Friday Night Rewind: Best Games, Biggest Surprises and Top Performers From Last Week

SAN ANGELO — Here are the best games, biggest surprises and top performers from last week’s high school football action in West Texas:

Biggest win: San Angelo Central

The Central Bobcats’ 33-8 win over Belton shouldn’t be understated. After snapping a 10-game losing streak a week earlier, the Bobcats had a chance to build on that momentum and did so with a resounding victory. The fact Central’s defense had another strong showing after last year’s struggles was even more encouraging.

Biggest surprise: Irion County’s win over Garden City

After a pair of 45-point losses to start the year, it was fair to wonder if the Irion County Hornets were in for a rebuilding season. They’ve responded with back-to-back close wins, however, including a 44-40 win over Garden City. Colton Lawdermilk rushed for 165 yards and four TDs to lead the Hornets to a win that renews hopes that Irion County will still be a contender to defend its district title.

Best game: Water Valley-Buena Vista

Water Valley and Buena Vista put on a show Friday, with Buena Vista narrowly coming out on top in a 54-52 win. While the Wildcats fell short, they showed just how high their ceiling could be this season after that performance against the No. 10-ranked team in the state.

Case for the defense: Christoval and Brady

We had two impressive shutouts last week, including Christoval’s 29-0 win over Sterling City that gave the Cougars their first win of the year. Tristan Alvarado had three interceptions to lead Christoval’s defense. Brady had a 20-0 win over Ballinger that ended the Bearcats’ perfect start to the year. The Bulldogs showed they could win with their offense a week earlier in a 47-45 victory over Ozona. Now we know what their defense is capable of as well.

Under the radar: Veribest

After a 29-27 loss to Zephyr to begin the year, the Veribest Falcons have responded with three straight 45-point wins. The Falcons’ lone loss was to a team now ranked in the Top 10 in 1A Division II. Veribest went 8-2 last year but missed out on the playoffs. The Falcons will again be an underdog in their stacked district, but they’re a sneaky team that could make some noise down the stretch.

The undefeated: Reagan County, Miles and Richland Springs

After four weeks, we’re down to just three undefeated teams in our coverage area. Reagan County, Miles and Richland Springs are all off to 4-0 starts. Reagan County will visit Iraan this week in a matchup of 4-0 teams. Miles will take on 3-1 Ozona in an exciting rematch from last year’s 70-68 win by Miles. Richland Springs will host Giddings State School this week.

Top performers

Tristan Alvarado, Christoval: Three interceptions in a win over Sterling City

Manuel Riojas, Christoval: 19 carries for 123 yards and a TD in a win over Sterling City

Anthony Quintana, Water Valley: Four catches for 68 yards and a TD, nine carries for 45 yards and a TD, two interceptions and a fumble recovery in a loss to Buena Vista.

Landon Lacy, Water Valley: 10-of-17 passing for 172 yards and three TDs, and 54 rushing yards and two TDs in a loss to Buena Vista.

Sutten Silerio, Mason: 15 carries for 198 yards and two TDs in a win over Junction

Brenner Sherwood, Robert Lee: 10 carries for 184 yards and three TDs, and 8-of-10 passing for 80 yards and two TDs in a win over Blackwell

Jaxon Tavarez, Robert Lee: Three rushing TDs and returned an interception for a score in a win over Blackwell

Brody Walts, Garden City: 13 carries for 92 yards and a TD, along with four catches for 112 yards and three TDs in a loss to Irion County

Presley Jost, Garden City: 14-of-16 passing for 162 yards and four TDs in a loss to Irion County

Colton Lawdermilk, Irion County: 24 carries for 165 yards and four TDs in a win over Garden City

Hagen Turner, Irion County: 13 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery in a win over Garden City

Kyle Hope, Irion County: 14 tackles, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery in a win over Garden City

Jimmy Edwards, San Angelo Central: Seven catches for 97 yards and two TDs in a win over Belton

Sammy Ramirez, San Angelo Lake View: 11 carries for 136 rushing yards in a loss to Lubbock High

Reid Robertson, Wall: Five catches for 69 yards and two TDs in a win over Monahans

Tevin Meade, Miles: 19 carries for 166 yards and two TDs in a win over Eldorado

Johnny Menefield, Brady: 55 rushing yards and a TD, a TD catch, and 11 tackles and a sack in a win over Ballinger

Christian Villarreal, Ozona: 30 carries for 236 yards and three TDs, along with three catches for 34 yards in a win over Harper

Hudson Fowler, Ozona: 16-of-22 passing for 244 yards and two TDs in a win over Harper

Jarrett Brown, Reagan County: 11-of-17 passing for 316 yards and two TDs, along with 15 carries for 97 yards in a win over McCamey

Nick Franklin, Reagan County: Five catches for 238 yards and two TDs, and a fumble recovery in a win over McCamey

Aaron Segura, Sonora: 19-of-30 passing for 322 yards and two TDs in a win over Alpine

Dylan Ford, Sonora: Four catches for 128 yards and a TD in a win over Alpine

Kam Aguero, Sonora: Six catches for 97 yards, and an interception in a win over Alpine

More football coverage

• West Texas football district standings
• Texas football state rankings: Week 5
• Central Bobcats' defense leads big win over Belton
• Wall Hawks hold on for win over Monahans
• Friday night football roundup: Christoval earns first win over Sterling City