This past Friday in Lamesa, the Whiteface Antelopes football team played against the Rankin Red Devils in the Regional Round of the 1A-1 playoffs, falling to them 82-38.
Rankin got out to a 22-6 lead early on, which was something the Antelopes could never recover from.
“They’re a really good ball team, and they’ve gotten better as the year went on,” Whiteface Football Head Coach Brandon Flores said. “They got the jump on us. We got them down to fourth down on that first posses sion, and then they ended up getting a score. I feel like we took them to fourth down several times, and we couldn't find a way off the field defensively. They did a good job of running the ball, which people hadn’t really done on us all year, so you’ve got to give them props for that. I thought we did some good things, it just wasn’t enough, and they got the best of us on that one.”
The difference in the game was Rankin’s rushing attack as they recorded 433 total rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, and they were also a combined 7/13 on third and fourth down conversions.
Whiteface also losing the turnover battle with three to Rankin’s zero, made the deficit impossible to overcome.
Even though it was a defensive struggle for the Antelopes, the offense was still able to flourish in the game with 344 total rushing yards.
“Our guys did a good job.
We knew we had a chance to run the ball with the right blocks and the offensive line moving the line of scrimmage. They did just that,” Coach Flores said. “Our rush game was really good. I was really proud of them.”
Junior Jaxson Hodge led that effort with 24 carries for a game-high 257 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Sophomore Luke Gresham had 12 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. Gresham was also the Antelopes leading passer with 48 yards and two touchdowns, completing 2/2 passes.
Junior Cesar Chavez led the team in receiving with one catch for 39 yards and a touchdown, followed by senior Isaak Soliz with one catch for nine yards and a touchdown.
Statistical leaders on the defense included Cesar Chavez and Isaak Soliz with six tackles each, along with senior Victor Borunda and Jaxson Hodge, who both had five tackles.
On special teams, senior Cash Crutcher had six kickoff returns for 87 yards, and Victor Borunda had a 31yard punt.
Overall, it was a hardfought loss that Whiteface can walk away from with their heads held high as they end their season at 10-3 overall.
In the preseason, Coach Flores’ goal was for this team to go at least three rounds deep in the playoffs and win the District Championship, and they did exactly that, and they also were the Bi-District and Area Champions in the process.
That was off the backs of many noteworthy individual efforts, which also earned All-District honors.
Isaak Soliz was the Defensive MVP and Jaxson Hodge was the offensive MVP, while First Team All-District selections included Cash Crutcher on special teams, Hodge at linebacker, junior Ryland Jones at offensive line and spread rusher, Cesar Chavez at wide receiver and cornerback, Soliz at quarterback, Luke Gresham at fullback and utility, sophomore Ivaniel Gandara at kicker and sophomore Alex Hernandez at spread center. Coach Flores was also honored as the 2025 Coach of the Year.
Congratulations to Whiteface football on the individual accolades and an awesome season for the team in Coach Flores' first season as Head Coach.
They now say goodbye to the senior class of Victor Borunda, Axel Rivera and Cash Crutcher, who Coach Flores had a message for.
“Just keep working. We talked about it all season, and I told the guys in multiple games that adversity’s going to hit and not just in the game of football, but in the game of life. When adversity hits you, you either get up and keep going or lay down,” Coach Flores said. “I always tell them don’t lay down, get up, and keep working. That’s what they’ve done all season, and I hope they continue to do that for the rest of their lives. I wish them nothing but the best in the future.”