Tigers come up short in 42-27 loss to Monahans

A pair of late touchdown receptions from receiver Peyton Adams lifted the Monahans Loboes (2-5, 1-2) over the Snyder Tigers (1-5, 1-1) in a District 1-4A Division 1 football game at Tiger Stadium Friday.
Both teams racked up more than 300 yards on offense and the Tigers tied their previous most points scored in a game this season, but Snyder was unable to stop the Monahans passing game late in the second half.
Monahans quarterback Bond Heflin started the game 0-for-8 passing as the Snyder defense forced two straight three-and-outs and three Loboe punts on the first three drives. However, Monahans defense was just as stingy early on.
On the third drive of the first quarter, the Tigers fumbled the ball at their own 20-yard line and Monahans’ senior Matt Juarez scooped it up and ran it 20 yards for the Loboes’ first points of the game. Monahans took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Loboes got back into the end zone early in the second quarter when busted coverage led to an 84-yard touchdown pass from Heflin to Jaheam Amos.
The Tigers responded when junior quarterback Leeroy Tavarez threw a touchdown pass to Derek Dominguez to cut the lead to 14-7.
Snyder got into the red zone again on its next drive thanks to more than 50 passing yards from Tavarez. Senior running back Greg Williams got Snyder into the end zone on a 1-yard run. The Tigers missed the extra point kick and trailed, 14-13.
The Loboes looked poised to answer when Heflin hit a wide-open junior Bradden Kesey over the middle, but as Kesey crossed the 10-yard line, he lost the football and Snyder’s Jayden Samaniego jumped on it. The Loboes held Snyder and took a 14-13 lead into halftime.
Snyder opened the second half on offense and quickly moved the ball down the field. Tavarez completed a 33-yard pass to Dominguez to move the Tigers into the red zone, but an interception two plays later ended the drive.
The Loboes quickly capitalized when senior running back Lewis Wesley broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown run.
The Tigers responded with another long drive, capped by another Williams touchdown run, this one from three yards out. Samaniego added the 2-point conversion run and the Tigers tied the game at 21-21 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Loboes opened the fourth quarter with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Heflin to Amos to reclaim the lead. Monahans scored again on its next drive when Adams caught a 9-yard touchdown pass over the head of Snyder sophomore Maverick Hernandez to increase the lead to 35-21.
Williams found the end zone for a third time on an 11-yard scoring run, giving the Tigers a chance at 35-27. The Loboes added a second Adams touchdown reception, a 38-yard catch, to extend the lead to 42-27.
“We made too many mistakes, didn’t start quick enough on offense. Now we have to live with it,” Snyder head coach Wes Wood said. “We should’ve, would’ve, could’ve won that game for sure. If we had started our offense to match how well our defense started, it was one of those things where we could have jumped on them and it could have been a blowout, but it didn’t work out that way.”
The Tigers will travel to face the No. 4 Midland Greenwood Rangers on Friday. The last time the Tigers were on the road to face an undefeated team, they pulled out a close win. Wood said he hopes the players approach the Greenwood game the same way they did the 14-12 win over Fort Stockton.
“My message all week is going to be the same as it was against Fort Stockton,” he said. “We have to put our best foot forward and I feel like we finally did it. We have to put all three parts of the game together. That’s our goal. We just have to get better and fix the mistakes that we made.”