The Whiteface Antelopes punched their ticket to a firstever trip to the UIL State Football Championships with a 74-54 win over the Water Valley Wildcats in Class 1A-1 six-man action last Saturday in Lamesa.
Head Football Coach Clint Linman praised the culture the team has developed.
“I’m proud of the work these guys have put in for three years,” he said. “Nobody deserves a chance to go compete for a championship more than this bunch of kids.”
“They have done it the right way with humility, toughness, accountability and integrity,” Linman added. “There are no front runners on this team and there has been zero entitlement or excuses.”
“In my opinion, that is what put them in the position to go compete for a championship.”
Whiteface racked up 536 yards total offense with 473 of them on the ground. The Wildcats’ had 334 yards passing on their way to 380 yards total offense.
Water Valley also had three penalties for 10 yards, while the Antelopes had six for 63 yards.
Both teams played solid defense. The Antelopes went 4- for-12 on third down conversions and 4-for-8 on fourth down.
Water Valley went 5-for-11 on third down conversions and 2- for-6 on fourth down.
Whiteface started with the ball on their own eight-yard line after a deep kick that Isaak Soliz was unable to return.
Ethan Kauffman took the Antelopes to the 29-yard line on the first play from scrimmage, then Jeremiah Rendon went 51 yards for the first score of the game. After Damian Castaneda’s kick, Whiteface led 8-0 just 45 seconds into the game.
The Wildcats came out in a spread offense on their first possession on the Whiteface 30- yard line after a 15-yard return from Marcus Rodriguez.
Landon Lacy gained six yards after being forced to run by the Whiteface defense. The pass attempt on second down was incomplete, but on third down, Lacy found Gunnar Brooks in the end zone.
After the kick, the score was tied at eight each with slightly more than one minute off the clock.
A holding penalty put the Antelopes back on their 15-yard line to start the next series.
Kauffman ran for 19 yards, then Rendon ran for three yards.
A third down pass attempt from Soliz to Axel Rivera was incomplete and the Antelopes were facing third down and 12 yards to go.
Kauffman got the call and rambled 43 yards for a Whiteface touchdown and a 16-8 Antelope lead after Castaneda’s kick.
Whiteface got a stop on the next Water Valley drive, taking over on the Antelope 36-yard line after a turnover on downs.
Kauffman went for nine yards, then the Antelopes went for a rare passing play. Soliz hit Rendon open for a first down on the Water Valley 14-yard line.
Three running plays later, the Antelopes were facing fourth down and goal to go on the Water Valley three-yard line.
Rendon took a pitch from Soliz and threw to Auscar Gandara open in the endzone for a touchdown and a 24-8 Whiteface lead with four minutes left in the first quarter.
Whiteface and Water Valley went back and forth with the Wildcats unable to cut the Whiteface lead to less than 10 points until Water Valley got a stop late in the second quarter.
The Antelopes took over leading 44-34 after a Water Valley touchdown with 2:47 left in the half. Four incomplete passes later, Whiteface was forced to turnover on downs, giving the Wildcats the ball on the Whiteface 30-yard line with 2:31 left in the half.
A defensive holding call gave the Wildcats 10 yards, then Lacy found Brylan Naylor open for 16 yards and a first down and goal to go on the Whiteface fouryard line.
Two plays later, Anthony Quintana gave the Wildcats a touchdown. The kick was blocked, but Water Valley had cut the Whiteface lead to 44-40 with just 1:28 left in the half.
Whiteface answered with a five-play drive that ended with Rendon finding Gandara open in the endzone for the second touchdown for the pair and 52-40 Whiteface lead going into halftime.
The Wildcats cut the lead to 52-46 in the opening drive of the second half and were trailing 60- 54 at the end of the third quarter.
Whiteface scored early in the fourth quarter, then forced Water Valley to turnover on downs and scored again for the final 74-54 lead with 7:35 left in the game.
The final minutes of the game were taken up by a long Water Valley drive that ended in a turnover on downs, followed by a long Whiteface drive that ended in a fumble.
The last drive of the game saw Rendon intercept a Wildcat pass in the endzone and run out to take a knee with just a minute left.
All that remained was for the Whiteface offense to take a knee twice.
Kauffman had 30 carries for 344 yards, six touchdowns and a fumble. Rendon had 10 carries for 129 yards, two touchdowns and a fumble.
Rendon also went 3-for-5 passing for 28 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and had a 21-yard reception.
Soliz went 2-for-8 for 35 yards and had a 14-yard reception.
Cesar Chavez had a 14-yard reception and Gandara had two receptions for 14 yards and two touchdowns.
Rendon had nine tackles and an interception. Chavez had five. Kauffman and Soliz had four each and Soliz had a sack.
Jaxon Hodge had three tackles and an assist. Gandara had two. Victor Borunda and Rivera had one each.
Jose Flores had three kick returns for 34 yards.
The Whiteface Antelopes will take on the Gordon Longhorns in the UIL Class 1A-1 State Football Championship on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington at 2 p.m.