Nov 12 sports coverage

THE CANADIAN RECORD

THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2015

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THE CANADIAN RECORD

Wildcats complete perfect 10-0 season Senior night in Canadian epitomized two year’s worth of Wildcat football.

After recognizing 19 members of the 2016 graduating class, Canadian put on a clinic to the chagrin of the Roughriders who were completely overmatched by the much larger and more athletic team in black and gold.

The end result was an ugly 62-2 final score.

“We came out and the practice this week was really good,” said senior quarterback Tanner Schafer. “We came out every day with the intention to get better. The game tonight, we made sure not to play down to other people’s level. We played at our level.”

Boys Ranch looked like they had escaped the worst possible opening to the game when on the first play, Schafer’s 72-yard bomb to Cameron Copley was called back for a hold.

Instead, it took Air Canada three plays including another 33-yard Copley catch and a 40-yard run by Chance Cook for the score.

It was all downhill for Boys Ranch after that.

Canadian’s second drive ended in two plays with a 36-yard completion to Manny Ramsey and a 2-yard touchdown catch by Copley.

After an incompletion—Schafer’s only miss of the night—the third offensive drive ended in two plays with a 9-yard catch by Ryan Royse after Schafer shook-off two attempted sacks.

“The line did a great job,” said Schafer.

“They really gave me a lot of time back there.

They’ve been working hard in practice and it’s beginning to show. We’ve had guys that have been stepping up on our line and filling in places where other guys need a week off, or are injured or something. That’s really great to have.”

In seven plays, Canadian had scored 21 points with four different players.

The Roughriders fumbled the next snap away, recovered by C. Cook, and once again, in only two plays, Schafer found a new touchdown target, this time Sawyer Cook. Schafer unreeled a lofting sky hook that waned over a leaping Boys Ranch defensive back and into the awaiting hands of the 6-foot-2 Cook in the southeast corner.

Nine plays. 28 points. Five scorers. The Wildcats averaged over three points a play.

The fifth drive admittedly took three plays to score, but the pass to S. Cook gave him the opportunity to showcase a little finesse alongside his power as he juked a defender and picked up a block by Ramsey to walk into the end zone.

Another Roughrider fumble, recovered

by Cade Throgmorton, allowed Air Canada the one-play touchdown they missed earlier, as Schafer threw another corner fade, only to Copley this time, who leaped over his defender to come down with six.

Thirteen plays. 41 points as the PAT failed to convert.

Throgmorton yet again recovered a fumble on the first snap of the Roughriders’ series and Air Canada took it from there, as S. Cook hauled in a 24-yard pass and C. Cook walked it in from 1-yard out.

Forty-eight points in 16 plays.

Copley took the next drive 58-yards on a screen pass, weaving through dumbfounded Roughriders, for his third touchdown of the night.

Eighteen plays. 55 points.

C. Cook put the icing on the cake as he picked off one of Boys Ranch’s five passing attempts, and took it to the house as an awestruck team in blue could only watch. The score put the Wildcats up 62-0 with over three minutes still left in the half.

“That formation,” explained Cook, “I knew that [the receiver] was going to run a seam up the middle and I just bit on it and took it to the house.”

At that point, fresh legs walked on the field and the relief took care of the remaining game, only relinquishing two points on a botched snap that sailed out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

The assault had been relentless.

The Blackade defense had stonewalled any inkling of a Roughrider attack. For the second time in as many weeks, and for the fourth time this season, Canadian denied triple-digit yards to their opponent. Much of that resulted from 23 tackles for loss by 10 different Wildcats including Cory Chidester

(7), Throgmorton (4), Cooper Trolinger (3), Mario Flores (2), Holton Hufstedler (2).

Alexis Flores, S. Cook, Julian Vigil, Cameron Wilson and Quentin Cambell all tallied a TFL of their own. The combined four-turnover performance by C. Cook and Throgmorton was equally exceptional.

Meanwhile, after having a season-best performance last week, Schafer capitalized on his last night in Wildcat Stadium. Schafer completed 13 of his 14 pass attempts and utilized three different receivers for six touchdowns—a new season-best “I was just trying to have trust in my wide receivers,” said Schafer, “and knowing that if I did throw it up, they’d go up and get it, even if the ball was bad. One of the things I tried focusing on throughout this week is that I got a lot better on throwing the ball on time and my footwork.”

Copley continues to terrorize secondaries. For the fifth time in six games, The Human Highlight Reel tore up the field for 100plus yards receiving (West Texas was able to contain him for 96), and for the third game in a row he has accounted for 130-plus yards.

The win finalized a second-consecutive, perfect regular season and a third-consecutive district championship for the Wildcats, but the bittersweet night did not spell an end for this senior class.

“It’s crazy to think that four years ago I was starting my first game here on varsity,” said C. Cook. “It’s hard to think it’s the last game. Take it all in, but I know this is not the last of it. There’s more to come.”

A swarm of Blackade defenders engulf a Boys Ranch ball carrier for one of 23 tackles for loss on the night. The roughriders could never jump start their offense, gaining only 95 yards and zero offensive points the entire night. Defensive Coordinator Andy Cavalier was nominated for Defensive Coordinator of the week by Dairy Max and Dave Cambell’s Football.

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No. 21 Cade Throgmorton, a junior rover, pounces on a loose ball Friday night versus Boys Ranch. The Blackade defense would cause four turnovers throughout the night to win 62-2.

PHOTOS BY PEYTON AUFILL

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Wildcats warm-up with Owls Playoffs have a new twist to them this year.

Four teams from each district now go on to compete for the state championship.

What this means for the reigning champion Wildcats is no bye week. It hardly seems necessary for the No. 1 team in the land, as the starters only played the first half of their last two games versus Panhandle and Boys Ranch after building a 49-0 and 62-0 lead by halftime in each game.

The opening match versus Hale Center appears to be equally skewed.

The 2-2A district pales in comparison to the gauntlet teams face in the 1-2A district the Wildcats compete in, and the Owls squeaked by with a 2-3 district record and finished 5-5 overall.

Hale Center is currently on a three-game losing streak and has dropped those contests in a combined 26-172 effort.

Surprisingly, Hale Center has amassed 3,138 offensive yards, but their lowest output came last week versus New Deal at 141, and the Blackade defense is allotting a mere 163.7 yards per game.

The Owls have tossed 19 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, while Wildcat quarterback Tanner Schafer has an astounding 31 touchdowns to only two interceptions.

The entirety of the Owl rushing attack has only garnered 11 touchdowns from 1,299 yards while Chance Cook alone has scored a team-leading 19 touchdowns alongside 1,326 yards.

The Hale Center defense is porous at best. All season the Owls only have 22 tackles for loss. Canadian on the other hand had 23 in the Boys Ranch contest alone. Sacks are even more lopsided as the Owls have only mounted six while Canadian’s Cory Chidester alone accounts for 14 of the Blackade’s 46 sacks.

The Wildcats have done a tremendous job this season not looking past any opponent, and the squad doesn’t plan on starting to do so with Hale Center.

“It’s the playoffs,” said Schafer. “We have six weeks to go and we’re going to take it one week at a time. Make sure that we just keep getting better. Not get too far ahead of ourselves.”

Hale Center is not without offensive threats however as senior quarterback D.J. Dunn is good for more than 200 yards passing per game. The trifecta of Zae Richards, Dunn and Jayden Harvey also average nearly 150 yards rushing per game. The receiving core is led by senior Trey Buxton who accounts for 767 yards receiving and nine touchdowns this season.

Canadian completed their regular season unscathed and frankly, unchallenged, finishing a perfect 10-0 with a third district title in as many years, but the accomplishment is not satisfying to the reigning state champions who are quickly carving a path to Houston.

“Since being on last year’s team and winning state,” said Cook, “we know there are things that are better than just being undefeated and being district champs. There’s more gold at the end of the road than most people think there is. We’re hungry, and we want to get there, but we just gotta take it week by week.”

The Wildcats will play as the “away” team at 7:30 pm at Dick Bivins Stadium inAmarillo on Thursday. Tickets are available at the stadium—$6 for adults and $3 for students. Wildcat fans will sit on the east side of the stadium. You can keep track of live updates from the game by following us on Twitter @CrecordSports or our Facebook page.

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Lady Cats cut-down Harvesters in opener The No. 8 Lady Cats returned to action for the first time this week, and made a statement in the inaugural game of the season as they buried the 4A Pampa Lady Harvesters Tuesday evening.

This comes as no surprise to the team, however, as six lettermen returned from last season’s regional finals team, and an influx of young talent has only bolstered an already dangerous lineup.

“We have a lot of really good younger girls that are coming up,” said junior guard Haevyn Risley. “All of them have potential.”

The key to this season’s success appears to be unanimously agreed upon by coaches and players alike—chemistry. With half the roster being made up of rookie talent, the team is actively working to create an inseparable bond on and off the court.

“We’re going to have to learn to play with each other,” said senior forward Madisian McDowell, “cause it’s a younger group coming in. That’s one of our biggest goals— learning to play with each other and get in the zone. We have to have a good relationship outside of basketball. There’s no tension between anybody so you can actually let each other get close and learn to play with each other.”

Head Coach Kevin Richardson is already seeing positive team dynamics early in the season that he believes will ultimately lead to success as the Lady Cats head deeper into their schedule.

“Chemistry-wise, they’re a very good group in that they like each other and they work hard for each other,” said Richardson. “They want to be good for each other. A lot of it has to do with their relationship off the court. When you have that, and you can transfer it to the court, good things usually can happen for your team cause they’re going to try hard for each other.”

The team did not wait to test themselves as they prepared for the season by scrimmaging 6A Amarillo High. The tough preseason match helped prepare the team for a heavy-hitting schedule that includes road trips to a 5A Canyon tournament as well as a 6A Frenship tournament in November and December.

“I think we competed well, which is good to see,” said Richardson. “I didn’t think we backed down from them at all just because they were Amarillo High or whoever.

I thought we really competed well and did some good things especially being as young and youthful as we are. I was impressed with us in a lot of respects. Now, I think we have a long ways to go, but I think our team has a big ceiling. I just see a lot of improvement that could be had. I think our team’s going to get a lot better for sure.”

The players agreed with the evaluation, feeling confident that they played with the intensity and desire to take down heftier competition.

Then they proved it Tuesday, traveling to Pampa and absolutely dismantling their 4A neighbor, 67-14.

The returning leader in scoring, Risley, drained 18 points while snatching away six steals and shooting 64 percent from the floor and 67 percent from the line.

McDowell contributed a solid game as well, hitting double-digit points with 10 and contributing six steals of her own.

Newcomer, sophomore post, Emily Alexander surprised everyone with 13 points and five steals though six missed free throws kept her from being completely dominant.

“I feel like I did well,” said Alexander. “I really wish I could have done better on really kicking the ball out earlier and not trying to go up with shots a lot, but my teammates passed the ball around great. They gave me a great chance to score. I was really allowed the opportunity to score because of them.”

All 10 Lady Cats who saw playing time added at minimum a field goal, but the included defensive performances of Caroline Cook, Avery Pennington and Catlin Cook were a sight to behold as they completed four, five and four steals respectively.

Catlin Cook also created a team-leading four assists.

The early success by the young players did not shock Richardson in the least.

“I’m not surprised by any of them, quite honestly. I think they have that ability to [play well]. The question is, it’s easy to do against teams that aren’t very good, but

you’ve got to be able to do it against the good teams too. Can you make those same plays against good teams when there’s only one or two of those opportunities? In a close game, can you make that kind of play? If you can make those kinds of plays in a close game, then that’s good.”

The willingness to spread the ball around and have equal contributions from each player resulted in an insurmountable lead from which the Lady Harvesters could not recover.

“Whenever we play with every person on the team early on in the season,” said Alexander, “we’re prepared for later [games].

Coach [Richardson] is allowing us to learn to play with each and every person and not just a set four or five. He’s really allowing us to be successful as a team.”

The Lady Cats brought a very physical game and utilized the press to great success while simultaneously driving to the basket in order to create the easy layup or force a Pampa foul. The intense play did create some issues for the Lady Cats however, when at times they felt they were out of control or loose with the ball.

“Any time you play as hard as we do, there’s going to be mistakes made,” said Richardson. “I can live with it. We just got sloppy with the ball when we didn’t have to be. Maybe trying to do too much with the

ball when we didn’t have to. But I thought we all played pretty well. I think we had a lot of different girls contribute and we gotta have that. We can’t just rely on one or two girls.

We gotta rely on everybody. I’m very pleased with that.”

Richardson is looking for the lettermen to keep a handle on the game flow and tempo as they attempt to navigate the early schedule while the young blood continues to add notches to their belts.

“With our experience that we do have,” said Richardson, “they gotta carry us for a while. I think that’s always true of any team.

When everybody gets their feet wet, that’s when your team really takes off, when you get that experience for your younger girls.”

Risley had already stated her preseason goal to continue to build the poise of the fledgling team.

“I just want to be a better leader. Communicate more and encourage the younger [players] to get up there and have confidence.”

The Lady Cats are looking plenty assured as it was all smiles on the bench in Pampa.

The squad is looking to continue to improve as they take on the Wheeler Lady ‘Stangs, Saturday at 3 pm here in Canadian.

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Clockwise: Haevyn Risley leads the offense early versus the Lady Harvesters.

Madisian McDowell fires an easy layup, good for 2 of her 10 points.

Chloe Walser drives the paint.

Emily Alexander surprises the Lady Harvesters with a 15 point performance.

Isabelle Krehbiel spins around her defender and drives to the basket.

Catlin Cook lets off a layup to help the Lady Cats score 67 points in their season opener.

PHOTOS BY PEYTON AUFILL

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Through mud and muck, Wildcats place fifth at state The road laid before the Wildcat crosscountry team would not be an easy trail to conquer.

“We were ready,” said senior Bailey Urschel. “All the way down there we were excited. All eight hours. We were ready to run.

It was probably the most fun meet we’ve ran in. Just a different experience being the first team from Canadian to actually make it there. It’s putting down a statement.”

Not only did the team have to face their inaugural appearance in Round Rock for the state championship, they would have to traverse the unfamiliar 3-mile terrain through mud and froth.

“We just kind of relaxed,” said Head Coach Thomas Harris of the three-day trip.

“Tried to stay off of our feet, and get as much nutrition and water as possible. And then of course it began to rain the entire Saturday morning. Pretty much everything I talked about to the guys the day prior was kind of all out the window. There was no preparation for a sloppy mess that we ended up having to run in. The pictures put no justice into how sloppy and messy and muddy the course was.”

Despite the setbacks, the team performed admirably garnering a fifth-place finish averaging a time of 20:16.61.

Urschel, unsurprisingly, led the sextet with 19:22.53, good enough to finish ninth out of 150 athletes.

“I feel good about it,” said Urschel. “I tried my best. I know it was raining and muddy and everything, but it created a whole lot more adrenaline. I was happy, and I was happy for the rest of the team too because we got fifth out of sixteen teams. Hopefully, next year, they can do [even] better.”

“Bailey has been a leader since his sophomore year,” said Harris. “He’s done really well, working hard for me every single morning and has never given up. He’s been giving me 100 percent for all four years I’ve been here. He’s helped shape the a lot of the expectations the other kids have coming up. He’s

really created a hard-working culture on the team.”

Jeremiah Martinez and Trey McPherson both had arguably their best performance of the season finishing No. 17 and No. 27, respectively. Martinez was a mere 13.34 seconds behind Urschel and McPherson, accounting for a respectable time of 20:11.83.

“I don’t think they were ever satisfied with just making it to state,” Harris said of the freshman duo. “I think these guys really wanted to show up at the state meet. I think those freshman had a notion in their head that they really wanted to make a statement at that meet, no matter what it took. I’m really proud of those guys.”

Trae Dwyer-Krehbiel finished in 20:32.64 and garnered a No. 32 ranking.

Sawyer Landry clocked in at 21:40.17 and Aaron Morales rounded it out with 23:38.02.

The experience and success certainly sets up the budding program for future achievements as only Urschel and Morales graduate next year. Two-time state competitor, junior Dwyer-Krehbiel will be looked toward as the new team leader and Martinez, McPherson and Landry are only in their freshman year.

All three should be even greater runners with three more years of experience and training under their belt.

PHOTO BY BANDI MCPHERSON

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JV Cats complete 10-0 run to complete the perfect season Perfect.

That’s how the Canadian JV football team completed their season. Unbeaten in 10 games, the Cats claimed their own district championship alongside the varsity squad, defeating River Road 35-19.

“I’m very proud of how these guys improved from August to the end of the season,” said Head Coach Tim Fletcher. “This team did something really special to go undefeated, and they should be very proud of that. I’m excited to see what the future holds for this group of great young men.”

Canadian traveled to River Road and controlled the game from the start, only losing the second quarter 7-9.

Bryce Chidester punched in the first score on a 2-yard run and then completed the ensuing two-point conversion. River Road answered with a 21-yard field goal.

Kevin Moreno caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Casen Cavalier to open the second quarter and Moreno converted the PAT, but a River Road safety and touchdown kept the score close at 15-12 at the half.

Chidester extended the lead in the third quarter with another 2-yard run and Matthew Lynch sealed the game in the final quarter with an 11-yard touchdown catch from Cavalier. Lynch then returned an interception 75 yards for the clinching score. Kelton King added a two-point conversion on a pass from Moreno.

Cavalier ended the game with 247 yards passing and Lynch with 89 yards receiving.

Chidester added 91 all-purpose yards.

Moreno tallied an interception alongside Lynch’s and Jackson Anderson, Caleb Martinez and Luis Vera each accounted for sacks—Anderson with three.

Some members of the roster will now make a move up to varsity in anticipation of the playoffs. The added practices and direct competition with the undefeated varsity Wildcats will undoubtedly continue to improve the talent as they help to take over Friday night duties next season.

After winning district with an undefeated record, several Wildcats from the JV team will be making the jump to varsity in order to help assist the current roster with another championship run. Included are: Wyatt Bishop (above), Bryce Chidester (left), Casen Cavalier, Caleb Martinez, Kevin Moreno, Connor King, Brendon Wyatt, Derrick Holdstock, Jackson Anderson, Cameron Wilson, Kyler Collins, Noah Carter, Alex Gonzales, Hunter Cooper, Matthew Lynch, Kelton King, Cutter Kelton, Ethan Brewster and Jesus Barrera.

PHOTOS BY PEYTON AUFILL

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Seventh- and eighth-grade Cat football teams finish undefeated Undefeated. It just appears to be par for the course in Canadian football as the seventh- and eighth-grade teams combined for their final test against Boys Ranch and passed with flying colors, defeating the Roughriders to finish 7-0-1 and 9-0 on the season.

“Wow, what a year,” said Eighth-grade Head Coach Andy Copley. “I am very proud of these kids and what they have accomplished this season. An undefeated season, at any level, in any sport, is a great accomplishment.”

The eighth-grade team opened the game when Chris Sanchez took a pass from Jack Koetting for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Koetting would then tag A.J. Gonzalez for a score and Alejandro Dominguez would return an interception 23 yards for a third touchdown.

Koetting added a 3-yard scramble for six and kicker Erick Santoyo would convert all four PAT attempts.

Boys Ranch returned the ensuing kickoff for their only points on the day, but Meyer Ray Ancira punched it in from 1 yard out before the end of the first quarter.

Kyler McClendon completed the scoring on the day with a 7-yard rushing touchdown. The Santoyo kick froze the scoreboard at 41-8.

The seventh-grade team held the Roughriders at bay the entirety of the second half refusing to relinquish a single point.

“Overall, I am extremely proud with the progress this team made,” said Seventhgrade Head Coach Chase Palmore. “From the first day of practice, until the last game, we continually improved and became a well-rounded team. No one was able to score more than two touchdowns on us and we routinely outscored opponents by more than two or three touchdowns.”

“These kids have a ton of potential and it’s exciting to think of their future,” said Copley. “This team has good leadership, skill kids, linemen, work ethic, expectations, and a strong will to win.”

It’s a good bet that the Wildcat’s winning ways aren’t going away any time soon.y

Top: Koda Reames and his eighth-grade teammates celebrate their victory over Panhandle.

Above: Josh Culwell breaks a Panther tackle in the seventh-grade victory over Panhandle.

PHOTOS BY PEYTON AUFILL

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Fifth- and sixth-grade Wildcats finish 8-0 in defeat of Clarendon

Alongside undefeated football seasons by the varsity, JV, eighth and seventh-grade Wildcats, the fifth- and sixth-grade Cats completed a seven-game sweep of their own, icing the season versus Clarendon in the championship game, 22-16. The Cats had already defeated Clarendon in the season opener 12-6, and the confidence set them up to claim the title. Other scores included: 38-22 vs. Sayre; 32-20 vs. Wellington; 40-12 vs.

Memphis; 26-20 vs. Shamrock; and 66-33 vs. Wheeler. The perfect roster was made up of Isay Ramirez, Harrison Hughs, Blaine Campbell, Alan Cedillo, Luke Ford, Tripp Mills, Jake Krehbiel, Baldo Garcia, Calen Henderson, Ethan Stephenson, Angel Garcia, Dylan Luke, Aiden Dickinson, Jesus Flores, Javier Alvarez, Landon Saenz, Jared Barrera, Nick Salas, Matt McLanahan, Javier Cardenas, Cree Waite, Jaxtyn Valenzuela, Corbin Throgmorton, Dwayne Moran, Dominic Farrar, Nathan Mondragon, Edain Frayre, Kyle Altmiller, Caden Cooke, Diego Lugo, Fernando Perez, Abel Cruz, Benjamin Benton, Jed Davina, Nate Dunn, Treyshon McNabb, Jes Vigil and Dylan Leach. The team was coached by Kyle Altmiller and John Sam Krehbiel

The Lady Cat softball team regrouped to begin their off-season workouts Sunday evening. Cool weather and warm foliage provided the same atmosphere as opening day.

PHOTO BY PEYTON AUFILL

PHOTOS BY KYLE ALTMILLER

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