an opening on third down and 15 yards to go, bulling his way for a 20- yard gain.
Then Jeremiah Rendon got the call on a right sweep for the second score of the night.
Castaneda’s kick failed, but the Antelopes were up 14-0 with six minutes left in the first quarter.
Elida fumbled again on the next drive. This time it was on second down and 14 yards to go when Mochel lost the ball and Castaneda was again ready to pounce on it.
Whiteface took over on the Elida 31-yard line and again went to Kauffman who rambled all the way to the endzone on first down and 15 yards to go. The kick was good for a 22-0 lead with 5:22 left in the first quarter.
Elida fumbled again on the next kickoff. This time it was Cash Crutcher who recovered the ball on the Tiger 36-yard line, setting up another touchdown from Kauffman, this time through heavy traffic.
The Tigers went to the air on the first play of their next drive, but Castenada stepped in again, this time with a pick-six for 45 yards and a 36-0 lead with five minutes left in the quarter.
Elida was forced to punt on their next series, putting Whiteface on their own 29-yard line. A seven-yard run by Rendon, however, set up a 44-yard touchdown from Isaak Soliz to Cesar Chavez.
The kick was blocked, but Whiteface led 42-0 with 1:49 left in the first quarter.
After forcing Elida to punt again, the Antelopes set up on their own 28-yard line where Kauffman got the call for a 52yard touchdown ramble for the final score.
The second quarter was an anti-climax with the Antelopes running the clock and Elida unable to score.
Kauffman had six carries for 185 yards and four touchdowns. Rendon had three carries for 28 yards and a touchdown.
Crutcher had five carries for 16 yards and a fumble. Luke Gresham had two carries for 12 yards.
Soliz went 1-for-1 passing for a 44-yard touchdown. Chavez was his receiver.
Chavez had five tackles and an assist. Kauffman had four tackles and two assists. Castaneda had three tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interception for a touchdown.
Rendon had two tackles. Gresham had a tackle and a sack. Crutcher had a tackle and a fumble recovery. Auscar Gandara had a tackle and an assist. Tyler Campbell and Jose Flores each had an assist.
The Antelopes aren’t taking it easy this week. Whiteface travels to Earth on Friday to take on Springlake-Earth at 7:30 p.m.
“We need to keep getting better each day in practice and each game on Friday night,” said Linman.