It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Walnut Grove had no problem doing just that on Friday. They snuck past the Lubbock-Cooper Pirates with a 34-28 victory. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 46th, while the Pirates are ranked 150th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
A big part of Walnut Grove's win came down to the chemistry between Hayes Hackney and his top target Zaiden Crain. Hackney threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns while completing 72.7% of his passes while Crain picked up 179 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Crain showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 64 yards. A healthy portion of Hackney's aerial production (117 yards to be exact) also went to Luke Watkins, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Walnut Grove, racking up 14 points in total. All came courtesy of Dominic Sciano: he went 4-for-4 kicking field goals for 12 points, and 2-for-2 kicking extra points for an additional two.
The victory was the fifth in a row for Walnut Grove, bringing their record for this year to 11-1. As for Lubbock-Cooper, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-4 record this season.
Walnut Grove didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 52-35 defeat against Argyle on the 29th. Lubbock-Cooper does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
