Snyder rally comes up short in loss to Sweetwater

Snyder trailed by three touchdowns in the first half for the second straight game and could not recover.

The Tigers, who trailed 38-7 going into the fourth quarter, finished the game by scoring 22 points in a 44-29 loss to No. 10 Sweetwater at Tiger Stadium Friday.

Sweetwater (4-0) built a 22-0 lead during the first 17 minutes of the game and added two touchdowns in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Snyder (2-2) started slow on offense, but was able to move the ball during the fourth quarter.

The Tigers faced a similar situation against Monahans in last week’s 41-27 loss.

“We need to work more like a team and become mentally tougher,” Snyder head coach James Polk said. “It’s gets old to say that you kept battling, but sooner or later, we need to get the job done. I’ve got no idea why we waited and scored 22 points in the fourth quarter. That looks great and sounds good, but at the end of the game, why do we wait until the fourth quarter. It’s still a loss.”

Sweetwater’s Chris Thompson, who had split time with Max Gomez at quarterback, played the entire game. Thompson completed 21-of-29 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns. Michael Lawrence caught 12 passes for 225 yards and two scores.

“We utilized our run-pass game and it came together for the offense,” Sweetwater head coach Shane Mobley said. “This is the first game that we went with one quarterback for the entire game. The coach preached that we must score after every turnover and first series of a half.”

The Tigers had 283 yards total offense — 86 rushing and 197 passing. Logan Tate completed 15-of-26 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown.

“Sweetwater runs its offense well,” Polk said. “I got outcoached and must figure out a way to right the ship. There are definitely changes that need to be made. We have to do better and this was embarrassing. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”

“We were outsized at all positions, but kept playing hard,” Mobley said. “This is a very big victory. Two years ago against Snyder here, we made mistakes in the red zone.”

Jordan McGee’s interception set up Sweetwater’s first touchdown. Thompson completed three passes, including two to Lawrence to set up the score.

After Jacoby Hunt gained one yard on a first-and-goal at the 3, he scored on the next play with 4:40 left in the quarter. Lawrence caught the two-point conversion pass from Thompson to give Sweetwater an 8-0 lead.

The Mustangs extended the lead after forcing a three-and-out and taking over at the 43. The drive was able to keep going after Sweetwater converted a fourth down and ended when Thompson hit Lawrence on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds left in the quarter. Max Gomez caught the two-point conversion pass from Thompson.

In the second quarter, Sweetwater claimed a three-touchdown lead by driving 56 yards on five plays. Lowell Williams’ 16-yard touchdown run with 9:48 left in the half gave Snyder a 22-0 lead.

Snyder answered with a seven-play, 54-yard drive. The Tigers used a personal foul penalty against Sweetwater to maintain the drive. Jaden Zamora scored on a 5-yard run with 7:06 left in the first half. Jarrett Reneau’s extra point kick cut the deficit to 22-7.

Sweetwater started the second half by driving 90 yards on three plays to increase the lead. Thompson had a 12-yard run and then hit Denzell Moore on a 17-yard completion. With 11:07 left in the quarter, Thompson and Lawrence connected on a 61-yard touchdown pass. Lawrence caught the two-point conversion pass from Thompson to give Sweetwater a 30-7 lead.

The Mustangs scored again before the end of the quarter. DeShaun Williams caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Thompson with 3:04 on the clock. Gomez’ two-point conversion run increased the lead to 38-7.

The Tigers offense was able to move the ball during the fourth quarter. Snyder reached the Sweetwater 28 with the help of a personal foul penalty and 10-yard pass from Tate to Taylor Munkres. Zamora ran the ball on the next plays for 10 yards and later Abram Smith caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Tate with 11:49 left. Tate’s two-point conversion run cut the lead to 38-15.

Snyder attempted an onside kick and Brandon Chester recovered the ball at the Sweetwater 43. 

“That’s a part of a rivalry game (onside kick),” Mobley said. “My hat goes off to coach Polk for getting his team to play hard and never quit. The onside kick was my fault because I decided not to go with the hands team. We had the ball in our hands and didn’t catch it.”

The drive started with a Dralon Jackson 21-yard reception. Zamoro then ran 22 yards to the two. Facing fourth down, Zamora scored from two yards out with 8:40 left in the game.

Thompson then recovered the second onside kick attempt with Sweetwater leading, 38-23.

The Mustangs put an insurance touchdown on the board when Thompson scored on a 9-yard run.

But the Tigers did not quit. Munkres returned the ensuing kickoff 48 yards to the Sweetwater 38. Tate connected on a 33-yard pass to Jackson and scored two plays later on a 4-yard run with 4:21 left in the game. Tate also ran for the two-point conversion.

The Tigers will turn now their attention to Midland Greenwood and the homecoming game next weekend.

“Greenwood took a good Shallowater team to three overtimes and won last week,” Polk said. “They are riding high. All of our focus now will go on Greenwood and figure how what we need to do to improve as a team.”