Big Spring JV falls to Greenwood 34-0
GREENWOOD — The Greenwood Rangers made several big plays in the running game on Thursday night while Big Spring wide receiver Fred Rubio stuck out as one of the sole bright spots for the Steers in a 34-0 loss on the road.
The Steers (0-3) never seemed to be lacking in the effort category but were prone to giving up the play to Greenwood running back Aaron Fikes. The speedy sophomore for the Rangers broke outside on a few runs before it was off to the races, and eventually the end zone, on scoring runs of 43, 61, and 94 yards.
GAME RECAP The Big Spring Steers received the opening kickoff and quickly went three-and-out following two sacks by the Greenwood front seven.
The Rangers then took over after a Steer punt and eventually were facing a 3rd-and-15 situation from the Big Spring 43-yard line. That is when Fikes made his first big play of the game moving quickly off right tackle and down the field for a Greenwood touchdown. Fikes runs with a long, gazelle-like stride and found his way to the end zone without being touched by a Big Spring defender. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful and Greenwood had a 6-0 lead with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter.
On the next Big Spring drive, Rubio made his first catch of the game on a nice 16-yard catch-and-run up the left sideline on a pass from quarterback Jeremy Fassett. However, the drive stalled out shortly thereafter and the Steers turned the ball over on downs while giving the ball back to Greenwood at their own 39-yard line.
Following a first-down incompletion from Greenwood quarterback Rance Purser, the Ranger coaching staff decided to go back to Fikes on another outside zone run. This time, Fikes sprinted 61 yards to the end zone and the Rangers successfully converted the two-point conversion to take a 14-0 lead with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.
Big Spring’s next possession began with a 5-yard rush by Phillip Martinez but they were unable to move the ball any farther against the strong Greenwood defense. The Steers turned the ball over on downs once again and gave the ball back to the Rangers on the Big Spring side of the field.
Jacob Yanez grabbed a sack for the Steers on the next Ranger drive for a loss of five yards on a snap that was fumbled by the quarterback. A few plays later, a group of Steers met in the backfield with one of them knocking the ball out of Purser’s hands. The Steers recovered the fumble and took over on their own 30-yard line.
The next drive included a 26-yard pass down the left sideline on a contested catch made by Rubio but once again stalled out after the one big play. The
Steers turned the ball over on downs while giving it to the Rangers just outside of enemy territory.
It then took three straight rushing plays for the Rangers to gain their necessary 51 yards on their way to the end zone. The first play of the drive was a big 40-yard run and the Rangers punched it in from 1-yard out a couple of plays later. Fikes’ run on the twopoint conversion was successful and the Rangers held a 22-0 lead with five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first half.
Fassett found Rubio down the left sideline once again on the next drive for a 28-yard gain. A few plays later, the quarterback found Rubio once again for 16 yards and the Steers found themselves at the Greenwood 2-yard line. Facing third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Martinez took a handoff out of the shotgun and was quickly hit in the backfield before fumbling the ball and turning it back over to the Rangers.
The very next play, Fikes took a handoff off right tackle and sprinted 94 yards to the end zone untouched to give the Rangers a 28-0 lead that they took into halftime.
Things settled down in the second half and not many points were scored. Following a first-drive punt by Greenwood, Fassett was intercepted on Big Spring’s first drive of the second half. This set the Rangers up in good field position but the Steers did a great job holding up and making the stop. On a 4th-and-2 from inside the red zone, the defensive line fired through the line and made the stop behind the line of scrimmage to force a turnover on downs.
However, Big Spring could not move the ball and decided to punt from their own 22-yard line. It was a low snap to Fassett and as soon as he made contact with the ball to punt it away, a Greenwood player was in his face blocking the punt. The Rangers’ Johnny Mason scooped up the ball and took it the remainder of the way into the end zone for the final score of the night. The two-point conversion was no good and Greenwood had a 34-0 lead that they would hold onto for the remaining five minutes of the game.
9TH GRADE: The Freshmen (2-1) played at home last night against Brownfield and came away with a 28-0 victory. The Steers had rushing scores from Kavien Ford, Tyree Brawley and Abram Jackson while also picking up one receiving score from Jacob Cantu.
UP NEXT: The Steers 9th Grade and JV teams will host Lubbock High on Sept. 23 at 5:00 p.m. The freshmen will play first with the JV game following directly afterwards.
Shawn Moran is the sports writer at the Big Spring Herald. To contact him, e-mail sports@bigspringherald.com or call 432-263-7331.