The El Paso El Dorado Aztecs went on quite the road trip to take on the Tigers of Wolfforth Frenship, and they came away with a thrilling 55-48 victory.
Things got off to a quick start, and the entire first half remained fast-paced with both teams doing plenty of scoring.
Frenship received the opening kickoff but went three and out. After a punt to the Tigers’ 45-yard line, El Dorado quarterback Cedarious Barfield took the first play from scrimmage for a touchdown. On a run-pass option to his left, Barfield tucked the ball away and cut back to his right. He strolled into the end zone along the sideline to open the scoring and make it 7-0.
Frenship was quick to respond. After getting the ball back, the Tigers drove down the field with a balance of runs and passes. Eventually, quarterback Austin Phillips connected on a 20-yard touchdown strike to Nick McCauley to even up the score at 7-7.
But the Aztecs’ Cedarious Barfield was just getting started.
On the ensuing Aztecs drive, Frenship’s defense bowed up in the red zone and forced a 4th and goal from the 16-yard line. Still, Barfield fired a pass over the middle for a touchdown, giving El Dorado a lead that they wouldn’t surrender.
But Frenship never threw in the towel. In the second quarter, they drove down the field and converted a field goal attempt to cut El Dorado’s lead to 14-10.
Barfield’s athleticism was put on display during El Dorado’s next two drives. He scrambled for touchdowns of 50 yards and 20 yards to pull the Aztecs ahead 27-10.
Every time the Aztecs began to pull away, Frenship found a way to get right back in the game. The Tigers responded with a 46-yard touchdown strike from Austin Phillips, his second of the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, it appeared as if El Dorado was about to break the game open once again. The Aztecs nearly took the kickoff to the house, but Frenship’s Nick McCauley forced a fumble right before the ball carrier crossed the goal line. The ball went out of bounds in the end zone, giving Frenship a touchback and possession of the ball.
Ultimately, the Tigers couldn’t capitalize. They drove the ball to the Aztecs’ 24-yard line, but failed to convert a 4th and 13, which turned the ball back over to Barfield and El Dorado.
The Frenship defense forced a three and out, marking their first stop of the game. After receiving the punt, Frenship couldn’t capitalize yet again on a chance to cut down on the lead. Phillips was sacked and lost a fumble on the very first play of the next drive.
Each squad recorded a touchdown before halftime, as Barfield accounted for his fifth touchdown with 1:41 left on the clock. Frenship responded with a 70-yard screen pass touchdown with 1:22 left in the half, making the score 34-24 at halftime.
After forcing a couple stops in the third quarter, Frenship made a field goal to bring themselves within a touchdown at the end of the third quarter.
Then, a wild fourth quarter ensued.
El Dorado marched down the field and punched in a touchdown to grow their lead to 41-27 with 11:40 left on the clock. After forcing a stop and getting the ball back, Barfield accounted for his sixth touchdown on a 34-yard pass with 7:54 left in the game.
And just when it seemed too big of a lead to overcome, Frenship got back up off the mat yet again. Phillips connected with McCauley for the duo’s second touchdown of the game on a 94-yard catch and run.
Frenship attempted and recovered an onside kick immediately afterwards. Phillips and McCauley connected for their third touchdown to trim El Dorado’s lead to 48-41 with 4 minutes left.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the magic ended there. They recovered another onside kick, but it was negated by an offsides penalty and El Dorado recovered the next onside attempt.
Cedarious Barfield ran in his sixth touchdown (seventh total touchdown) with 2:47 left to make it 55-41. Frenship drove down the field after receiving the kickoff and punched in a short touchdown with about a minute left in the game.
El Dorado recovered another onside kick and kneeled out the clock, securing the 55-48 shootout victory.
Both quarterbacks finished with incredible stat lines. Barfield rushed for six touchdowns, passed for a seventh, and Frenship’s Austin Phillips ended with five passing touc
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