Kribyville chances slip through fingers (game story)

[Smackdown]

From BuckinFootball.com

Muleshoe wins 2A-I title

Muleshoe beats Kirbyville, 48-26, in battle of undefeateds

Posted Dec. 13, 2008

by BUCK CARGAL

BuckinFootball.com

GRAND PRAIRIE -- The Kirbyville Wildcats held on by their fingernails just to stay in the game in first half.

Midway through the third quarter -- just when the Class 2A, Division I state championship game appeared to be turning their way -- it slipped off their fingertips.

Twice.

The Muleshoe Mules took advantage of a fumbled punt midway through the third quarter, followed by a dropped would-be interception at the goal line, and pulled away to an impressive 48-26 victory over Kirbyville before more than 10,000 fans at a packed Gopher-Warrior Bowl Saturday night.

The victory capped a perfect 15-0 season for Coach David Wood's team, and his two senior sons, QB Wes and RB Lane.

Kirbyville finished its season at 13-1.

Muleshoe led throughout, scoring only two plays into first possession. The Mules, running the Texas Tech spread with huge splits between the offensive linemen, moved the ball almost at will in the first half. In fact, against Kirbyville's 10-man front with no safety, Muleshoe just missed on big plays on several occasions.

The Wildcats pulled within 21-14 in the final minute of the first half. And Muleshoe came out flat to start the third.

Kirbyville forced a Muleshoe punt, that was muffed by senior wideout-defensive back Randy Musgrove, who was attempting to make a fair catch as the ball was being held up in a crosswind. Musgrove, who had a couple of key first-half receptions to keep Kirbyville in the game when its ground game was smothered, recovered at his own 33.

The Wildcats answered with their best drive of the game, a 10-play, 67-yard march. The drive was kicked off by an Aaron Hazelwood dump off to RB Broderick Jackson down the left seam for 18 yards on third-and-7.

Six plays later, Hazelwood hit Musgrove for 10 yards on a slant to create third-and-1 at the Mule 19. On the next play, sophomore LeFredrick Ford took a quick inside handoff over right guard, cut back left and rambled in the end zone.

After a pair of penalties on Muleshoe, Coach Jack Alvarez decided to go for two points. Though Jackson was stopped short, keeping Muleshoe ahead 21-20 with 5:45 left in the third quarter, the momentum was decidedly in Kirbyville's favor.

When Muleshoe went three and out, Kirbyville had its first chance to take the lead since being stopped inside the Muleshoe 30 on the game's opening possession.

Musgrove called for a fair catch again. The ball held up in the crosswind again.

It was so deja vu as Musgrove crouched and leaned forward in an attempt to make the catch.

Again, the ball slipped off the end of Musgrove's fingers. The ball squirted back up the field about two yards.

As Musgrove lunged forward to make the recovery, he was nailed by a diving Marshal Head. Head, who we would have voted the Player of the Game if it were up to us, knocked Musgrove back just inches before he would have made the recovery.

The ball squirted out from under Head and five yards further back up the field. Muleshoe recovered at the Kirbyville 45 with 4:12 left in the third.

The fumble breathed new life into the Mules, and their Permian-like "Black Attack" fans.

Five plays later, the ball slipped through Kirbyville's -- and eerily, Musgrove's -- fingers again.

With first-and-10 at the Wildcat 18, Wes Wood lofted a high ball down the center of the field for Victor Vasquez at the goal line. Musgrove, racing in from the right hash, got his hands on the ball and appeared to make the interception in front of Vasquez at the 2-yard line.

But as Musgrove took his second step, the ball fell to the ground.

On the next play, Lane Wood took an short option pitch to the left and raced into the end zone for 27-20 lead with 2:17 left in the third. Senior guard Jose Vargas and junior tackle Adolfo Salcedo keyed the run with dominating, side-by-side blocks that wiped out a pair of Wildcat defenders to open the hole.

Lane Wood's sack on third-and-5 forced Kirbyville to punt the ball away.

But where the game had been one teetering on fingertips and near misses, the deciding blow was delivered with pure power.

On 2nd-and-15 from the Wildcat 42, the Muleshoe offensive line picked up the two charging linebackers. Junior center Austin Banott sealed the defense to the right; Head and senior guard Sergio Montejano blasted and sealed the defense to the left. QB Wes Wood had a hole in front of him about 10 yards wide.

Wood sprinted straight ahead for the easiest 42-yard touchdown scamper anyone could ever hope to have, giving Muleshoe a 34-20 lead with 9:49 remaining.

Kirbyville made one last attempt to get back in the game, sparked by Josh Hughey's 33-yard over-the-shoulder grab down the left sideline to the Mule 33.

But two plays later, Hazelwood faked and wanted to boot back on a rollout to the left side. However, the ball hit the hip of the passing back and Kirbyville lost 18 yards on the play.

On fourth-and-17 at the 40, Hazelwood rolled left. He stopped near the line of scrimmage and turned his body to throw down the field. It's doubtful a pass would have been completed as the only deep receiver was well covered.

But just Hazelwood turned, Muleshoe sophomore Cooper Washington, racing from his left end position, blasted the unsuspecting Hazelwood with all the jolt of a Mule kick, knocking the ball 15 yards to the sideline and out of bounds.

Lane Wood raced 32 yards around left end two plays later, followed by a 6-yard scoring strike from Wes Wood to Vasquez in the front right corner for a 41-20 led with 6:52 remaining.

Lane Wood romped for 56 yards on Muleshoe's first play of the game, taking a short option pitch right and getting key downfield blocks from Salcedo on the inside and a receiver on the outside. That play put the Mules at the Wildcat 6. Two plays later, sophomore Juan Sanchez took a counter handoff right and slipped through the defense for a 7-0 lead.

Muleshoe's defense, led by linebacker Head, thoroughly dominated Kirbyville at the line of scrimmage for most of the first half. Unable to get its three-headed running game going, and with Hazelwood off his mark early, the Wildcats were desperately searching for a spark.

Kirbyville got it on its third possession when Hughey made a spectacular, over-the-head catch down the right sideline for a 35-yard gain to the Muleshoe 21.

But Muleshoe's Ray Ramirez intercepted a Hazelwood pass on the next play, before stepping out of bounds at the Mule 4-yard line.

A procedure penalty to start the second quarter put Muleshoe in a third-and-12 from its own 2-yard line.

It took only three plays for the Mules to take a 14-0 lead.

Wes Wood hit Vasquez on a quick inside slant for 13 yards. Washington took a bubble screen to the right, got a key block from head, and raced 63 yards before being drug down by Hughey. Vasquez snuck down the middle fo the field and was covered, by he gained a step on sophomore defender Justin Keene, who briefly paused at the 5 as the ball went in the air. Wes Wood's lofty pass landed in Vasquez's hands in the end zone, just 57 seconds into the second quarter.

Kirbyville's best offensive play early in the second quarter was the defensive face mask penalty by Muleshoe.

The first face mask penalty moved Kirbyville to the Mule 21. The drive ended on a pair of well-off-the-mark passes on third and fourth downs.

But after forcing a Muleshoe punt, Kirbyville was back in action at the Muleshoe 45. Another face mask penalty moved the ball to the 28.

Hazelwood rolled right and found Musgrove coming across the field for a 22-yard gain to the 6-yard line. On the next play, senior Barry Burley shot over right guard, cut back left and scored to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 5:15 left in the half.

Muleshoe got one-one matchups throughout the game, as Kirbyville put 10 men on the line of scrimmage and a linebacker about 5 yards off the ball.

The Mules made them pay for that tactic two plays later, when Ramirez put a double move on Keene and caught a strike as he raced up the left hash. The 70-yard play moved the ball to the Kirbyville 23.

Two plays later, Washington got a free release from the line of scrimmage, and no coverage, resulting in a 21-yard TD reception for a 21-7 Muleshoe lead with 3:49 left in the half.

Kirbyville responded with a 62-yard, 9-play drive to make cut the margin to 21-14 with 38.7 seconds left in the half.

The Wildcat drive started with a 26-yard squareout to the left to Musgrove. Three plays later, Musgrove's curl for 9 yards on third down was barely enough for a first down at the Muleshoe 26.

After a spectacular Washington breakup at the goal line of a sure TD pass, Jackson had his best run of the game, a 20-yard burst over right guard to the 6-yard line. Three plays later, Jackson bulled his way in from a yard out, backpedalling against a trio of Muleshoe defenders to get into the end zone.