The 2-0 6A Frenship Tigers traveled Thursday night to face the 2-0 5A DI Lubbock Monterey Plainsmen. The game was a battle to the very end in a game that was not decided until a 4th overtime.
Both teams starting scoring early and often. Monterey got the scoring started with a 1-yard touchdown run by Ja’Marcus Smith to take a 7-0 lead. Frenship responded less than 20 seconds later when Hudson Hutcheson connected with Leytone Stone on a 72-yard touchdown to tie the game. However, the Plainsmen took the lead right back, scoring on a 49-yard Dez Williams run.
Frenship would respond to the early 14-7 Monterey lead and take their first lead, 21-7, after Hutcheson threw two more touchdowns, one to Landon Hutcheson for 61-yards, and another to Chase Campbell for 38-yards.
Second Quarter
The scoring continued in the second quarter. Down 21-14, Monterey tied the game on a Christian Williams 2-yard run. Responding quickly once again, the Tigers took a 24-21 lead on a field goal. Then, Monterey came right back down and took a 28-24 lead on a Smith 15-yard run.
You can guess what happened next, another lead change as Hutcheson threw another touchdown pass to Campbell, this time for 72-yards and a 31-28 lead. Then, in the final minute of the first half, the Plainsmen kicker Gio Cardenas hit a 27-yard field goal to tie the game at 31 going into halftime.
Second Half
Both defenses stepped it up in the second half. Both teams failed to move the ball early. The Plainsmen broke the 31-31 tie late in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown on a 39-yard run from Smith. Then, just before the end of the third quarter, Landon Hutcheson scored on a 6-yard run. They headed to the 4th tied at 38.
The 4th quarter was a lot like the third quarter. Both defenses got stops to start the quarter, and just like they had all game long, Monterey broke the tie by scoring on a smith 6-yard run with 3:30 to go. However, Frenship tied it up quickly again, with Hutcheson once again finding Campbell, this time for a 50-yard touchdown to tie the game at 45.
As time ran out in regulation, Monterey had a chance to win but could not connect on a field goal.
In overtime, the defenses stepped up and pushed the game to a 4th overtime. In the 4th OT, Hutcheson converted on the 2-point conversion on a run, and Frenship was unable to convert on theirs. Frenship survided and won the thriller, 54-52.
For Frenship, Hudson Hutcheson finished with 563 yards and 5 touchdowns. Monterey was lead by Ja’Marcus Smith with 317 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.
The undefeated Tigers will host Abilene on the 15th. Abilene lost their first game of the season this week to Midland Legacy and now sits at 2-1. The Abilene offense should pose a good challenge for the Tigers.
The Monterey Plainsmen will look to improve to 3-1 next week as they travel to face Midland on the 15th. Midland is 3-0 and has outscored their opponents by an average of over 21 points per game.
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