The Whitharral Panthers football team faced off against the Sands Mustangs in the Bi-District round of the 1A-2 sixman playoffs at Lubbock Christian High School this past Friday, losing 82-48.
The loss marks the Panthers first of the season, dropping them to 9-1 and eliminating them from the playoffs.
It’s a crushing result not only because of the loss, but also because of who it was against. This marks the second straight season that Sands has eliminated Whitharral in the first round of the playoffs.
“I told the guys before the game that nothing was promised. These guys came and upset these dudes last year, which was kind of the message all week,” Whitharral Head Coach Josh Watson said. “You’ve got to do the little things right, and I feel like they came out more physical, and we came out rattled. They had us playing on our heels, offensively and defensively. We made a little bit of an adjustment early in the first, and then Damian going out hurt us on both sides. So, we kind of had to move some guys around. That’s why you play the game, nothing’s promised.”
Sands came out and punched the Panthers in the mouth, going up by three scores at one point in the first quarter, which is what Coach Watson is referencing when regarding his team being rattled.
Whitharral would fight back from that adversity and get within 10 points of Sands, and the teams would trade blows until super late in the second quarter when senior start - ing quarterback and safety Damian Rodriguez would suffer a game-ending injury.
That loss would lead to three consecutive Sands touchdowns, which practically put the game out of reach.
The Whitharral defense struggled to stop Sands all night, allowing 607 total offensive yards, which was an unsustainable pace for the Panther offense to keep up with, especially shorthanded.
The Panthers played most of the season without two of their starters due to injury, senior Brent Robinson and junior Daniel Rodriguez, and they made it through the regular season unscathed, but when Damian Rodriguez was added onto that list, their deficien - cies finally showed against a great team in the playoffs.
Others had to pick up that slack and while it didn’t show on the scoreboard, several players certainly did, including seniors Nate Sansom and Greg Johnson.
Johnson was the Panthers leading rusher with 187 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, adding a reception for 14 yards and six total tackles as well.
Sansom had a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, along with eight rushes for 38 yards, one reception for 15 yards and 3.5 tackles. He would also lead the Panthers in the return game with four returns for 36 yards.
Sansom also made the player of the night on his receiving touchdown, where he caught the football and hurdled a de- fender to find the end zone.
Sophomore Cooper Burns and junior Bradley Gray both had receiving touchdowns, as Burns would finish with 23 yards on two receptions and Gray would have the lone 22-yard touchdown reception. Burns would also be the Panthers leading tackler with 11 in the game.
And rounding out the statistical standouts was Damian Rodriguez, who was Whitharral’s leading passer with 67 yards and two touchdowns, completing all six of his pass attempts, also recording two tackles.
Those were spirited efforts in a tough loss, and as their season concludes, it’s hard not to think about what could have been.
When fully healthy, Whitharral looked unbeatable this season, and if they were healthy against Sands, it’s hard to see them losing. But the game is not decided by hypotheticals, and a loss is a loss.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Coach Watson said. “I hate it for our seniors, and I hate that we lost the game, but I think it’s a good growth point for our younger guys and the juniors coming back. Hopefully they’ll learn from that and step up and make something happen.”
After a disappointing end to a historic season, the returners will seek to grow from their shortcomings this season to be better for the next.