The Tigers entered the contest with a 12-game district losing streak dating back to 2016, that all changed as the Tigers absolutely dominated the Bulldogs to break that streak and give Northcutt his first district win as a head coach.
It was also a big Homecoming night for Frenship Athletics as Girls Basketball Captain Maci Maddox was named Homecoming Queen and Frenship Football Captain Jack Woodward was named Homecoming King.
Tiger Football started a little bit sluggish and settled for a 27-yard Cage Jones field goal on their opening drive, but they quickly turned on the offensive juice with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by junior running back William Bayouth. He finished with 120 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, his third 100+ yard performance of the season.
After a penalty backed the Tigers out of field goal range, Cage Jones sent a perfectly placed punt to the 4-yard line, where it bounced and was downed by the special teams unit pinning the Bulldogs on their own 1-yard line and setting the Full Tilt Bozo-focused sideline into a frenzy. The Tiger defense smelled blood in the water and Colton Anderson and Evan Barboza converged in the backfield smothering the Bulldogs quarterback and earning the Tigers’ first safety of the season. After the Bulldogs’ free kick went out of bounds placing the ball at the 50-yard line, Donovan Smith found senior wide receiver Jordan Maden over the top and hit him in stride for a 50-yard touchdown.
Senior receiver Cooper Scott, who led the Tigers with 183 yards receiving the previous week but didn’t snag a touchdown, changed that trend against the Bulldogs when Donovan Smith found him with 1:40 remaining in the first half for a 59-yard strike that put the Tigers up 26-0. Scott finished the day with 8 receptions for 154 yards and one touchdown, his second 100+ yard receiving game in a row. Drew Hocutt caught the final touchdown of the day on a 2-yard pass in the third quarter. This would be the first-team offense’s final play as the Tigers subbed out and gave work to its many younger backs and receivers led by quarterback Tanner Higgins.
The second-team offense was in position to score late in the game, but Northcutt opted to take a knee to end the game out of respect for the Bulldogs. The second-team defense also got some work throughout the second half and saw Sebastian Arocha grab 4 tackles and an assist on one drive by Midland High. This group preserved the shutout for the Tigers and secured the first multi-shutout season and first district shutout since 2013 for Frenship football. The Tigers also shut out the Amarillo High Sandies (5-2, 3-0) 31-0 the first week of the season.
Donovan Smith finished the day in the third quarter going 18/21 for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed twice for 21 yards. Smith is now #5 in Texas 6A football in passing yards and has played one game less than the four players ahead of him. Three of those teams will have their bye week next week and the fourth the final week of the regular season.
The Tigers will be back in action on the road Friday at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa facing the Odessa High Bronchos (2-5, 0-2). Keith Patrick and Chois Woodman will be on the call and bring you the Lubbock Truck Sales Pre-Game Show at 7:00 pm on Double T 97.3, www.doublet973.com, and the mobile app and kickoff is at 7:30 pm.
All Frenship Football games can be found by 12:00 pm the following day at www.frenship.tv in HD with the radio call included.