Vernon Lions faces Amarillo River Road in Area playoff

Daniel Walker
Vernon Record
Vernon faces the Amarillo River Road Wildcats on Thursday at Lowrey Field in Lubbock, kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“They are a solid football team, they beat Lamesa last week and finished fourth in a very tough district with Shallowater, Bushland and Dalhart,” Vernon Coach Kevin Sherrill said of the Wildcats.
“There team speed is not what Sweetwater’s was. They play a different style. They use a slot or Wing T. They look to line up and hit you in the mouth. What is scary is they can control the clock. We have to start fast, and build a lead,” Coach Sherrill said.
“Against our offense, they will come at us primarily in a 4-3. They have a strong line, good linebacker corps. They like to run man coverage. We will have our chances, but we will need to execute, and block our assignments,” Coach Sherrill said.
Scouting River Road
Amarillo River Road Wildcats (5-6) finished as the fourth seed in District 1-3A-D1. They knocked off a district champion, Lamesa Golden Tornadoes (4-7) by a 23-21 score last Thursday.
Lamesa scored with 2:36 left in the game to go ahead 21-20. The ensuing kickoff saw River Road with the ball at its 36-yard line, but the Golden Tornadoes were called offside. River Road opted to re-kick. The next try allowed the Wildcats to start the final possession of the game at midfield, a 15-yard difference.
River Road then gained 28 yards and with eight seconds left, sophomore kicker Diego Martinez hit a 39-yarder for the win.
Quarterback Alex Warren ran for 173 yards with 2 TDs and passed for 63 yards.
Series history: Vernon and Amarillo have split two previous playoff matchups, both in the Aea Round, with Vernon winning 56-6 in 1993.
In that game, a defense led by linemen Detrick Morris, Chris Dunson, Andre Wilson, Clayton Henry, Duke Arnold, and Sherman Coker, along with linebackers Sjohonton Fanner, and Chad Thomas and defensive backs of Michael Lee, Jonathan Sims, Kyle Williams, and Tony Gonzalez (who combined had a school record 28 interceptions that season) shut down the Wildcats with, for 37 carries for negative 20 yards with 20 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. Thomas’s big hit on the Wildcats QB forced one fumble and Morris returned it 18 yards for a TD. On offense, receiver Brandon Favors caught three TDs from quarterback Chris Enloe in the game’s first 12 minutes.
Season Notes: It’s been over a decade since the Lions eclipsed eight wins. The Lions last season with at least nine wins was in 2013, when Vernon topped Lake Worth in a bi-district playoff game for that ninth win, on the way to a 10-3 record. The Lions’ last Area round playoff win for Vernon was in 2014. Vernon beat Krum 52-14 in the second round of the 4A-DII playoffs. Vernon rushed for 433 yards in that game, with Isaiah Love getting 30 carries for 270 yards.