Stratford aiming to knock off defending district champion Panhandle
The Panhandle Panthers have won 12 straight district contests dating back to late in the 2020 season. They are led by quarteback Landyn Hack and are the two-time defending District 1-2A Div. I champions.
The Stratford Elks have won 18 straight games overall and are the defending Class 2A Div. II state champions. They were elevated to a Class 2A Div. I program during UIL bi-annual realignment last spring and are looking to knock off Panhandle in order to become the new leaders of the pack.
The two teams will go head-to-head as District 1-2A Div. I rivals for the first time on Friday night. That means that something has to give and one of those impressive streaks will come to its conclusion.
"We've talked a little bit about how Stratford is coming into our district and how we've been the champions of this district for the last two years," Panhandle coach Dane Ashley said. "It's up to them to come and take it from us. I believe that your kids have to go into a game with that mentality and that no matter what, we're going to come out of this game with a win."
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Both teams began the district portion of the schedule with big wins last Friday night as Stratford knocked off previously unbeaten Farwell 40-7, while Panhandle punished Highland Park in an 82-12 victory.
Panhandle's lone loss came on the road Sept. 23 to Class 2A Div. II No. 3 Wellington in their non-district finale. The Panthers offense is averaging 45.7 points per game and will face off against a stingy defense that is allowing 11.7 points per outing.
Hack, a do-it-all senior, is ranked 10th in the Texas Panhandle in passing as he has completed 47-of-87 passes for 1,015 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. Hack also ranks fourth in the region in rushing with 839 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
His favorite target is senior receiver Cuyler Mize, who has gamebreaker potential and ranks sixth in the region in receiving with 518 yards and six scores on 22 catches.
Stratford coach Matt Lovorn knows that in order to slow down the high-powered Panhandle attack, his defense must be able to slow down Hack.
"He's one of the best football players in this area," Lovorn said. "He's a great athlete that has obviously been very well-coached along with the rest of their team. Every time you play against an athlete like that it poses a problem. My hope is that getting to play guys like (Farwell’s Corey) Stancell prepares us for the ones we're going to see down the road. I was very pleased with the way we slowed down Farwell last week and hopefully we can duplicate that and get after them on defense this week."
After seeing how the Stratford defense limited the strong rushing ability of Farwell seniors Corey Stancell and Alec Actkinson last week, Ashley and the Panther offense will need to avoid being shut down for any stretch of time. The veteran Panhandle coach believes that begins with making good blocks at the first and second level, while avoiding the inside linebacker duo of sophomore Bryce Braden and senior Zane Burr as best they can.
"You don't want to run at those two giant inside linebackers," Ashley said. "Those are probably two of the best that I've seen in a while. They're big, strong kids and they have a good defensive front. The two outside linebackers do a nice job of containing everything and forcing it back into those big inside linebackers. We're going to have to find ways to get them off of us a little bit and get their big kids in space to give us opportunities to move the ball."
Stratford's run-heavy offense is also a well-oiled machine that has been difficult to slow down this season. Braden uses his 6-foot-4 frame to bulldoze would-be tacklers routinely, while teaming up with fellow leading rusher Zane Burr as a thunder-and-thunder combination out of the backfield. Senior Mauricio Duran serves as a change-of-pace back for the Elks that has also put together a strong season on the ground.
The Elks have four senior starting offensive linemen and one junior, Karston Long, who have excelled at opening holes and wearing down defensive fronts through their first six games.
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Panhandle's defense will first have to set its focus on stopping the run, but cannot allow senior wideout Luke Braden to get behind the secondary and cannot underestimate his brother's throwing ability down the field.
"We have to play physical on defense," Ashley said. "We have to be able to force them into predictable downs. Braden throws the ball pretty decent, he really does. We've got to get them into predictable situations where we can get good pass defense on the field. We can't let them get to third-and-three. We're going to have to physical and we're going to have to tackle well."
Two impressive streaks will be put on the line this Friday night in Stratford. One of those streaks will come to an end and one of them will continue. The winner will sit firmly in the driver's seat on the way to a district title with three games to go.
This is what Texas high school football is all about.
"We've had a great week of preparation," Lovorn said. "We're going to face a really good Panhandle team. These guys are good every single year so it's a lot of fun getting to prepare for them. We get to see what we can do on Friday."
PANHANDLE AT STRATFORD
District 1-2A Div. I Football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Sam Bass Stadium, Stratford
Records: Panhandle 5-1, 1-0; Stratford 6-0, 1-0
Coverage: Follow @ShawnMoranNews on Twitter for live updates, plus post game video, stories and photos to appear on amarillo.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Stratford aiming to knock off defending district champion Panhandle
