EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Heading into the regular-season finale on Friday night, Nov. 8, the Clint High School High football team needed to beat visiting Irvin High by at least 7 points to secure a playoff spot under a complicated tiebreaking formula.
At stake Friday night was the fourth and final playoff spot from District 1-4A Division 1.
Clint used a devastating ground-attack with its triple-option wishbone attack that looked like it came straight out of 1972 and an opportunistic defense that bent but didn’t break.
The result was a 29-13 win for the Lions and a return trip to the playoffs.
“It is hard to prepare for (the wishbone offense),” said Clint coach Rosvel Martinez said. “Everyone throws the ball and spreads it out. When you have to parepare for the triple option, it is tough.
“It is to our advantage to keep doing what we are doing. As you can see, it works,” he said.
Now, Clint will prepare for a rematch from last year when the Lions face Canyon West Plains next week. It hasn’t been determined when the game will be played.
Clint led 14-13 at halftime and broke open the game by controlling the clock with its ground attack.
In the third quarter, Clint took advantage of a fake punt by Irvin at midfield that didn’t work. The Lions marched 50 yards, culminating with a 6-yard TD run by Angel Veliz for a 21-13 lead with 6:51 to play in the quarter.
Clint added its final score in the fourth quarter when the Lions took over on downs on a short field and marched in from 33 yards out. That drive ended in a 9-yard run by Erick Martinez and a two-point conversion on a run by Jose Arvizu.
Martinez noted that his team lost several close games this season.
“If there is any team that deserves to be in the playoffs based on the way we lost our games, it is the Clint Lions,” Martinez said. “As long as we have a heartbeat, you have to give the Lions a chance. We are going to plug away.”
Clint opened the scoring with a 14-play, 75-yard drive on the first possesion of the game. That drive ended with Clint quarterback Brandon Quezada hitting Arvizu with a on a 14-yard TD pass.
Irvin actually led 13-7 at one point after it scored on two Dallas Medina touchdown passes — one a 63-yarder to Jamal Rocha and the other a 9-yarder to Michael Salazar.
Clint, however, took the lead after another long drive, eventually scoring on a 3-yard run by Sam Brown with about 4 minutes to play before the intermission.
Clint finished its regular season with a 4-4 record in district play and 4-6 overall. Irvin, meanwhile, dropped to 4-4 in district play and 5-5 overall with the loss.
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