Muleshoe captures first state title

December 13, 2008 · By George Watson l Avalanche-Journal

GRAND PRAIRIE – Wes Wood threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, Lane Wood ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and Muleshoe brought home the school’s first state championship with a 48-26 win over Kirbyville in the Class 2A Division I title game at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl.

The win caps a perfect season for the No. 3 Mules (15-0) and came in much the same fashion as all their other victories – stingy defense when needed, big plays on offense and the will to not give in.
Wes Wood finished with 240 yards through the air, and the senior ends his career with 64 touchdown passes, three shy of Graham Harrell’s single-season Texas high school record set in 2003 while at Ennis.

Lane Wood’s 18-yard TD run late in the third quarter helped the Mules regain control of the game after No. 2 Kirbyville (13-1) had pulled to within 21-20 midway through the third. Wes Wood then iced the game when he broke loose for a 42-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter that put the Mules up 41-20.

Muleshoe’s defense held Kirbyville’s top rusher, Broderick Jackson, to 64 yards on 14 carries and picked off quarterback Aaron Hazelwood three times.
Both teams utilized their strengths throughout the first half.

Muleshoe quarterback Wes Wood threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns as the Mules’ skill and speed was too much for the Kirbyville defense, and that was with leading receiver Victor Vasquez catching just one pass.

Muleshoe's Lane Wood (44) celebrates in the end zone with his teammate Wes Wood (12) after scoring a rushing touchdown in the third quarter of the 2A State Championship against Kirbyville in Grand Prairie.(Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Instead, it was Cooper Washington doing most of the damage with three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Kirbyville, meanwhile, began to establish the offensive line of scrimmage in the second quarter after coming out sluggish in the first. Hazelwood was picked off twice in the first quarter, allowing the Mules to take a 14-0 lead.

Vasquez got the first of those picks, ending Kirbyville’s first drive at the 10 and returning it to the Muleshoe 38. On the first play from scrimmage, Lane Wood took the option pitch 56 yards to the Kirbyville 6, and Juan Sanchez scored two plays later for a 7-0 Muleshoe lead.

The teams traded punts before Ray Ramirez snared the second interception for the Mules at the Muleshoe 4-yard line. On third-and-12 at the 2, Wes Wood hit Washington for a quick slant for 13 yards for the first down, and on the very next play Washington got loose on the slip screen for 63 yards to the Kirbyville 22.

Building on the momentum, Wood found Vasquez for a 22-yard scoring strike to push the lead to 14-0.

Kirbyville took the ball on its next drive and drove to the Muleshoe 19 before turning it over on downs. Muleshoe, however, was held to a three-and-out and Jared Skipworth’s punt went only 31 yards to the Muleshoe 45.

A 15-yard penalty on Muleshoe and a 21-yard pass from quarterback Hazelwood to Randy Musgrove got the ball to the Mules 6, and LeFrederick Ford scored from there to cut the lead to 14-7.
Muleshoe answered right back. A 69-yard pass to Ramirez took the ball to the Wildcats 23. On second-and-8, Muleshoe went with the quick snap, catching the Kirbyville defense scrambling, and Wood hit Washington 10 yards behind the defense for a 21-yard touchdown to regain the 14-point advantage.

Kirbyville ended the half with a solid drive, going 62 yards in nine plays and scoring on a 1-yard run by Jackson to make it 21-14. Jackson accounted for 29 yards on the drive.