The Creek Comes Up Short Against Coahoma in District Opener

COAHOMA, TX — A valiant effort and attempted comeback fell just short for the Grape Creek Eagles in their district opener as they lost to the Coahoma Bulldogs on Thursday, 33-27.

Grape Creek running back Darrell West had a career night with 277 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries in a losing effort.

Due to a ref shortage in the Permian Basin, and frankly everywhere to be honest, the Grape Creek Eagles and the Coahoma Bulldogs agreed to play their district opener a day earlier than usual.

District is almost like a whole new set of games. The pre-district games get the team ready for district, and district gets teams ready for the playoffs. Now, the games really count. A team could be 0-5 entering district, win all five district games, and go into the playoffs as district champions.

Coahoma held off Grape Creek in a game that would give fans heart problems.

Grape Creek went 4-2 prior to their game against the Bulldogs and was riding a three-game winning streak.

The Eagles received the opening kickoff, and West broke a run that turned into a 59-yard touchdown. Just like that, Grape Creek led the game, 7-0, only 1:33 into the game.

Coahoma must’ve felt it had to score in similar fashion, and on the Bulldogs' first drive with 10:04 remaining in the first quarter, quarterback Austin Joslin found Jayden Henderson down the right side of the field for a huge 72-yard score to tie the game at 7-7.

Then, with 8:43 left in the first quarter, West broke another run, this time going 60 yards for the touchdown. The only difference was the Eagles missed the point after and now led 13-7. They would have the opportunity to add more, and senior Sire Garcia gave fans a scare with a fumble. Luck bounced his way as he was able to jump on the loose ball.

The first quarter ended and early in the second, so did the Eagles' drive. On the punt, the Bulldogs' Austin Molina would return it all the way down the field and into the end zone. Luck again intervened for Grape Creek, and Coahoma missed the point after, so the game was tied again, 13-13.

With 5:32 left before halftime, Grape Creek’s Ashton Ortiz wanted to get into the end zone, and he ran in a 22-yard score that ended up adding seven to the board. Now, the Eagles lead the Bulldogs, 20-13.

The Bulldogs had the football and on first down, Eagles defensive lineman Lawson Thiers broke through the line for a sack. On the same drive but on third down, Joslin found Molina for a 54-yard touchdown that again tied the game, 20-20.

Time is running out and since the Eagles received the opening kick, they would kick off to the Bulldogs to start the second half. Grape Creek was trying to push the ball down the field, but another disaster occurred. There were only seconds left in the half and quarterback Braley Woods went right, then left, then underthrew the ball right to Coahoma’s Lanson Moore who returned the interception for a score.

The Grape Creek Eagles went into halftime down, 27-20.

Starting the second half, Coahoma went on a nearly six-minute drive when luck struck for the Eagles again. Joslin found Molina on a wide receiver screen, but Eagles defender Chris Duron forced him to fumble the ball to his teammate Konner Linebarger. Six minutes is a long time to drive the football to come away with nothing, much less fumble an opportunity to extend the lead.

The Eagles couldn’t do much with that possession and on the ensuing Coahoma drive, Joslin found Henderson near the goal line for a 6-yard score. Now, the Bulldogs led 33-20. To make matters worse for Grape Creek, the third quarter ended shortly after.

Determined, the Eagles drove the field and Wild Wild (Darrell) West found the end zone for a third time on a 10-yard run that probably shaved years off of Eagles fans' lives. West ran around the left side of the line, fumbled the ball in the air, had the concentration to pull it back in, and sneak over the pylon. So with 9:53 left in the game, the Eagles cut into the Bulldogs' lead, 33-27.

Lady luck was on the Eagles side yet again on the next drive. When it seemed Coahoma would put the game away, West put his foot down. Aiden Rodriguez, the Bulldogs' big bruising back, had West take the ball from him to get the Eagles offense back on the field.

Unfortunately, they would have to punt it back to Coahoma.

The game is under two minutes, and the Bulldogs got all the way to the 10-yard line, but it was fourth down. The field goal unit ran onto the field. Coahoma had a chance to put the game completely out of reach. They snapped the ball, and it went wide right. Now, the Eagles have a chance.

West did manage to get a first down, but time wasn’t on their side. On fourth down and with 32 seconds left in the game, Woods threw a pass incomplete and, after a quick kneel down, the Coahoma Bulldogs held on for the win.

Grape Creek's defense was led by Zane Durham and Gabe Santillan, who each had 11 tackles.

There are five teams in Grape Creek’s district — The 6-0 Wall Hawks, the 5-1 Merkel Badgers, the now 6-1 Coahoma Bulldogs, the 1-5 Stanton Buffalos, and the now 4-3 Eagles. A win over Coahoma would have been incredible for the Eagles. But this is a Coahoma team that has beaten 2A powerhouses Albany and Wink. Regardless of them being smaller schools, those two are consistently contenders.

One could really draw it back to two plays that both ended in points for the Bulldogs, the punt return and the interception. Even though the Eagles won the turnover battle, two touchdowns are tough to overcome without luck.

Luck.

The word “luck” is used several times throughout this article. When the Creek’s defense needed to make a play, they were in the right spot to make it.

It isn’t luck. This Grape Creek team is pretty darn good. If the offensive squad makes a tackle and the punt team makes one, the Eagles could’ve been going home victorious. 

Next week, the Grape Creek Eagles (4-3, 0-1) get an extra day to prepare for the Stanton Buffalos, and the Coahoma Bulldogs (6-1, 1-0) get ready for the undefeated Wall Hawks.