The Whiteface Antelopes, ranked fifth among all six-man high school football teams by sixmanfootball.com at game time, downed the fourth-ranked Happy Cowboys 58-38 last Friday in Happy.
Sunday’s poll has the Antelopes at no. 4 while Happy drops to no. 6.
Whiteface never trailed Happy, but the Cowboys never quit, forcing adjustments from the Antelopes.
“I was proud of our guys’ preparation and adjustments,” said Whiteface Head Football Coach Clint Linman. “I’m also proud of the character our guys played with. They handled all the adversity they face with character and toughness.”
“Character wins,” concluded Linman.
Whiteface had first possession, scoring on a 43-yard run by Ethan Kauffman. Damian Castaneda’s two-point after kick was good for an 8-0 Whiteface less than a minute into the game.
Happy wasted little time answering with a 44-yard touchdown run from Hayes Bressler on the first play from scrimmage. Luke Dempsey’s points after kick was good, tying the game at eight each, still with only a minute off the clock.
The game settled down a bit after that. Both teams turned over on downs in their next possession, but the scoring wasn’t done.
Whiteface took over on their own 14-yard line with 5:09 left in the first quarter after forcing the Cowboys to turn over on downs.
Four plays later, the Antelopes were on the Happy 29yard line with a first down and 15 yards when Kauffman crossed the goal line, but the touchdown was called back to the Happy 39yard line for holding.
An incomplete pass from Isaak Soliz to Axel Rivera made it second down and 25 yards to go and the call went back to Kauffman who bulled his way through several defenders and outran the rest for the score with 2:44 left in the first period.
Castaneda’s points after kick was good for a 16-8 Whiteface lead.
Happy looked to tie the score on their next possession. A short return put the cowboys on the Whiteface 33-yard line, but a holding penalty on first down moved them back to their own 37yard line.
A big run from Bressler put them back on the Whiteface 28yard line. Braylin King gave them two more yards, then Bressler found King open for a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the first quarter.
The points after kick from Dempsey missed, however, and Happy still trailed 16-14.
Whiteface took over on their own 20-yard line with just 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
They hammered 60 yards over the next 4½ minutes, ending the drive with a surprise for the Cowboys.
The Antelopes were on the Happy 13-yard line, facing second down and 12 yard to go. Soliz pitched to Jeremiah Rendon who scrambled right before finding Soliz unguarded in the endzone for the score. Castaneda’s kick made the score 24-14 for Whiteface with 5:44 left in the half.
A penalty on the kickoff forced the Antelopes to kick again from the 15-yard line, giving Happy the ball on the Whiteface 31-yard line after an onside kick and no return.
Happy gained only five yards on the first three plays from scrimmage, but on fourth down and 10 yards to go, King found Jaxon Stoker open for 13 yards and a first down and goal to go on the Whiteface 13-yard line.
The Cowboys hammered down to the Antelope three-yard line, then went to the air on fourth down, but were stymied when Soliz intercepted a Bressler pass intended for Mason Hix in the endzone.
That gave Whiteface the ball on their own 20-yard line with 1:04 left in the half. A big run from Rendon put the Antelopes on their own 36-yard line.
Then Happy’s defense stiffened and it looked bad for Whiteface when a bobbled snap got away from Rendon with multiple Cowboys in pursuit.
Rendon got the ball off to Kauffman, however, and he ran down to the Happy 21-yard line.
Next Soliz found Rendon for another 16 yards, then Kauffman did the final honors with a fiveyard touchdown. After the points after kick, Whiteface led 32-14 with 23 seconds left in the first half.
The Cowboys started the second half with the ball, but were forced to turn over on downs.
They got the ball back on the Antelopes’ first play after recovering a fumble, but the result was the same – a turn over on downs.
That gave Whiteface the ball on the Happy 26-yard line, but a holding call put them back to the Cowboys’ 36-yard line.
The first three downs saw Whiteface go nowhere. Then Rendon opened up for back-toback runs – the first for 18 yards and the second for another 16, putting the Antelopes on the 10yard line with first down and goal to go.
Soliz did the honors on the ground. Castenada’s points after kick missed, but the Antelopes were up 38-14 with 5:17 left in the third quarter.
The Antelopes pushed Happy back on the Cowboys’ next drive, forcing a turnover on downs at the Happy 23-yard line.
The resulting Whiteface drive lasted only one play; a 23yard touchdown run from Kauffman for a 46-14 lead with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
The Cowboys weren’t done yet, though. Taking over on their own 29-yard line, Happy worked their way downfield, finally scoring on a three-yard run by King with 23 seconds left in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter found Whiteface up 46-22 and driving on the Happy 25-yard line. Five plays later, Rendon crossed the goal line. The kick missed, but the Antelopes had extended their lead to 52-22 with 8:45 left in the game.
Happy made some adjustments and were able to score relatively easily on the next drive, a three-play affair that ended with a 14-yard pass from Bressler to C.W. Johnson. With a good points-after kick, the Cowboys had cut the lead to 5230.
A fumble from Kauffman ended the next Whiteface drive and gave Happy the ball on the Antelope 37-yard line with 5:23 left in the game. The Cowboys worked their way down to the Whiteface 29-yard line, but were forced to turn over on downs after being backed up to the Antelope 35-yard line.
Whiteface took over and found themselves facing a fourth down and one yard to go when Linman called for a timeout.
After the timeout, Soliz hit Rendon open for 15 yards and a first down at the Happy 16-yard line. Kauffman ran the ball into the endzone on the next play.
The Cowboys blocked the points after kick, but Whiteface led 58-30 with just over two minutes left in the game.
The final score of the game was anticlimactic. Happy made the score 52-38 for Whiteface with just 15 seconds left.
Whiteface then took over in the victory formation and Soliz took a knee to end the game.
Whiteface gets ready to take on the #14 Klondike Cougars at home this Friday at 7:30 p.m.