Sports
Wolves end season in Area playoffs
By Bill Kelly
The Dalhart Texan
The Dalhart Golden Wolves won the Bi- District championship against Denver City on November 10, which moved them into the Area round of the playoffs against Whitesboro. Dalhart played Whitesboro on Friday November 18 in Childress, and the Bearcats won the game by 50 points to move on to Regional, closing the season for the Wolves.
Dalhart received the opening kickoff and started its first drive on its own 34-yard line. The Wolves lost 11 yards on the first play, and after an incomplete pass on second down Kyler Read threw an 11-yard completion to Kade Crosby to get back to the original line of scrimmage before punting the ball to Whitesboro.
The Bearcats started at the Dalhart 45 after the punt. Whitesboro moved the ball down the field in six plays, including runs of 11 and 16 yards and scored with a six-yard run. The Bearcats attempted a two-point conversion but the Dalhart defense kept them from converting, and Whitesboro held an early 6-0 lead.
Whitesboro attempted an onside kick, but the Wolves were able to cover the ball and started their next drive on their own 47. Read gained two yards running on the first play, and then Read scrambled for a couple of yards on the next play, and a personal-foul penalty on Whitesboro for a hit on Read after he was down added 15 yards.
Read gained a yard on the next play, and then Read hit Crosby for a 10- yard completion and a first down at the Whitesboro 23. The Wolves didn’t gain any yards on the following play, then Read threw a pass to Orbin Hernandez over the middle for a nineyard gain. Dalhart lost five yards on a false start penalty, but Read was able to find Crosby at about the seven. Crosby broke away from one Whitesboro defender and made it to the end zone for the touchdown. Angel Avalos kicked the extra point, and Dalhart took the lead at 7-6.
It only took Whitesboro one play to score again. Starting at their own 41 after the kickoff, the Bearcats threw a 59-yard pass for a touchdown. This time Whitesboro was able to make the twopoint conversion, and the Bearcats took a 14-7 lead.
Whitesboro attempted a high, short kick as an onside kick, and were able to recover it this time to stay on offense, with the ball on the Dalhart 36. The Bearcats scored six plays later on seven-yard run after a 25-yard scramble, and the two-point conversion made it 22-7 in favor of Whitesboro.
Whitesboro didn’t attempt another onside kick, and the Wolves started their next series on their own 41. Luis Favela ran for three yards on first down, and Read threw a screen pass to Corbin Carnesecca on the left for a gain of five yards. The Wolves didn’t gain any yards on third down, and an interception on fourth down gave the ball back to Whitesboro. The Bearcats scored a few plays later, and kicked an extra point to take a 29-7 lead.
The Wolves started on their 37 after the kickoff. Read ran up the middle for five yards on the first play, and threw a 16-yard pass to Crosby to move the ball into Whitesboro territory on the following play. The drive stalled there however, and the Wolves punted the ball back to the Bearcats.
Uriel Lujan was able to pin Whitesboro deep by punting the ball all the way to the 11-yard line. That didn’t really slow the Bearcats down though, as they ran the ball 85 yards for a touchdown on the third play. The two-point conversion was successful, and Whitesboro led 37-7. The Bearcats scored once more in the first half, and at halftime Whitesboro held a 44-7 lead.
Dalhart received the kickoff to start the second half and started its next drive at it’s own 30. Read hit Crosby for four yards on the first play, and then after the Wolves lost yardage on the next play Read threw a 13-yard completion to Crosby to make it fourthand- one. Read ran up the middle for two yards to get a new set of downs at the 41.
Read threw a screen pass to Carnesecca to gain four yards on first down. Following no gain on the next play, Read threw a 10-yard pass to Crosby to move the ball into Whitesboro territory at the 45. The Wolves made it as far as the 15, but were unable to convert a fourth down and had to give the ball back to the Bearcats.
Whitesboro ended up scoring two more touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 58-7 lead, and scored one more time in the fourth quarter. Dalhart had one final scoring drive in the fourth quarter as well. The Wolves started the drive on their own 39 after a kickoff. Read ran for 13 yards to move the ball onto the Bearcat side of the field, and then Mitchell Bailey ran for 19 yards and a first down at the Whitesboro 29.
Read gained one yard on first down from the 29, and ran for six more before scrambling for another nine and a first down at the Whitesboro 13. Bailey ran it the rest of the way, gaining seven yards on first down and then making it to the end zone from the six-yard line for a touchdown on second down. The snap on the extra point was off, but Crosby, who is the holder on extra points, was able to grab the ball and run right and just make it to the corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion. The final score was 65-15 in favor of Whitesboro.
Dalhart had a total of 236 yards during the game, with 175 yards passing and 61 yards rushing. The Bearcats had 486 yards offense. Read completed 17-of-27 passes for those 175 yards. Bailey led the team with 33 yards rushing and scored a touchdown, and Read had 32 yards. Crosby caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, along with scoring the two-point conversion. Jett Puga had four solo tackles and one assist, and Steven Cordova and Hunter Trusler each had three solo tackles, with Cordova adding one assist and Trusler having four assists. Trusler and Alex Penton each had one tackle for a loss.
The loss ended the football season for the Wolves. The Dalhart players went through a great deal of adversity at the beginning of the season, and proved that they know how to handle it. The team will lose a few good players to graduation, especially Crosby at receiver and Favela at running back, along with Wesley Rice on defense and Zeek Van Beek and Kason Holt on defense and the offensive line. The team was fairly young overall however, and most of the players will return next season. The Wolves should have a very good chance to continue their playoff streak next year.
Lady Wolves beat Sunray by 20 points
By Bill Kelly
The Dalhart Texan
The Dalhart Lady Wolves played a total of four basketball games last week, playing neighbor Sunray at home on Tuesday November 15 and then traveling nearly 400 miles to play in the Wall Shootout on Thursday November 17 and Friday November 18.
Dalhart jumped out to an early lead against Sunray on Tuesday. The Lady Wolves played very tough defense in the first quarter, holding the Lady Bobcats so a single field goal during the period. Dylan Moore put in a three and scored four points during the first, and Reese Wieck also scored four points while Anahi Huaracha and Addison Bowers each added two points. Dalhart led 12-3 as the first came to an end.
The second quarter included a lot more scoring, as both teams combined for over 30 points. Jadyn Trusler led the Lady Wolves in scoring with six points during the second. Karlee Johnson and Wieck each hit a three-pointer, and Huaracha also scored three points while Kammi Maddox scored two. Dalhart outscored Sunray 17-15 during the period, and at halftime the score was 29-18 in favor of the Lady Wolves.
The third quarter included quite a few foul calls, with Dalhart Dyla attempting 15 free throws during the stanza. Moore led the Lady Wolves with five points during the period. Johnson put in another three and Huaracha also scored three points, while Avery Baca and Maddox each added two points and Bowers hit a free throw. Dalhart put 16 points on the scoreboard while Sunray scored 12, and Dalhart’s lead was 45-30 as the period ended.
Dalhart closed out the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring Sunray by four for the second straight period. Trusler hit two three and led the Lady Wolves with eight points. Johnson scored three, and Baca hit a free throw during the final period. Dalhart won the game by a final of 58-38.
Eight of Dalhart’s 10 players scored points during the game. Trusler led the team with 14 points, Moore and Johnson each had nine points, and Huaracha scored eight.
The Lady Wolves played Ozona in their first game at the Wall Shootout on Thursday November 17. Dalhart clamped down hard on defense in the first quarter, not allowing the Lady Lions to score a single points during the period. Trusler put in three three-pointers and scored 11 points during the first, and Baca and Huaracha each added two points. Dalhart led 15-0 as the first period came to a close.
Ozona was able to match the Lady Wolves during the second quarter, with each team scoring 13 points during the stanza. Trusler remained hot from outside, hitting two more threes for six points. Maddox added five points, and Baca scored two. At halftime Dalhart’s lead was 28-13.
The third quarter was also close, with Ozona outscoring the Lady Wolves by a single point. Trusler hit one more threepointer, and Maddox and Huaracha each scored two points. The Lady Wolves led 35-21 as the third period ended.
Both teams struggled to score points in the fourth quarter, combining for just eight points during the final period. Baca scored four points during the fourth, and Maddox added a free throw. Dalhart outscored the Lady Lions 5-3 during the fourth, and the Lady Wolves won the game by a score of 40-24.
Trusler scored 21 points during the game to lead Dalhart, almost outscoring Ozona by herself. Maddox and Baca each scored eight points during the game.
Dalhart played the TABC (Texas Association of Basketball Coaches) Class 3A #11-ranked host team Wall on Thursday as well. Wall jumped out to an early lead, outscoring the Lady Wolves by 11 points in the first quarter. Moore and Trusler each scored two points during the first, and Bowers added a free throw. Wall’s lead was 16-5 as the first period came to a close.
Elizabeth White hit a free throw for Dalhart’s only point in the second quarter, and at halftime Wall held a lead of 28-6. Trusler hit a three in the third quarter and Maddox scored two points in the final period as Dalhart struggled on offense. Wall won the game by a final score of 50-11.
The Lady Wolves played Cristoval on Friday. The first quarter was fairly close, with Dalhart scoring two more points than Cristoval. Wieck hit two three-points for the Lady Wolves, and Bowers added one three. Dalhart led 9-7 as the first period came to an end.
Dalhart expanded its lead during the second quarter. Wieck put in a three and led the Lady Wolves with five points, and Moore and Trusler also hit threes during the second. Dalhart outscored the Lady Cougars 10-3 during the second, and at halftime the Lady Wolves held a lead of 19-10.
The third quarter ended up being a draw, with each team scoring four points. Trusler scored all four of Dalhart’s points during the stanza. Maddox scored two points for the Lady Wolves during the final period as both teams had a hard time putting points on the scoreboard. Cristoval scored four points during the fourth, and Dalhart won the game by a score of 25-18. Wieck led Dalhart with 11 points, and Trusler added seven.
The Lady Wolves played at Perryton yesterday, Monday November 21, but the results weren’t available as this article was being printed. Dalhart will play Class 5A Palo Duro at home next Tuesday, November 29.
