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Sundown blanks Shamrock in second half en route to season-opening win

shawn moran, amarillo globe-news
·4 min read

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

NON-DISTRICT

SUNDOWN 19, SHAMROCK 6

CANYON — The Sundown Roughnecks bounced back from a slow first half to outscore the Irish 19-0 on their way to season-opening triumph and the first win under first-year head coach Brannon Rodgers.

What this game means: The Shamrock Irish will open the season 0-1, but there were plenty of positives to take away from their performance in the season opener. Their defense performed well and shut down the Sundown run game through the first two quarters. They were gashed on several running plays in the second half and must clean up mental mistakes that led to a handful of false start and illegal motion penalties. Meanwhile, Sundown starts off its tenure with Rodgers on a winning note while displaying mental toughness. After a rough first half in which nothing went right offensively, the Roughnecks rebounded in the final two quarters. Sundown used its size to wear down the Shamrock defense in the second half while the defense made the necessary adjustments to stop Shamrock short of the end zone.

Thursday's highlights: Shamrock senior quarterback Kit Macina scored the first touchdown of the season when he ran it in from 3-yards out on an option left in which he waltzed into the end zone untouched. Shamrock's defense played strong and forced two fumbles in the contest that were recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Israel Reyes and senior defensive back Caden Peevey. Sundown scored on three long runs by three different running backs in the second half. Senior Alex Bocanegra scored from 56 yards out on Sundown's second offensive play of the second half, junior Rickey Melendez burst through the line for a 23-yard score right before the end of the third quarter and sophomore Jaryn Flores ran one in from 39 yards out late in the fourth to seal the victory.

Thursday's stars: For Shamrock, Macina looks to be an electric playmaker after using his shiftiness all night long to escape pressure and evade potential tacklers. Irish junior wide receiver Braxton Allen recorded four receptions for 112 yards, all in the first half. On defense, the combination of Peevey and Reyes seemed to be in on nearly every tackle. Sundown spread the ball around while its entire defense could be deserving of a spot on this list after shutting out Shamrock for the final 3.5 quarters of play Thursday night. Bocanegra and senior quarterback Hunter Tindol led the Roughneck offense through their strong second half.

Shamrock coach Jeff Caffey on team's performance: "We didn't play to the level of expectation. We didn't play well up front and they took advantage of it. We played our hearts out and it's obvious they did, but we have some kids with not much experience that we have to get ready to play. We now have learned what it's going to take with this team and we're going to be able to build off that and keep moving forward. This is a good football team and we're going to rise to the occasion."

Sundown coach Brannon Rodgers on his offensive line: "I think the linemen, it always starts and ends with them. They started figuring things out. I tell the backs all the time any one of them could run behind a good line. We want to always praise those guys because they're the ones that are having to deal with the issues that we had."

Sundown running back Rickey Melendez on team's second half mindset: "I feel like our attitude changed. We just humbled up, and we got to work and just kept going. We struggled in the first half but in the second half we made a few adjustments and the game opened up."

Up next: Shamrock will host its first game of the season next Friday night by welcoming West Texas High. Sundown will also play at home and host Dalhart Wolves next Friday.

SUNDOWN 19, SHAMROCK 6

Shamrock 6 0 0 0 -- 6

Sundown 0 0 13 6 -- 19

Scoring summary

First Quarter

SHAM - Kit Macina 3 yard rush (6:09)

Third Quarter

SUN - Alex Bocanegra 56 yard rush (8:37)

SUN - Rickey Melendez 23 yard rush (0:06)

Fourth Quarter

SUN - Jaryn Flores 39 yard rush (2:10)

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Shamrock: Kit Macina 24-55; Caden Peevey 15-38; Terry Menefield 3-16; Phillip Cook 1-1. Sundown: Alex Bocanegra 10-88; Rickey Melendez 7-47; Hunter Tindol 7-16; Johnny Acevedo 4-25; Isaiah Flores 3-5; Jaryn Flores 1-39; Branson Sanders 1-33.

Passing – Shamrock: Kit Macina 8-22-101-0-0; Terry Menefield 1-1-43-0-0. Sundown: Hunter Tindol 3-10-27-0-0

Receiving – Shamrock: Braxton Allen 4-112; Rodney Holmes 3-13; Caden Peevey 1-11; Hunter Stroope 1-8. Sundown: Koy Torres 2-25; Alex Bocanegra 1-2.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Sundown blanks Shamrock in second half on way to season opening win