No. 2 Water Valley Overwhelms No. 10 Rankin in Homecoming Win

WATER VALLEY, TX— The No. 2-ranked Water Valley Wildcats proved why they are so respected around the state of Texas by wrecking the Rankin Red Devils, 68-20, on homecoming night.

For homecomings across the state, teams will usually try to find other teams they know they can beat. It’s homecoming. In small towns, everyone and their dog comes out to support the local team under the Friday night lights. In Water Valley, where the population is under 300 in the entire town, it means pickup trucks line the fence and everyone pays their respects to former classes that have graduated.

This year, Water Valley went all out and had a parachuter jump from a helicopter and land on the field for the national anthem just to deliver the game ball.

The Wildcats also had a quite a game for homecoming, the No. 10-ranked Rankin Red Devils, who had a 4-1 record. Not a walk in the park by any means.

To make matters even more serious, Rankin started the game off by winning the coin toss and deferring until the second half. This ended up giving the Wildcats the chance to draw first blood.

Boy did they ever.

On the first play after the kickoff, quarterback Landon Lacy took the ball 65 yards to give Water Valley a very early 8-0 lead. That certainly wasn’t enough for Landon as on the first Rankin drive, he picked off Gage Lopez to take possession back for the Wildcats.

In under two minutes, Landon already made his presence felt on the field. So much so that his brother, Branson, wanted to get involved too. On the drive set up by Landon’s interception, Branson took a pitch out of the backfield in for a 16-yard score, and just like that the Wildcats were up 16-0.

So far, Water Valley was showing why it was ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 1A Division I. But Rankin also has the respect of the state. Matthew Ramos and the Red Devils weren’t going to lay down and, with 4:14 left in the first quarter, Ramos dove across the goal line to get Rankin on the board, 16-6.

Water Valley responded with a 56-yard touchdown reception by Rett Dickison to extend the Wildcats' lead to 24-6.

On the next Rankin drive, Branson got himself a turnover by jumping on a loose football with 2:17 left in the first quarter. In the closing seconds and on fourth down, Landon hit Hayden Kolster for a 16-yard score, giving Water Valley a huge lead, 32-6.

The Red Devils got the ball rolling on a big pass play from Lopez to Ramos, who went up and over Landon Lacy and did his best washing machine impression to spin out of a tackle and get down inside the 10-yard line. He would finish off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Now down 32-12, the worst thing happened for Rankin, and Boston Wiese returned the kickoff for a TD to make the score, 38-12.

On the next Wildcat drive, Branson got himself another score with a huge 69-yard TD run, and the Wildcats lead is now 46-12 with 7:23 left in the first half.

Rankin got right back at it with a 10-yard run by Kayin Hanna, making the score, 46-20, with 5:33 left. In under a minute, the Wildcats scored again, this time Hayden Kolster did his best Randy Moss impression, throwing his hand up to call for the ball and taking it 53 yards for a TD to extend Water Valley’s lead, 54-20.

The Lacy Brothers connected again before halftime on a 6-yard pass, closing in on a mercy rule, 62-20.

Three points stood between the Wildcats and victory, but Rankin would end up taking the game into the second half.

With it being homecoming, halftime ran nearly 40 minutes long, but both teams did retake the field. The Red Devils began the half with the ball, but the Wildcat defense stood strong and forced a turnover on downs.

On the first Water Valley play of the second half, Wiese fumbled the ball and gave it back to the Red Devils in good field position. Again, the Wildcat defense would stop Rankin.

With 4:24 remaining in the third quarter, Cade Manley rumbled his way in for a 15-yard touchdown, forcing the mercy rule, 68-20.

Now, the Water Valley Wildcats remain undefeated on the season at 6-0 after taking down a state-ranked opponent. Rankin should not hang their heads. Up until this point, the Wildcats had only given up 14 points all season, and the Red Devils scored 20.

Next week, the Wildcats get some much-needed rest on their bye week, while Rankin takes on the Garden City Bearkats.