The Frenship Tigers fell short on the road against the Amarillo Tascosa Rebels 23-36 in their regular season finale last Friday. The Tigers entered the contest still in the mix for a share of the District 2-6A title but were unable to overcome the rushing attack of the Rebels as well as some questionable calls which stymied their opportunities.
The Tigers’ first drive looked promising and ultimately they found themselves getting on the scoreboard by a Cage Jones 30-yard field goal late in the first quarter to close the score to 3-7. A 34-yard pass to Drew Hocutt put the Tigers up 10-7 in the second and an impressive 70-yard scoring strike to Cooper Scott gave the Tigers a 17-7 lead. Two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Joseph Plunk put the Rebels up 21-17 at halftime and they did not concede that lead the rest of the way.
Three times the Tigers’ efforts were stifled by questionable calls, most notably when an inadvertent whistle negated a fumble recovery by the Tigers in Tascosa territory. Similarly, a failure by officials to blow the play dead on a neutral zone infraction by the Tigers turned an offsides into a personal foul when Evan Barboza finished the play with a hit on Plunk. That extended the Tascosa drive into Tiger territory and ultimately resulted in a touchdown. Finally, late in the game, a fourth down conversion was denied when a catch by Cooper Scott on the sideline was ruled out-of-bounds and incomplete.
Donovan Smith went 14/26 for 274 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He also added 89 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 16 carries. Smith surpassed 3,000 total yards on the season, the fastest a Tiger has ever reached that milestone. Senior receiver Drew Hocutt also had an impressive game with 145 yards and a touchdown receiving on 8 catches. Hocutt continues to lead the Tigers with 903 yards and 9 touchdowns on the season. He has recently received offers from the University of Tulsa and Texas Tech University to join their teams as a Preferred Walk On. Defensively, the Tigers were led by Colton Anderson who finished the day with 7 tackles, 11 assists, and a forced fumble. Tristin Laughlin added 6 more tackles, 7 assists, and 2 tackles for loss.
The Tigers now turn their attention to the Bi-District round of the UIL State Playoffs. They will face the champions of District 1-6A the El Paso Americas Trail Blazers. The matchup will be Friday, November 15 at 7:00 pm CST at the Socorro Student Activities Center in El Paso, TX. The game can be heard on Double T 97.3 FM in Lubbock, www.doublet973.com, and their mobile app. The Lubbock Truck Sales Pre-Game Show begins at 6:30pm CST.