The Whiteface Antelopes ran roughshod over the Follett Panthers 60-12 last Friday in a UIL high school six-man football matchup in Happy.
The Antelopes, ranked eighth among all six-man football teams by sixmanfootball.com on Friday, held the 17 th ranked Panthers to just 130 yards total offense while racking up 442 yards in the 45-point rule shortened game.
The 45-point rule states that when one team is ahead by 45 points or more at or after halftime, the game is called. Whiteface scored the last touchdown with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
Whiteface Head Football Coach Clint Linman he was “proud of the team’s preparation and effort,” but the Antelopes “must keep getting better day by day.”
The Antelopes moved up to number five in the poll released on Sunday, while Follett dropped to 33 rd place.
Whiteface started with the ball on their own 33-yard line after an onside kick from the Panthers with no return.
A seven-yard run by Ethan Kauffman followed by an 18-yard scramble from Jeremiah Rendon gave the Antelopes a first down and 15 yards to go on the Follett 22-yard line.
Two plays later, Kauffman ran into the endzone for the first Whiteface touchdown. A fumbled snap cost the Antelopes the twopoint kick, but they were up 6-0.
An offsides penalty forced Whiteface to kick twice, but Follett was still only able to start on their own 35-yard line.
It was enough, as Panther Logan Meeks found Bryan Torres open for 45 yards and a Follett touchdown. The Panthers tried for a one-point conversion, but the pass from Wyatt Terrell to Colin Vicory fell incomplete. The score was tied at six each with 8:39 left on the clock and it was the last time Follett tied the Antelopes.
A holding penalty against Whiteface put them on their own 22-yard line after Follett’s kick. Kauffman gained 13 yards on his first carry, then rambled down to the Panthers’ 10-yard line.
Rendon did the honors on the next play, scoring with 7:22 left in the quarter. Damien Castaneda’s kick was good for a 14-6 Whiteface lead.
The stifling Antelope defense forced Follett to turnover on downs on their next drive, but a fumbled pitch attempt ended Whiteface’s drive on the Follett 19-yard line.
The Panthers weren’t able to get anywhere on their next drive, gaining five yards in three plays before Antelope Auscar Gandara intercepted a Panther pass, giving Whiteface the ball on the Follett 20-yard line.
The Antelopes took advantage of the field position with a two-play drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown run by Rendon and a good kick by Castaneda.
Whiteface led 22-6 with 54 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Panthers couldn’t get a handle on the Whiteface onside kick and Antelope Jaxon Hodge came up with the ball on the Follett 34-yard line.
Kauffman took the ball all 34 yards on the first play of the drive. Castaneda’s kick missed, but the Antelopes were up 28-6 with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
The next three drives by Follett ended with a turnover on downs while the Antelopes scored on each of their three attempts.
Whiteface led 48-6 with 4:04 left in the half.
It looked as though the Antelope defense would stop Follett again, but with the Panthers on fourth down and four yards on their own 37-yard line, David Meeks found an opening and rocketed 43 yards for a touchdown.
Victor Borunda blocked the Panther PAT for a 48-12 Whiteface lead with 2:53 left in the half.
The Antelopes wasted little time on their nest score, the last of the first half. Starting on their own 28-yard line, Rendon hit Axel Rivera for 37 yards and a first down and goal to go from the Follett 15-yard line.
Kauffman took the ball to the endzone on the next play for a 5412 lead after Castaneda’s kick was blocked.
Half-time found Follett driving, making the last of only four first downs with just 15 seconds left in the half. Their last opportunity to score in the half was foiled however when Rendon sacked Terrell deep in the Panther backfield.
Follett had the ball on their own 34-yard line to start the third quarter, but were forced to turnover on downs after four plays.
The Panther defense had apparently made some adjustments during half-time as they stiffened and forced Kauffman to fumble on fourth down and eight yards to go at the Whiteface 31-yard line.
The Antelopes’ defense remained stiff, allowing Follett five yards on four plays. Whiteface ended Follett’s drive with an interception by Isaak Soliz on the Whiteface five-yard line.
An illegal motion penalty put the Antelopes back on their own two-yard line, but it mattered only a little as Kauffman took the call and rambled 78 yards for the final touchdown, ending the game at the 6:50 mark.
Kauffman had 15 carries for 260 yards and four touchdowns with one fumble. Rendon had seven carries for 110 yards and three touchdowns.
Castaneda had a single oneyard touchdown carry. Soliz went 5-for-7 passing for 34 yards and a touchdown while Rendon was 1-for-1 for 37 yards.
Rivera had a single 37-yard catch. Rendon had an 18-yard touchdown reception. Gandara had three catches for 16 yards and Cesar Chavez had one catch for no gain.
Rendon, Soliz and Kauffman each had six tackles. Rendon also had two assists and Kauffman had one.
Rivera had three tackles and an assist, Hodge had a tackle and Gandara had two assists. Soliz and Gandara each had an interception.
Whiteface returns to Happy to face the fourth ranked Happy Cowboys on Friday at 7 p.m.