Canadian Takes Bi-District over Anson 70-13

By Chris Doelle
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Updated: November 17, 2018

photos Alan Hale

Anson Surprises Early But Cannot Hang

CHILDRESS – Leave it to the playoff season to deliver whatever you aren’t expecting. That was certainly the case in the first minute of Thursday’s Bi-District match between Anson (5-5) and Canadian (9-1) no matter what the predictions or
the final score indicated.

How many playoff games have you seen that BOTH teams scored with less than one minute off the clock? It’s safe to say, very few. The Anson Tigers obviously were at a great disadvantage going into this game. However, they came out with a fearless plan to catch the Wildcats off guard with an onside kick for the opening kickoff. Not only did the onside kick plan work with a recovery for possession, but the very next play from scrimmage the Tigers ran a halfback pass play from RB Elijah Moser to WR Issak Fernandez for a 41 yard TD. To say the Wildcat fans located in the visiting bleachers were stunned might be an understatement.

As if the Tigers had awakened a sleeping giant, the Wildcats reeled off five scores before the buzzer on the clock indicated the end of the first quarter. Speedy RB Hayze Hufstedler and all-purpose skill player Grant McCook both had run TDs from scrimmage, WR Garrison McCook and WR Bill Koetting received TD passes from QB Casen Cavalier. Grant McCook added Canadian’s first punt return of the season for a TD to make the Wildcat 0-7 deficit a 35-7 lead as the second quarter began.

The second quarter started with Canadian adding a defensive score to the mix with DL Rhett Pennington grabbing a 12 yard Pick Six. As the NASCAR paced offense continued to punish the Tigers with tempo, it seemed that each snap of the ball was faster with each down. The relentless pace gave the Anson defense little or no time to prepare for the inevitable result - another scoring drive. The jets on Hayze Hufstedler had not cooled either as he showed track meet speed down the Canadian sideline for a 61 yard TD. WR Trent Evans also added another TD to his season total when Cavalier found one of his favorite wide receivers wide open in the end zone.

The Wildcats began the second half 56-7 lead by working in some much deserved minutes by supporting players and JV players getting their first taste of varsity action. QB Josh Culwell ran in a 6 yard keeper for a TD with 8:25 left in the 3rd period and Freshman RB Jake Krehbiel carried his first varsity TD across the goal line from 4 yards out with 7:38 left in the game. Canadian’s sophomore kicker Edgar Salazar continued his high level of consistency by punching through 10-for-10 PATs on the night.

The Tigers scored once more with 50 seconds left in the game with an Isaac Brann pass to WR Gavin Williams. The 2-point conversion failed.

PLAYOFF MATCH IMPLICATIONS

Canadian will move on to the Area round and play Colorado City at Plainview’s Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium on Friday, November 23th, with a 2:00 P.M. kickoff. The winner of that game will move on to the Regional round and play the winner of the Idalou v Spearman game.

Jerry Brunson for Lone Star Gridiron
@CHSWildcatNews

Stats courtesy of Ron Shrader, Canadian ISD

	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
Canadian	35	21	7	7	70
Anson	7	0	0	6	13

	Canadian	Anson
First Downs	18	10
Rushing Yds	177	14
Passing Yds	237	171
C - A - I	14-17-0	13-33-1
Total Yds	414	185
Punts-Avg	0-0	8-32
Fumbles-Lost	2-1	3-1
Penalties	5-60	6-49

Scoring

1st Q

A – Issak Fernandez, 41 yd pass from Isaac Bran (Enrique Bautista kick) 11:50
C – Hayze Hufstedler, 14 yd run (Edgar Salazar kick) 11:11
C – Garrison McCook, 70 yd Casen Cavalier pass (Salazar kick) 7:27
C – Grant McCook, 40 yd punt return (Salazar kick) 6:28
C – Bill Koetting, 4 yd Cavalier pass (Salazar kick) 4:56
C – Grant McCook, 1 yd run (Salazar kick) 0:41

2nd Q

C – Rhett Pennington, 12 yd Interception return (Salazar kick) 11:52
C – Hayze Hufstedler, 61 yd run (Edgar Salazar kick) 7:01
C – Trent Evans, 14 yd Cavalier pass (Salazar kick) 3:53

3rd Q

C – Josh Culwell, 6 yd run (Salazar kick) 8:25

4th Q

C – Jake Kriebiel, 4 yd run (Salazar kick) 7:38
A – Gavin Williams, 7 yd Isaac Brann pass (2-pt conv fail) 0:50