Wilkerson, Comanche pound Jacksboro in key district tilt

JACKSBORO – The Jacksboro announcer called out Sawyer Wilkerson’s name 31 times Friday night.

On three of those occasions, it was after Comanche’s star running back broke off a long touchdown run.

Twice Wilkerson’s name was uttered following up-the-gut scores that set the tone in the first eight minutes. Once it was called after a 47-yard reception.

However, Wilkerson’s name never rang out over the Tiger Stadium loudspeakers in the fourth quarter. That’s because the sophomore was standing on the sidelines, enjoying Comanche’s 53-33 victory in a matchup of 5-3A Division II favorites.

The only reason Wilkerson didn’t break the 300-yard mark on a night when Comanche served notice as the district's team to beat was because the Indians were leading by 31 points after three quarters. A 269-yard, four-touchdown effort had to suffice.

It was a humbling setback for the Tigers (4-3 overall, 1-1 district), who’d surrendered only six points in their previous two victories and entered with a 4-0 home record in 2022.

“They executed very well,” Jacksboro coach Casey Hubble said. “We struggled to stop their run game, the counter game, and we struggled to find an answer for it. They just whipped us.”

Wilkerson may have been the most impressive player on the field, but Comanche quarterback Layden Welch wasn’t far behind. Welch completed 10 of 12 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown while rushing for two scores.

Wilkerson put the visitors out front with touchdown runs of 48 and 46 yards in the first quarter. It became apparent early on that if Jacksboro is going to win, it’d have to be via shootout.

Quarterback Lando Belcher and the Tigers are usually up for that type of game. Remember, they won a wild 51-48 district shootout against Eastland at home last year.

But this time, Jacksboro mustered only three points on consecutive first-half trips inside the 10-yard line as a bad snap killed one drive and a hold called back a touchdown.

“I felt like we should have been able to go score for score,” Hubble said. “As an offense that has that capability when your defense is struggling, we’ve got to be able to do that.”

Belcher finished with 341 passing yards and two touchdowns, hooking up with Cannon Valenzuela seven times for 132 yards and a score. Two fourth-quarter touchdowns made the final margin look more presentable than it was.

Comanche (6-1, 2-0) is quite the turnaround story this fall after going 1-9 a year ago. Comanche upset Albany a few weeks ago and had an answer for every Jacksboro surge in this matchup.

Kasey Swan caught a 39-yard pass for the Tigers’ first touchdown 1:40 before halftime, pulling Jacksboro within 29-11. But the Indians answered with a touchdown six seconds before intermission.

The Tigers scored again less than two minutes into the third quarter, but Wilkerson’s 59-yard touchdown burst quickly silenced the home crowd.

“That’s a good football team, they have some guys who can go,” Comanche coach Joaquin Escobar said. “Our defense did bend, but they didn’t break. I thought that was key early on.”   ‘

There weren’t many bright spots for Jacksboro, but the way the Tigers kept battling down 53-19 was one of them. The good news is Jacksboro will still be favored to finish second in 5-3A with games against Merkel, Millsap and Dublin remaining.

However, Hubble knows rapid improvement will be needed after the setback.

“We’re going to have to play better than that, or we’re going to be in every ballgame,” Hubble said. “Our opponents are good enough that if you turn the ball over and don’t execute in the red zone, we’re going to half to play.”

DISTRICT 5-3A DIVISION II  

Comanche 53, Jacksboro 33

FIRST QUARTER  

C – Sawyer Wilkerson 48 run (Carlos Esquivel kick), 9:45

C – Wilkerson 46 run (Esquivel kick), 4:35

J – Randall Bustos 26 FG, 0:55

SECOND QUARTER  

C – Layden Welch 15 run (Esquivel kick), 10:43

C – Miguel Martinez 22 pass from Welch (Martinez run), 3:42

J – Kasey Swan 39 pass from Lando Belcher (Paul Shackleford pass from Belcher), 1:40

C – Welch 1 run (Esquivel kick), 0:06

THIRD QUARTER  

J – Luke Sams 2 run (Kaleem Howard pass from Belcher), 10:14

C – Wilkerson 59 run (Esquivel kick), 9:06

C – Wilkerson 1 run (Esquivel kick), 2:41

FOURTH QUARTER  

C – Esquivel 39 FG, 10:38

J – Luke Sams 1 run (Bustos kick), 8:01

J – Cannon Valenzuela 12 pass from Belcher (Busto kick), 0:40

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Comanche, Sawyer Wilkerson 30-269, Layden Welch 12-46, Cayden Davis 6-42, Easton Gonzalez 3-2, Team 1-(-4). Jacksboro, Lando Belcher 10-43, Luke Sams 10-33, Cannon Valenzuela 1-23, Baylor Laake 1-23, Team 1-(-16).

PASSING: Comanche, Welch 10-12-0—215. Jacksboro, Belcher 20-36-1—341.

RECEIVING: Comanche, Miguel Martinez 5-67, Kyler Beaty 2-52, Diego Gutierrez 2-49, Wilkerson 1-47. Jacksboro, Valenzuela 7-132, Paul Shackleford 3-85, Tyler Mitchell 4-49, Kasey Swan 1-39, Sams 2-15, Kaleem Howard 2-15, Ryder Jackson 1-6.

RECORDS: Comanche 6-1, 2-0; Jacksboro 4-3, 1-1.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Comanche runs past Jacksboro in district football game