HEREFORD - The Pampa Harvesters (2-4, 0-1) traveled to the other side of U.S. Highway 60 on Friday to open up district play against the Hereford Whitefaces (5-1, 1-0).
The heavy underdog Harvesters showed a lot of grit and toughness in the first half, taking a 14-7 lead early on before having a tied 14-14 ball game at the half. But, the game turned on the Harvesters in the second half, however, as Hereford used quick scores and a stout Whiteface defense to score 21 straight points and take the 35-14 win.
“They made adjustments and whenever they make adjustments it’s definitely going to make things hard,” Head Coach Floyd White said. “We were making blocks then falling off blocks. That stuff happened offensively and we got ourselves into a couple bad situations pass-coverage wise and they gave us a few issues on back-to-back quick scores. Then, we get them to third-and-15 and we have that penalty that gave them the 35 points.
“That’s just part of learning and growing. You’ve got to take the prosperity and the tough times. Those are things we’re working on. We’re not quite there but we almost are.”
Down 7-0 after Hereford’s opening drive, Pampa needed a spark to shift the early momentum in their favor. That spark came in the form of a kick return for 47 yards by senior defensive back and wide receiver Aaron Diaz. The Harvesters moved the chains two plays later with a 20-yard pass-and-catch from junior quarterback Jarren Hill to senior wide receiver Bryce Lynn.
The Harvesters’ appeared to have their drive stall before a holding penalty on Hereford gave the Harvesters a fresh set of downs to the Whiteface 17-yard line. Pampa found paydirt after a 17-yard scamper from senior running back Christian Davalos to knot the game up at 7 with 5:16 left in the opening quarter.
The Harvesters forced a turnover on downs on a fourth-and-one near the end of the first quarter, setting them up at the Pampa 22-yard line. After a pair of carries from Davalos, on third-and-one, Hill looked to Lynn on the near sideline for Lynn who did his best Randy Moss impression, jumping over the defender for a catch before taking it to the endzone for a 69-yard touchdown reception. Pampa led 14-7 with 11:09 to play in the first half after Jerimiah Davis’ extra point was good, his second of the night.
On defense, junior defensive lineman Robert Galvan had some tackles for losses in the first half that helped Pampa maintain that 14-7 lead.
“He’s one of our absolute strongest players in the program,” White said. “He’s there early in the morning and he stays there late. He’s in band. He’s a jack-of-all-trades. He’s not the biggest guy but he has so much heart and he plays so hard.”
The Harvesters next drive ended in a Hereford interception, which turned into a touchdown off of a Hereford trick play to tie the game at 14-14, which would be the score the teams took into the locker rooms at half.
The Harvesters were unable to keep momentum rolling early into the second half, as they had two three-and-outs while Hereford scored 21 unanswered points en route to a 35-14 lead.
The Harvesters third drive of the second half saw a pair of Davalos carries for a total of 11 yards to move the chains. The Hereford defense stiffened when Pampa got to plus territory and the Harvesters turned it over on downs.
After the Pampa defense forced a three-and-out on Hereford, the Harvesters moved the ball with a Hill carry for six, followed by a pass-and-catch from Hill to Lynn for the first down. The Hereford defense stayed formidable when Pampa moved across midfield and forced yet another turnover on downs.
The Harvester defense stopped Hereford on their following drive, forcing the Whiteface punt, setting up Pampa at their own 21-yard line. The drive started with a completion from Hill to junior tight end Parker Webb for seven. Davalos gave Pampa a fresh set of downs with a three-yard carry. The Harvesters’ drive stalled after a series of incompletions.
The Harvesters’ offense couldn’t muster any yardage in their final drive and Hereford took the 35-14 win.
Pampa returns home next Friday, Oct. 18 to face the West Plains Wolves. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Zach Thomas Stadium.
“We’ve got to continue to execute on both sides of the ball,” White said. “We can’t get ourselves into bad situations. Those are some things we’ve got to fix. We take it one game at a time. We know West Plains is a good outfit and we are going to have to get out there and get after it.”
UNOFFICIAL STATS
Jarren Hill went 5-11 for 103 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Christian Davalos had 75 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries; Jarren Hill had 44 yards on nine carries.
Bryce Lynn had four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown; Parker Webb had a 7-yard grab.
Jeremiah Davis went 2-2 on extra points.
SCORES FROM DISTRICT
Randall beat Dumas 27-17.
West Plains beat Canyon 42-28.
Randall, West Plains and Hereford all start district play 1-0. Pampa, Canyon, and Dumas begin district 0-1.
