Snyder defeats Littlefield in season opener

LITTLEFIELD — Snyder accomplished its main objective in the season opener against Littlefield on Friday, but it was not pretty.
Scoring a touchdown in each quarter, Snyder defeated Littlefield 27-13 and opened the season with a win for the first time since 2015, which was also at Littlefield.
J.J. Burns and Greg Williams combined for 210 of Snyder’s 211 rushing yards. Burns finished with 123 yards rushing on 17 carries. Williams rushed for 87 yards on nine carries.
Logan Greene completed 3-of-6 passes for 44 yards with one touchdown, but he threw three interceptions, including two in the red zone. Snyder also lost one fumble. Jayden Samaniego caught a 37-yard pass from Nathan Kendrick on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Shawl Lentz had two receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Snyder’s defense held Littlefield to 231 rushing yards and one completion that resulted in no yards.
“You can’t go 16-0 if you don’t win the first game,” Snyder head coach Cory Mandrell said. “We accomplished what we wanted to do, win. It was not very pretty and clean. Anyone who watched the game can see there is a lot of work to do. Anytime you win, it gives you confidence. One of our goals was to win the first game and they did what was needed to do that.”
Mandrell said Williams’ first varsity performance was not a surprise to the coaching staff.
“Greg is an athlete and we knew that coming into the game,” Mandrell said. “He is a speedster and anytime he touches the ball, he can go the distance. I’m proud of how he ran the ball. I knew we had to find another running back with J.J. playing two tough positions — linebacker and tailback. Greg answered the call and he was a bright spot in the game.”
Burns rushed for 91 yards in the first half, including a 36-yard run in which he broke three tackles.
“The linemen opened up a good hole for me and I said, ‘Oh yes,’ and turned it up,” he said. “I thought it was my moment and wanted to do my best on that run.”
Williams said he gained confidence on each carry.
“I was very nervous at first and didn’t think about getting yards or scoring a touchdown,” Williams said. “It turned out well. Obviously, I thought J.J. would be out there for the entire season. It became more natural as the game went on and it felt like last year when I was on the JV team. I feel amazing and would like this kind of game every time.”
Burns said he and Williams give variety to Snyder’s run game.
“I don’t know why people compare me to Greg because he is a lot faster than me,” Burns said. “He can get around the edges quicker while I run more up the middle. The defenses will have to prepare for both of us.”
Burns said the best thing about Friday was picking up the win.
“It felt good, but it is more important to become better every game,” he said. “This is just the beginning of the season and we have a lot of games to go. We need to execute and that will lead us to more wins.”
Snyder’s first drive ended with an interception, but the offense was able to move the ball to the Littlefield 15-yard line. Samaniego’s 37-yard reception highlighted the drive before the interception.
Snyder scored on its next possession, a 57-yard, six-play drive, capped by Williams’ 29-yard touchdown run with 1:29 left in the first quarter. Greene ran for the 2-point conversion.
After forcing a punt, Snyder increased its lead to 14-0 when Greene scored on a 2-yard keeper with 10:31 left in the first half.
Littlefield scored on its first possession of the second half when Isaiah Rios scored on a 28-yard run.
Snyder answered with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by Greene’s 28-yard pass to Lentz. Snyder held a 20-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Burns capped the final Snyder scoring drive by diving into the end zone from the 1-yard line. Littlefield’s Kevin Zapata scored  on a 1-yard run to trim the Snyder lead to 27-13.
Mandrell said one of the objectives before next week’s home game against Brownwood will be cutting down the turnovers, especially in the red zone.
“Three turnovers in the red zone kills you,” he said. “We must eliminate that or it will be a long year. The win gives us momentum going into the next game.”

Snyder    8    6    7    6—27
Littlefield    0    0    7     6—13
SNYDER 27, LITTLEFIELD 13
First Quarter
SNYDER — Greg Williams 21 run (Logan Greene run), 1:29.
Second Quarter
SNYDER — Greene 2 run (pass failed), 10:31.
Third Quarter
LITTLEFIELD — Isaiah Rios 28 run (Melvin Johnson kick), 10:33.
SNYDER — Shawl Lentz 28 pass from Greene (Jorge Olivarez kick), 7:07.
Fourth Quarter
SNYDER — J.J. Burns 1 run (kick failed), 10:54.
LITTLEFIELD — Kevin Zapata 1 run (kick failed), 1:01.
    SHS            LHS
First Downs    13    12
    By rush    11    11
    By pass    2    0
    By penalty    0    1
Total yards    291    231
Rushes-yards    28-211    44-231
Passing-yards     81    0
Comp-Att-Int    4-7-3    1-6-0
Punts     1-73    4-37.3
Fumbles-lost    1-1     1-1
Penalties-yards    10-80    6-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Snyder, J.J. Burns 17-123, Greg Williams 9-87, Bryce Ford 1-1, Logan Greene 1-0, . Littlefield, Isaiah Rios 23-140, Brent Green 9-61, Robert Ross 5-11, Marcus Hinojos 6-14, Kevin Zapata 1-5.
PASSING —  Snyder, Greene 3-6-3 for 44 yards; Nathan Kendrick 1-1-0 for 37 yards. Littlefield, Green 1-6-0 for 0 yards.
RECEIVING —  Snyder, Shawl Lentz 2-36, Jayden Samaniego 1-37, Jake Chavez 1-8. Littlefield Luke Sierra 1-0.