Canutillo advances to Regional Semifinals for second straight year; Eastwood, Pebble Hills come up short
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – For the second season in a row, Canutillo is one of the best 16 teams in Class 5A Division II in the state of Texas.
Behind an opportunistic offense and a potent defense, the Eagles took down Arlington Heights 21-14 in the Class 5A Division II Area Playoffs on Friday night at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa.
With the win, the Eagles advanced to the Regional Semifinals for the second straight year to face Abilene Wylie, at a time and place still to be determined as of Friday night.
The Eagles jumped out to a 14-7 halftime lead thanks to a pair of touchdown receptions by Rene Huerta, the second of which was thrown by Stanford running back commit, LJ Martin.
Canutillo’s defense held its water for the entire third quarter and it wasn’t until early in the fourth that Arlington Heights was able to tie the game at 14-apiece. From there, it was a game of field position in the nasty weather and when a bad Heights punt gave the Eagles the ball at the Yellow Jacket 18-yard line, Canutillo pounced.
Blessed with the short field, the Eagles took the lead for good on a Jeremiah Knox rushing score with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Their defense held on late to get the win.
In Class 6A Division I, Pebble Hills gave North Crowley everything it wanted and more, before falling 49-42 on a touchdown scored with under 30 seconds left in the game.
Playing in the Area round for the first time in program history, the Spartans trailed by 14 points in the fourth quarter, but rallied to tie the game at 42-apiece with three minutes left.
From there, North Crowley marched down the field to score the winning touchdown. Pebble Hills had a chance to tie the game, but a Hail Mary as time expired fell incomplete in the end zone.
In Class 6A Division II, Eastwood was just as competitive in an eventual 35-28 loss to Byron Nelson in the Area playoffs.
The Troopers led 14-7 in the second quarter, but allowed 14 unanswered points to end the first half and trailed 21-14 entering the third. From there, Eastwood would twice tie the game, first at 21 in the third quarter, then midway through the fourth quarter at 28-all.
However, with about a minute left, Byron Nelson scored to make it 35-28 and Eastwood was unable to tie the game despite a last-minute drive to attempt to tie it.
One more Borderland team is still waiting to play its game this week: No. 3 Centennial will host No. 2 La Cueva in the New Mexico Class 6A State Quarterfinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Field of Dreams.