Sports

Camp Wood -- Playing in a tight contest for the better part of three quarters on Friday, Nov. 2, the Sabinal Yellowjackets got things rolling late, in a 40-6 win over Nueces Canyon.

The win clinched a playoff spot for the Jackets (8-1 on the season, 4-0 in District 15-A-II), who will host the D’Hanis Cowboys (9-0, 4-0) for all the marbles this Friday, Nov. 9.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Yellowjacket Stadium. D’Hanis has won the last five meetings in the series.

The winner will receive a first-round bye in the playoffs, while the loser will open play next week against the third place finisher in District 16-A. That will be decided between the winner of Friday’s game between Agua Dulce and Charlotte.

The Sabinal-D’Hanis winner will advance to the area playoffs on the weekend of Nov. 23-24, and will face either the third-place finisher from 13-A-II or the runner-up from 14-A-II. In 13, the third place team will be Friday’s Granger-Bartlett loser. In 14, the runner-up will be Friday’s Falls City-Runge loser.

Sabinal struck first last Friday, scoring late in the first quarter when Adan Alejandro threw a nine-yard scoring pass to Elijah Gonzales. Conversions were an issue all evening for the Jackets, as the placekick was no good, leaving the score at 6-0 with 3:12 left in the first period.

Midway through the second quarter, NC tied the game on a 14-yard pass from Bailey Gober to Ryan Parks. The Panthers’ PAT attempt also failed, so the game was knotted at 6-6.

With the first half winding down, it appeared the teams would go to the locker room tied. But Alejandro found Blake Young for a 52-yard scoring pass with just three seconds remaining until the half. The Jackets tried to run for the conversion, but it was no good. Sabinal held a 12-6 lead at the half.

It took most of the third quarter for the Jackets to score again, but Gonzales crossed the goalline from seven yards away, with 3:51 left on the clock.

The Jackets created a turnover and and scored again just 55 seconds later, this time on a Jon Moore six-yard run. After both TDs, Sabinal went for two, and both times, they were stopped, leaving the score at 24-6.

Sabinal got the ball right back again, and drove to another Moore score, this one from three yards away, with 11:18 left in the game. Matt Medina added the placekick.

Five minutes later, as the floodgates stayed open, the Jackets were back in the endzone, on a one-yard run by Young to make it 37-6.

In the game’s waning moments, Medina connected on a 33-yard field goal to bring the score to its final 40-6 margin.

In addition to his two rushing TDs, Moore gained 133 yards on 13 carries for the Jackets, while Alejandro passed for 144 total yards.

The Sabinal defense continued to be a force, allowing just 133 total yards of offense to NC. They have allowed just 18 points in district play, and only 72 on the season.