King Me: Bushland playmaker leads Falcons past Dumas in Top 10 showdown
DUMAS — Baylor King was in the zone.
The Class 3A Division I No. 7 Bushland Falcons led the Class 4A Division I No. 8 Dumas Demons 10-6 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half when junior quarterback Dawson Jaco stepped up in the pocket and looked to connect with the 6-foot-2 senior wideout.
Jaco proceeded to deliver an accurate, high-arcing ball down the left sideline and hit King in stride for a 55-yard score that put the Falcons ahead by two scores. King went on to record four more receptions of over 20 yards, finishing with nine catches for 185 yards and one score, as Bushland capped off the 38-20 statement road victory over the Demons.
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"Tonight was just a good night where everything went my way," King said. "I'm perfectly okay with that. When the ball is in the air, I think it's mine. Always mine. I've got to go get it. No matter where it is, no matter if it's a bad ball or not, it's always mine."
Bushland coach Josh Reynolds was also pleased with the play of King, who was able to get open consistently because of the time the Falcon offensive line gave Jaco to find the open man. The senior also came up with a crucial interception that halted Dumas' momentum early in the second half and was followed on the very next play by a 90-yard touchdown run by senior running back Ivan Soto (198 yards on 24 carries).
"Baylor is just a playmaker," Reynolds said. "He's an athlete and a kid that makes the coach look smart sometimes even though we're not. He stepped up and made some huge plays."
Jaco also continued his ascent as one of the top passers in the Texas Panhandle as he completed 17-of-29 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns.
In addition to the big games from the Falcon offensive trio of Jaco, King and Soto, the story of the game is also the dominant performance by the Bushland defensive front seven.
One week after Dumas senior quarterback Emmanuel Ibanez scored six offensive touchdowns, the Falcon defense held him in check for most of the night. The Bushland defense packed the box and brought creative blitzes throughout the game that confused blockers up front for Dumas. They forced a pair of fumbles and recorded three team sacks during the win.
Outside of a 60-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Ibanez was limited to 31 yards on 17 carries. As a direct result of the pressure Bushland created, the Demons struggled to get anything consistent going through the air as Ibanez finished the game completing 11-of-21 passes for 181 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Oliver Ortiz was a bright spot for the Demons after making the most out of his four catches to end with 146 yards and two scores.
"I think we got whipped up front," Dumas coach Aaron Dunnam said. "I think that was the biggest issue tonight. Defensively, we didn't find ways to get off the field on third down. We knew coming in we'd have to find a way to eliminate the big play and we gave ourselves opportunities but we just didn't get off the field on those plays. A lot of credit to (Bushland). I think they've got a really good football team and I think they did a really good job tonight. They fought hard and flew around."
Dumas still has its sights set high this season and will not be discouraged from a hard-fought loss to a strong team this week. Dunnam believes all of the goals are still ahead of them for the taking and they will be back hard at work next week to get back on track.
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The Falcons are 5-0 for the first time since 2019 and their confidence is continuing to grow with each impressive performance doled out by them Friday nights this fall. With the level that they are currently playing at, it is no mystery why their players are already looking ahead to the next game.
"A big win always carries you into the next week with a lot of energy to start practice," Jaco said. "I'm just ready to get through the next week and onto next Friday."
BUSHLAND 38, DUMAS 20
Bushland 7 17 14 0 -- 38
Dumas 0 13 0 7 -- 20
Scoring summary
First Quarter
BUSH – Dawson Jaco 30 pass to Tate Butcher (Ysidro Carroll kick); 5:49
Second Quarter
BUSH – Ysidro Carroll 26 field goal; 11:52
DUM – Emmanuel Ibanez 58 pass to Oliver Ortiz (two-point failed); 11:06
BUSH – Dawson Jaco 55 pass to Baylor King (Carroll kick); 9:56
BUSH – Ivan Soto 28 rush (Carroll kick); 4:10
DUM – Emmanuel Ibanez 60 rush (Victor Morales kick); 1:35
Third Quarter
BUSH – Ivan Soto 90 rush (Carroll kick); 10:06
BUSH – Dawson Jaco 6 pass to Stratton Molloy (Carroll kick); 0:25
Fourth Quarter
DUM – Emmanuel Ibanez 43 pass to Oliver Ortiz (Morales kick); 3:44
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Bushland: Ivan Soto 24-198, AJ Marquez 3-6, Jaxon Fetsch 2-5, Dawson Jaco 2-(-3), Tate Butcher 1-6. Dumas: Emmanuel Ibanez 18-91, Luis Escarcega 10-8, Nathan Gonzales 4-10, Parker Dunnam 1-11.
Passing – Bushland: Dawson Jaco 17-29-0-311. Dumas: Emmanuel Ibanez 11-21-1-181.
Receiving – Bushland: Baylor King 9-185, Tate Butcher 4-73, A Rider 2-40, Cole Purcell 1-7, Stratton Molloy 1-6. Dumas: Oliver Ortiz 4-146, Luis Escarcega 2-1, J. Marquez 1-12, Jace Harris 1-7, C Garcia 1-6, J Saenz 1-5, Nathan Gonzales 1-4.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: King Me: Bushland playmaker leads Falcons past Dumas in Top 10 showdown
