Winters Overpowered by Panhandle QB in Area Round

LUBBOCK, TX-- Winters couldn’t overcome Panhandle’s 27 second half points in a 55-20 loss in Lubbock on Friday night.

Winters was held to just 289 yards of total offense at Lowrey Field. Most of that came from senior QB Jovan Young, who rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

He was outdone by his opposite number, Braden Durst. The Panhandle QB accounted for 355 of the Panthers’ 464 yards of total offense. He also had six total touchdowns to his name. Only one was through the air.

Panhandle opened the scoring with a pair of touchdown runs from Durst. The first came on an 11-yard rush in the first quarter. After a Winters fumble and near goal line stand, Durst found the end zone once again from 1-yard out to give Panhandle a 13-0 lead.

Winters was forced to go for it on fourth-and-goal from Panhandle’s 11-yard line and fumbled. The defense held strong and forced a short punt to the Panthers’ 33-yard line.

Nick Brown then broke free for a 33-yard touchdown run to put Winters on the board. The two-point conversion was no good and the Blizzards trailed 13-6 with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half.

Dust would find the end zone once again on a 7-yard run to extend Panhandle’s lead to 21-6 with 3:08 left in the first half.

Needing a response, senior QB Jovan Young delivered with a 76-yard run to pull within 21-12 with 2:05 left in the half.

Panhandle responded with a 3-yard touchdown to take a 28-12 lead going into the half.

After holding Panhandle to a three-and-out on their opening drive, Winters responded with an 11-play, seven-minute drive. Jovan Young finished it with a 2-yard run into the end zone. A successful two-point conversion pulled the Blizzards to 28-20 late in the third quarter.

Durst then scored his fourth and fifth rushing touchdowns to put the final nail in Winters season.

For good measure, he added a 26-yard touchdown pass to Maverick Hale late in the fourth to give Panhandle a 49-20 lead. Backup QB Wesley Jones added a 3-yard run to make it 55-20 Panhandle.

Winters finishes the season 8-4. Panhandle (10-2) will play in the regional quarterfinal next week.