Idalou beats Spearman in all three phases to advance to area round of football playoffs
Idalou head football coach Clay White told his team after Friday's game that it's difficult for any team to beat you when you execute in all three phases of the game.
His squad certainly did that against Spearman.
The Wildcats' defense forced two turnovers and didn't allow a point, the special teams scored on a kickoff return to start the second half and running back Gentry Pounds ran for 146 yards and two scores. The complete effort resulted in a 34-0 victory for Idalou to open the 3A Division II playoffs.
"We had a plan come to fruition due to execution by great players," White said. "They're making us look good right now. (Spearman has) a tough offense, and coach (Aaron) Witten does a great job running that offense. Shutting it out twice in a year is very difficult to do, so that's a testament to our players."
A fast-moving game, neither team could score in the opening quarter. Pounds got the Wildcats on the board with a five-yard TD plunge in the second, and Kutter Houchin hit Logan Mennel for a 51-yard score just before halftime to give Idalou a 14-0 edge.
Idalou needed just 14 seconds to score in the second half when Blake Dyas returned the opening kick 97 yards to the house. Pounds pretty much put the game on ice with a 60-yard score in the third, and Dyas' one-yard TD in the fourth gave the game its final score.
It was a tough night for Spearman as JP Carbajal was the lone bright spot. The junior paced the Lynx with 143 rushing yards as Spearman moved the ball well in spots but seemingly stalled anytime they reached the red zone.
"I'm super proud of them," Witten said. "This was a group that lost a lot of seniors off last year's team and three or four kids that moved off. At times tonight we had four freshmen and six sophomores on the field. We're a young bunch, and they just never quit."
Idalou will play the winner of Alpine and Brady next week.
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Idalou 34, Spearman 0
SHS 0 0 0 0 -- 0
IHS 0 14 13 7 - 34
Second Quarter
IHS – Gentry Pounds 5 run (kick no good ) 8:19
IHS – Logan Mennel 51 from Kutter Houchin (2-pt good) 0:37
Third Quarter
IHS - Blake Dyas 97 kick return (Colton Hurst kick) 11:46
IHS- Pounds 60 run (kick no good) 9:43
Fourth Quarter
IHS – Blake Dyas 1 run (Colton Hurst kick) 9:26
TEAM STATISTICS
SHS IHS
First downs 9 11
Rushes-yards 47-186 25-217
Passing yards 0 98
Comp.-att.-int 0-3-0 6-8-0
Punts-avg. 3-33.3 2-28.5
Fumbles-lost 3-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 5-35 4-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
SHS – JP Carbajal 28-143, Jaxon Dettmer 4-4, Hudson Swan 6-5, Emmanuel Serrano 1-13, Cy Davis 7-21, Layne Lusby 1-0
IHS – Jenson Davis 2-2, Kutter Houchin 4-6, Gentry Pounds 14-146, Blake Dyas 3-22, Kash Koontz 1-26, Lucas Jarnagin 1-15
PASSING
SHS – Layne Lusby 0-1-0, 0, Cy Davis 0-2-0, 0
IHS –Tate Hendley 2-3-0, 25, Kutter Houchin 4-5-0, 73
RECEIVING
SHS – N/A
IHS – Logan Mennel 3-76, Jenson Davis 2-7, Lucas Jarnagin 1-15
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Idalou High School downs Spearman in bi-district football game
