Snyder routs Pecos in regular season finale

PECOS —  Snyder warmed up for the Class 4A Division II football playoffs by defeating Pecos 56-20 in the regular season finale Friday.
After a 14-14 tie late in the first quarter, Snyder scored 28 unanswered points to close out the first half  and added two touchdowns in the second half to finish as the No. 2 seed for District 1-4A Division II.
Snyder (8-2, 4-1) will play Dalhart (6-4) at 7 p.m. Friday in a bi-district playoff game at Plainview’s Greg Sherwood Memorial Stadium.
“We played well on offense in the first half,” head coach Cory Mandrell said. “We knew in a game like this we wanted to jump out early and not give them anything to be excited about, and we did that. We wanted to go into halftime with complete control of the game. All we wanted in the second half was to run the clock and stay healthy for the playoffs.”
Pecos gained 203 of its 328 total yards in the first half with quarterback Jonathan Aguilar rushing for 76 yards and passing for 93 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown pass.
“The defense didn’t play well in the first half,” Mandrell said. “We didn’t do a good job of tackling the big back (Armando Granado) and the quarterback. We  played down to their level on defense at times. It is over and done. The defense played well most of the year. I expect the defense will play well next week. They will be ready for the playoffs.”
Snyder scored on five of its seven first-half possessions, and on a special teams’ play — Nathan Kendrick’s 48-yard punt return.
“We got it rolling in the first half and played like the past two games,” quarterback Logan Greene said. “We have been clicking on offense and can’t slow down with the playoffs coming. People may see we played easy teams the last three games, but if you don’t do what you need to do, you don’t put the points on the board.”
Greene said the offense refocused after not scoring a touchdown against Midland Greenwood. Since that loss, Snyder has scored 154 points.
“It has all been great since the middle of the season,” he said. “If one guy is not clicking, someone else picked up the slack. It takes all 11 guys playing well. Jayden (Samaniego) had a good game and we have other good receivers in Nathan, Jake (Chavez), Shawl (Lentz), Timothy (Sosa) and Kaden (Montoya).”
Freshman Cameron Smith made an impact in his first varsity game. Smith rushed for 64 yards and one touchdown and threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Samaniego.
“The first thing that came into my mind was the faster pace of the varsity game,” Smith said. “I got my energy flowing and went out there and tried to do my best. It felt good when throwing the touchdown pass on the second play, but it was nerve-wracking. The long run in the second half also was good. I had tons of fun.”
Smith said the experience will help him during the playoffs.
“It is a big transition from JV and you don’t realize that until you are in the game,” he said. “It helped my nerves and should help me be more successful next time.”
Mandrell said Smith showed what he could do and it could help in the playoffs.
“It was a good experience for Cam to play for the first time under the Friday night lights,” Mandrell said. “He experienced the game speed at the varsity level. He is an athlete and showed it. You might see that again in the playoffs.”
Smith gave Snyder the lead when he took a pitch from Greene on a reverse, stopped and connected with Samaniego for the 65-yard touchdown pass.
Pecos scored on its first possession when Aguilar completed an 82-yard touchdown pass to Chuck Hernandez. Aguilar ran for the 2-point conversion as Pecos took an 8-7 lead with 11:12 left in the first quarter.
Logan McGinnis scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 47-yard drive as Snyder regained the lead.
Jorge Olivarez extra point kick gave Snyder a 14-8 lead, but Pecos quickly tied it on Aguilar’s 11-yard run.
Snyder pulled ahead for good on Kendrick’s punt return as the Tigers took a 21-14 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Greene threw an 11-yard touchdown to Chavez, Kendrick scored on a 40-yard run and Greg Williams scored on a 28-yard touchdown run. Olivarez kicked one extra point and Greene threw a 2-point conversion pass to Chavez to give Snyder a 42-14 halftime lead.
“It’s tough at halftime of games like this to know what to say to motivate them,” Mandrell said. “I told them we wanted to finish the game. We  played a lot of players in the second half. We still wanted more points and the offense executed well in the second half when they had the opportunity.”
In the third quarter, J.J. Burns had a 27-yard touchdown run and Smith scored on a 55-yard run. Grandado’s 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter capped the scoring.

SNYDER 56, PECOS 20
Snyder    21    21    14    0—56
Pecos    14    0    0     6—20
First Quarter
SNYDER — Jayden Samaniego 65 pass from Cameron Smith (Jorge Olivarez kick), 11:38.
PECOS — Chuck Hernandez 82 pass from Jonathan Aguilar  (Aguilar run), 11:12.
SNYDER — Logan McGinnis 1 run (Olivarez kick), 7:21.
PECOS — Aguilar 11 run  (pass failed), 4:24.
SNYDER — Nathan Kendrick 48 punt return (Olivarez kick), 7:21.
Second Quarter
SNYDER — Jake Chavez 11 pass from Logan Greene (kick failed), 9:25.
SNYDER — Kendrick 40 run (Chavez pass from Greene), 4:35.
SNYDER — Greg Williams 28 run (Olivarez kick), 2:15.
Third Quarter
SNYDER — J.J. Burns 27 run (Olivarez kick), 5:53.
SNYDER — Cameron Smith 55 run (Olivarez kick), 2:01.
Fourth Quarter
PECOS — Armando Granado 10 run  (pass failed), 8:27
            SHS           PHS
First Downs    17    16
    By rush    11    13
    By pass    5    3
    By penalty    1    0
Total yards    454    328
Rushes-yards    31-299    40-223
Passing yards     155    105
Comp-Att-Int    9-18-0    3-15-1
Punts     0-0    3-31.7
Fumbles-lost    0-0     1-1
Penalties-yards    2-10    6-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Snyder, J.J. Burns 17-118; Cameron Smith 5-64; Nathan Kendrick 1-40; Greg Williams 4-35; Logan Greene 2-33; Timothy Sosa 1-8; Logan McGinnis 1-1. Pecos, Jonathan Aguilar 19-128; Armando Granado 21-95.
PASSING — Snyder, Logan Greene 8-17-0—90, 1 TD; Cameron Smith 1-1-0—65, 1 TD. Pecos, Jonathan Aguilar 3-15-1—105, 1 TD.
RECEIVING —  Snyder, Jayden Samaniego 3-101; Jake Chavez 3-11; Nathan Kendrick 2-21; Shawl Lentz 1-22. Pecos, Chuck Hernandez 1-82; Randall Wilson 1-12; Sebastian Garza 1-11.