The Whiteface Antelopes faced one of their sternest tests this season to date in an 85-60 Bi-District playoff win over the Rankin Red Devils in UIL Class 1A-1 six-man football action in Klondike last Friday.
The scoring went back and forth, with Rankin catching up on blocked and missed two-point conversions until late in the fourth quarter when the Red Devils were forced to turnover on downs at the 6:57 mark and Whiteface leading 63-60.
Whiteface took over on their own 30-yard line and hammered the ball into the endzone four plays later on a 39-yard run from Ethan Kauffman.
Damian Castaneda’s kick was good and the Antelopes took the final lead of the game at 71-60 with just five minutes left. Three more defensive stops, including an interception from Jaxon Hodge on Rankin’s penultimate possession, along with two more Whiteface touchdowns, put the final nails in Rankin’s coffin.
The game opened with a Rankin kick through the uprights and into the concession stand. Red Devil Dash Davis continued to kick deep most of the night. The touchback and starting on their own 20-yard line didn’t seem to affect the Antelopes. They faced on three fourth downs all night and converted all of them.
On the first possession, the ball went to Kauffman for 23 yards, then for 37 yards and the first score of the night – an 8-0 lead after the kick just 10 seconds into the game.
Rankin took over on the 40yard line after an offside penalty against Whiteface. The struggled to move the ball, but on fourth down and 16 yards, Davis found Fernando Arriozola open and the big man rambled down to the Whiteface 12 yard line.
Two plays later, Rankin tied the score at eight each on a oneyard run.
Whiteface wasted no time answering. Taking over on their own 20-yard line, Kauffman crashed through the line and ran 60 yards for a touchdown. The kick missed and Whiteface led 14-8.
That opened the door for Rankin’s first lead of the night. The Red Devils took over on the Whiteface 39-yard line and struggled down field, converting once on fourth down 22 yards to go from their own 32-yard line.
With a first down and 15 yards to go on the Whiteface 17, the Red Devils used two plays to get to the three-yard line, then Davis scampered across the endzone.
Davis’ kick was good for a 16-14 Rankin lead with 4:59 left in the first quarter.
Rankin’s defense stiffened on the next Whiteface drive, forcing the Antelopes to make three third down conversions.
Kauffman took the ball 12 yards for the next Antelope touchdown on third down and two yards to go on the Ranking 12-yard line.
The kick was good and Whiteface led 22-16 with 1:11 left in the first quarter.
Rankin started the second quarter facing third down and 10 yards to go on the Rankin 39-yard line. They got the first down, but then were pushed back to third down and 19 yards to go on the Whiteface 35-yard line.
That’s when Gage Lopez hit Matthew Ramos for a touchdown. The kick was no good and the score was tied at 22 with 8:39 left in the first half.
Rankin’s kick went short for Jeremiah Rendon to return. A facemask penalty against the Red Devils gave the Antelopes good field position on their own 34yard line.
Three plays later, Whiteface was on the Rankin 21-yard line with a first down. Rendon’s touchdown run was called back for a hold, but Kauffman took the ball from the Rankin 26-yard line on the next play.
A good kick made the score 30-22 for Whiteface with 7:43 left in the half.
Rankin went to the air on their next drive, scoring on a 46yard pass from Lopez to Ramos on the second play from scrimmage. Another good kick and the score was tied again at 30 each with six minutes left in the half.
Whiteface started their next drive on their own 30-yard line after Rankin’s kick went out of bounds. Hard running from both Rendon and Kauffman gave Whiteface their first fourth down conversion and put them on the Rankin 31-yard line.
Three plays later, Kauffman crossed the finish line for a 36-30 lead.
A bad snap broke up the two-point kick, but Victor Borunda found Axel Rivera open for one point and a 37-30 Whiteface lead with 4:11 left in the half.
Rankin took over on their own 35-yard line and worked their way downfield on short yardage runs and big passes until they were facing first down and goal on the Whiteface five-yard line.
A run by Davis put them over the top and a good kick gave the Red Devils a 38-37 lead with 2:11 left in the half.
Whiteface took the lead again with a 60-yard drive with Kauffman hammering the Rankin defense until the Antelopes were on first down and goal to go on the Rankin 10-yard line.
Kauffman did the honors, but a fumbled snap on the kick meant the Antelopes only led by five, 43-38 with just 46 seconds left in the half.
Rankin tried for another score before the buzzer, but two bad snaps and an intentional grounding call put the Red Devils facing third down and 65 yards to go with just seven seconds left on the clock.
They elected to play it safe by running the ball and running out the clock.
Rankin opened with the ball in the second half. Starting on their own 31-yard line, they worked their way down to the Whiteface two-yard line in three plays, then David crossed the goal line.
His kick missed for a 44-43 Rankin lead with 8:33 left in the third quarter.
Whiteface opened with the ball on the Rankin 39-yard line after a rare Red Devil onside kick.
A run from Kauffman started the drive, then a couple of surprises.
A seven-yard pass from Isaak Soliz to Auscar Gandara on second down, then a 26-yard touchdown pass from Soliz to Cesar Chavez for a 49-44 lead after a blocked Whiteface kick.
Rankin started on their own 36-yard line and were pushed back to their 34-yard line on the first play from scrimmage. Then Lopez hit Arriozola for a 46-yard touchdown with a good twopoint kick and a 52-49 lead.
The Red Devils had made some adjustments during halftime, but so had Whiteface.
The Antelopes started on their own 33-yard line and worked their way down to their next touchdown on a two minute, eight play drive that culminated in another Kauffman run across the goal line.
Rankin was able to block the kick again, so the Antelopes led 55-52 with 4:28 left the in third quarter, Rankin took over and were able to move the ball on the ground on their next drive. That was something they had struggled with all night. Their next and final score came with 2:08 left in the third quarter on a Davis run from the two-yard line. The kick was good for a 60-55 Rankin lead.
Whiteface answered quickly on their next drive. A 14-yard run by Kauffman followed by backto- back 16-yard runs by Rendon and a good kick put the Antelopes up 63-60 with 1:19 left in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started with Rankin facing third down and 10 yards to go on their own 25- yard line. An incomplete pass made it fourth down and 10 yards to go. Davis hit Lopez open for 31 yards and a first down and 15 yards to go on the Whiteface 24yard line.
Two Davis runs gained no yards. A false start made it third down and 20 yards to go. Another Davis run gained only a yard.
Then a Davis to Ramos pass went incomplete for the first turnover on downs since the end of the first half.
Whiteface took over on their own 30-yard line, leading 63-60 and went to Kauffman for three plays and a touchdown. The kick was good for a 71-60 lead.
Rankin was not able to recover. The Antelopes forced another turnover on downs on the next drive and scored on theirs.
Hodge ended the next drive on the first play by intercepting a pass intended for Colton Bunger. That gave Whiteface the ball on the Rankin 29-yard line and another touchdown, this time from Rendon.
Rankin’s final drive ended on fourth down and six yards to go at the Whiteface 21-yard line with 33 seconds left in the game. All that remained was for the Antelopes to take a knee.
Whiteface went 3-for-3 on fourth down conversions while the Red Devils went 3-for-7 Rankin had 133 yards rushing, averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Whiteface had 539 yards on the ground, averaging 12.8 yards per carry.
The Red Devils had a 15-for-24 performance from two passers with three touchdowns and an interception.
Whiteface’s Soliz was 2-for-5 for 33 yards and a touchdown and Rendon was 1-for-1 for nine yards.
Chavez had a 26-yard touchdown catch. Soliz had a nine-yard catch and Gandara had a seven-yard catch.
Kauffman had 32 carries for 422 yards and nine touchdowns. Rendon had 10 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns Kauffman had 17 tackles and an assist. Chavez had 10 tackles and an assist. Rendon had five tackles and a sack.
Gandara had four tackles and two assists. Luke Gresham had three tackles and a sack. Hodge had two tackles, an assist and an interception. Soliz had a tackle.
The Antelopes will face the Booker Kiowas in the area round on Friday in Tulia. Game time is 6:30 p.m.