Muleshoe hosts unbeaten Brownfield in rematch of 2021 bi-district game
The Muleshoe Mules and the Brownfield Cubs will meet on Friday night for their third head-to-head battle in the last four years in between the white lines.
Brownfield was victorious back in the fall of 2019 when it went on the road to defeat a winless Muleshoe squad 27-16. That was the last year that the Mules were not coached by Jason Richards and were in the midst of a downward spiral.
Since Richards’ arrival, the Mules have gone 12-14 overall and are currently riding a four-game winning streak. One of those 12 wins was a 21-17 triumph over the Cubs last November in the bi-district round of the postseason.
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The victory marked Muleshoe’s first win over Brownfield since 2016 and set up a thrilling matchup between the undefeated Cubs (5-0) and the Mules (4-1) on Friday night at Benny Douglas Stadium in Muleshoe.
“This is the going to be the most athletic team we've played and they're playing really inspired," Richards said. "They play hard every down and outside of Lubbock Roosevelt, not many teams have been able to score against them."
The Mules have bounced back from a season-opening loss to Littlefield with four straight wins in which they have outscored Lamesa, Friona, Tulia and Abernathy by a score of 144-75.
Muleshoe’s high-powered offense is led by junior running back Daniel Sianez (579 yards, 6 TD) and the senior wide receiver duo of Ivan Torres (27 receptions, 293 yards, 2 TD) and Eliasar “Bones” Cisneros (19 receptions, 291 yards, 4 TD). Richards is still unsure whether it will be junior Sebastian Kirven or sophomore Nathan Martens starting for the Mules at quarterback this week.
Muleshoe runs a balanced attack on offense that will need to limit the negative plays and any turnovers this week against a Brownfield squad that is clicking on all cylinders. The Mules have struggled with ball security at times this season as they now have nine interceptions and four lost fumbles through the first half of the regular season.
They will be going toe-to-toe with a hard-nosed Brownfield defense that has been allowing an average of 15.4 points per game and is led by senior middle linebacker Austin Sisson and junior defensive back Jayden Gonzales. This is a drastic turnaround from last season when the Cubs allowed 28.6 points per game and allowed over 30 points to be scored on them five times.
“I really feel like we're getting better every week," Richards said. "I still think we have a lot of room for improvement and we schedule a tough non-district so that we can be competitive in our district games and make it to the playoffs. By playing teams such Abernathy and Brownfield, that helps us prepare for the district games we're about to go into."
Brownfield is led offensively by the air duo of sophomore quarterback J.J. Martinez and senior wide receiver Kaydyn Moore. Martinez is one of the top passers in the Lubbock region and has completed 96-of-157 passes for 1,437 yards and 17 touchdowns. He has had similar turnover issues as the Muleshoe signal callers and tossed 10 interceptions.
Moore is currently the top receiver in the South Plains and has nabbed 37 receptions for 682 yards and 11 scores. He will be a focal point for the Muleshoe defense that is captained by senior linebacker Davian McMullen (64 tackles) and includes talented athletes such as junior defensive lineman Jaxher Lopez (six sacks) along with Torres and Cisneros in the secondary.
The Cubs offense has produced an average of 43.6 points per game behind a potent passing attack and talented senior running back Josh Gonzales. Following their loss in the bi-district round last postseason, the Cubs are looking to their complete offense to lead them as they aim for redemption against the program that ended their 2021 season and was also the last team to defeat them.
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"The entire offense is clicking right now," Brownfield coach Aarrhon Flores said. "We're familiar with Muleshoe. Our kids have been sitting with that loss for a while now. We go into every game regardless of the record treating that one as the most important. This is something that we're looking forward to because they beat us last year."
Both programs have had some down years over the past decade and both are seemingly turning the corner with Brownfield midway through Flores' fourth year and Muleshoe at the halfway point of Richards' third season. After combining for nine wins between both teams in the entire 2021 season, the Mules and Cubs are a combined 9-1 heading into their week six Friday night duel.
The Cubs are aiming for revenge and to continue their undefeated season while the Mules want to take the next step as a program and beat a tough team while extending their win streak to five.
On Friday night, something has got to give.
"We beat them in 2019 and they beat us last year," Flores said. "That resonates with us and we feel like we owe them one. They beat us and they beat us with a good team, but I think we're playing some good ball just like they are and we'll see what happens."
BROWNFIELD AT MULESHOE
Non-district football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Benny Douglas Stadium, Muleshoe
Records: Brownfield 5-0; Muleshoe 4-1
Coverage: Follow @ShawnMoranNews on Twitter for live updates, plus post game video, stories and photos to appear on amarillo.com.
OTHER GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Abilene High at Tascosa
The Rebels (4-1, 1-0) are aiming to move to 2-0 in District 2-5A Div. I play following a 45-10 beatdown of in-town rival Amarillo High last Friday night. Abilene High (2-3, 1-0) is also looking for a 2-0 start to district play after defeating Lubbock Monterey handily last week and a tough stretch of competition to start the season.
West Plains at Hereford
West Plains (2-3) has a chance to improve to .500 when they take a road trip to visit the winless Whitefaces (0-5) in its final non-district game on Friday night. Following three straight losses to begin the year, the Wolves are searching for their third straight win behind freshman quarterback Reid Macon.
Andrews at Canyon
The unbeaten Canyon Eagles (5-0) will play host to the Andrews Mustangs (4-1) in what should be a hard-fought, close battle. It took overtime to decide a winner last year when Canyon prevailed 28-26 over Andrews and it should be a tight one again following an injury to Canyon senior starting quarterback Derrek Clements last week.
El Paso Riverside at Bushland
It is a battle of unbeaten teams as the Riverside Rangers (5-0) travel north to the Panhandle in an attempt to knock off Class 3A Div. I No. 6 Bushland (5-0). The Falcons will be looking to build on a 38-20 dismantling of Dumas last week and improve to 6-0 as they charge into district play.
Nazareth at Whitharral
The undefeated Swifts (5-0) will travel to Whitharral to take on the Class 1A Six-Man Div. II No. 10-ranked Panthers. Whitharral (4-1) has won two straight following a loss to Silverton while Nazareth is going for their first 6-0 start to a season since 2015.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Muleshoe hosts unbeaten Brownfield in rematch of 2021 bi-district game
