Snyder 23, Sweetwater 7

By BILL HART

Senior Staff Writer

SWEETWATER -- The Snyder Tigers staged a Cheyenne rodeo at Mustang Bowl Friday night, knocking the Sweetwater Mustangs out of a tie for the District 5-4A lead.

Cheyenne Robinson scored twice and the Tigers came up with the big plays to upset the No. 10-ranked Mustangs, 23-7, to move into a tie for second place with the Mustangs. Both are now 2-1 in district with two games left.

"We're not playing for a playoff spot now, we're playing for the championship," Snyder coach David Baugh told his team, then later added," but Sweetwater has to beat Andrews to help us."

Robinson put the Tigers ahead with an 80-yard around right end to give them a lead they never lost. Then he scored from six yards out after Sweetwater had cut it to 10-7 in the fourth quarter.

Snyder's defense was a big key in the victory, keeping the big-play Sweetwater offense in check.

"We didn't make the big play tonight, we normally have a 50-yard run, a 50-yard pass or a 50-yard touchdown, but Snyder outplayed us in every phase of the game," said Sweetwater coach Hank Dowell. "They played an eight-man front and blitzed someone from a different spot and their secondary was super."

The first half tone was set for Sweetwater the first time the Mustangs touched the football. Derek Carr returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding penalty. Sweetwater was penalized five times in the first half for 60 yards.

"Sure, that play hurt us because we had a chance to go up front and maybe take some air out of them," Dowell said. "It took a little momentum from us and had to give it to them, but we were guilty of holding."

Robinson raced around right end for his 80-yard touchdown, and once he got past the line of scrimmage, he was in the clear and not a hand was laid on him. Andy Parker's kick made it 7-0 with seven seconds left in the first quarter.

"It was just a pitchout to the right and (Justin) McNair threw a great block, so I took off and hoped no one caught me," said Robinson, who had 113 yards on 11 carries.

The Mustangs got to the Snyder 36 in the second quarter and were hold on downs, then they reached the 33, but Michael Loper intercepted Nicholas Boil's screen pass and returned it to the Sweetwater 45.

Quarterback Sonny Cumbie's 19-yard pass to Matthew Grimmett set the stage for Parker's 43-yard field goal attempt that was wide as the half ended.

Snyder got to the Sweetwater 28 in the third quarter, but a fourth down pass went incomplete. But the next time the Tigers got the ball, they march to the Sweetwater 10, but were pushed back and Parker booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 11:09 to play.

The Mustangs, aided by a personal foul and a pass interference, got back in the game on their next drive as Willie Amos scored from the three with 8:30 left.

Snyder didn't waste any time getting that score back. Cumbie threw a 53-yard pass to Brady Cobb for a first down at the Mustangs six and Robinson scored on the next play, breaking several tackles on the way.

"We needed this win and I was determined to score," Robinson said. "They kept hitting me, but I just kept going. I didn't want to be stopped."

That made it 17-7 with7:09 left, the Snyder defense stopped the Mustangs, forcing a punt and Chris Covey put the icing on the cake with a 31-yard touchdown gallop with 3:54 to play.

"Our defensive strategy was to stop a good running back (Amos), but we ought to be used to that after playing Shaud Williams (of Andrews) and (Colby) Ford of Big Spring the past two weeks," Baugh said. "But I was surprised that we could make so many big plays against Sweetwater."

Amos was held to 63 yards on 21 carries and Boil got 47 on 19 carries.

Snyder 7 0 0 16--23

Sweetwater 0 0 0 7--7

SCORING SUMMARY

Snyder -- Cheyenne Robinson, 80 run (Andy Parker kick)

Snyder -- Parker 31 FG

Sweetwater -- Willie Amos, 3 run (Jason Sepeda kick)

Snyder -- Robinson, 6 run (Parker kick)

Snyder -- Chris Covey, 31 run (kick blocked)

Snyder Sweetwater

First downs 13 16

Rushing yards 35-287 41-114

Passing yards 154 173

Comp-Att-Int 5-11-0 9-19-2

Punts 4-36 5-33

Fumbles lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 6-60 6-65

RUSHING -- Snyder, Cheyenne Robinson 11-113, Juan Arizmendi 7-84, Paul CAmp 8-29, Chris Covey 6-56, Justin Phillips 1-5; Sweetwater, Willie Amos 21-63, Nicholas Boil 19-47, Zane Gonzalez 1-4

PASSING -- Snyder, Sunny Cumbie 4-6-0, 100 yards; Justin McNair 2-8-0, 54 yards. Sweetwater, 8-17-2 143, Amos 1-2-0 30

RECEIVING -- Snyder: Matthew Grimmett 2-69, Brady Cobb 1-53, Josh Arizmendi 1-25,4, Justin Phillips 1-4, Paul Camp 1-4; Sweetwater: Randall Haynes 5-67, JoLee Hickey 1-42, Derek Carr 1-30, Jeff Dudensing 1-19, Jared Shelton 1-15.