Chieftains defeat Anson 37-22
Jacob Bautista (above) rushed for 354 yards and five touchdowns as the Friona Chieftains defeated the Anson Tigers 37-22 Friday night in a Bi-District playoff game held in Post, Texas. Anson (7-3) won the coin toss and elected to kick. The Tigers held the Chiefs to three plays and, after a short punt, they capitalized on the great field position and scored the opening touchdown of the game. In the second quarter, Jose Grado threw a short pass to Jose Rodriguez who then pitched the ball back to Jacob Bautista on a mini “flea-flicker” play catching the Anson defenders by surprise. Jacob ran 50 yards for Friona’s first score of the game. Jacob scored on a 64 yard run to put the Chiefs up 12-7 but Anson scored on a pass play and led 14-12 at halftime.
The Friona and Anson bands combined to play songs at halftime for the spectators on both sides of the stadium. The Chieftain defense held tough in the third quarter and did not allow the Tigers to score. Meanwhile, the offense turned the heat up with three touchdowns. Jacob scored on runs of 3 yards and 85 yards and Bryan Chavira scored on a 52 yard run to put Friona ahead 30-14 at the end of the third quarter. Anson scored on a pass play and with the 2 point conversion made the score 30-22 with Friona clinging to an eight point lead. Friona did not score any extra points after their first five touchdowns allowing the Tigers to trail by only a touchdown and 2 point conversion.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Jacob scored his fifth touchdown on a 23 yard run. Tim Ally made the extra point and the Chiefs went ahead 37-22. Juan Salinas intercepted an Anson pass that allowed Friona to run out the clock and secure the 37-22 win. Jose Rodriguez also had an interception and Victor Puga had a fumble recovery. Juan Salinas, Juan Trejo, and Rogelio Palacios were the leading tacklers for the stingy Chieftain defense. On offense, Eduardo Chavez had 88 yards rushing and Bryan Chavira had 88 yards. Chieftain running backs combined for 557 yards rushing for the game.
The Anson Tigers finished in second place behind Cisco in Division 2 District 4-AAA with a 7-3 record. The Chieftains will now play the Alpine Bucks (9-2) who were the Champions of Division 2 District 1-AAA. The Bucks beat Lubbock Roosevelt 33-21 last week in their Bi-District match-up.
