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The San Saba Armadillos used a balanced attack to defeat the Coleman Bluecats last Friday at Rogan Field. San Saba had 161 yards running and 148 yards passing while the stifling defense limited Coleman to 147 yards total offense. The win put the Dillos at 8-2 for the regular season and they are getting ready for the playoffs.

San Saba won the toss and deferred to the second half. Coleman returned the Diego Gonzalez kick to the 20. After allowing a first down, the Armadillo stiffened and forced the punt. San Saba took over on the Dillo 40.

A 30-yard pass from Ryan Pannell to Jason Wells set up San Saba at the Cat 25. Jack Whitten scored from there on a nice run. Gonzalez was true on the PAT and San Saba had the 7-0 lead with 7:10 to go in the quarter. Gonzalez kicked 7-7 PATs in the game.

A fumble on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by Wil Sloan and San Saba had the ball at the Bluecat 30. A sack on 3rd down forced a punt by Max Palacio. The punt rolled dead at the 8 yard line.

Coleman moved the ball down the field with help from some untimely penalties by San Saba. The drive ended when Hayden Oliver recovered a fumble at midfield.

Chase Key capped the drive with a nice run after a short pass from Pannell for a 36-yard touchdown. Key eluded several Bluecat defenders on the play. The PAT made it 14-0.

The quarter ended with Coleman moving down the field. On the second play of the second quarter, Gary Gant stepped in front of the Coleman receiver for the interception. Gant raced 49 yards for the touchdown. The PAT ran the score to 21-0.

Diego Gonzalez put the kickoff through the end zone for a touchback. Starting at the 20, the Bluecats gained a first down before punting back to San Saba.

A 3rd down pass from Pannell was intercepted by Garrett Mendoza and returned to the Bluecat 41.

The Armadillo defense stiffened and stopped Coleman on 4th down to get the ball back at the Dillo 39 with 3:40 left in the half. Anthony Salinas scored on a 2-yard run to finish the drive. The scoreboard showed a 28-0 lead for San Saba.

Coleman ran out the clock to end the half.

San Saba got the ball to start the second half. The kick was returned to the Coleman 46. Three plays later, Ryan Pannell found Chase Key in the corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. The Diego Gonzalez kick improved the score to 35-0.

Coleman gained some yards before the San Saba defense stopped the Cats on 4th down at the Dillo 35.

A nice catch and run by Braden McBee set the Armadillos up deep in Bluecat territory. Pannell connected with Chance Gotcher on a 17-yard touchdown to top off the drive. The PAT made the score 42-0.

The teams traded punts in the next 3:00 of the game with Colman having the ball as the 3rd quarter ended.

Coleman had the drive end on a play rarely seen. The Bluecats tried a “hook and lateral” play where the receiver catches a pass and the laterals to a trailing runner hoping to catch the defense out of position for a big gain. This time, Gary Gant stepped in front of the lateral for the fumble recovery and giving the ball to the San Saba offense at the Coleman 30.

The Armadillos drove down the field using time-consuming running plays and second team players. The drive ended when Gant scored on a 22-yard run. The PAT increased the score to 49-0.

Coleman tried to avoid the shut out but turned the ball over on downs with 1:01 left on the clock at the Dillo 36. San Saba ran two “kneel-down” plays to run out the clock and the 49-0 win.

San Saba ends the regular season at 8-2, the best regular season since 1994. The Dillos were 8-2 that year and lost to the Clifton Cubs in the first round in Killeen.

Jack Whitten led the running game with 84 yards on 5 carries and a touchdown. Gant had 41 yards in 5 rushes and a score, while Hayden Oliver added 39 yards. Chase Key led the receivers with 4 catches for 65 yards and 2 scores. Chance Gotcher had a 17-yard score, Braden McBee and Jason Wells added one catch each.

The defense was led in the trenches by Tucker Cromer and Anthony Salinas. Diego Gonzalez and Gant contributed pass defense. Others adding the shut out effort were Oliver, Wil Sloan, Wells, Pete Torres, Whitten, Tyler McIntosh, Key, Max Palacio, Isaac Jimenez and Juan Garcia.

Brady finished the season at 10-0 with their win over Bangs and Early downed Dublin. The playoffs start this week with Brady playing the Jim Ned Indians in Brownwood. The Comanche Indians take on the Colorado City Wolves in Abilene and the Armadillos travel to Early Longhorn Stadium to tackle the Wall Hawks. Kickoff is set for Friday night at 7:30. Come out and support the team through the playoffs.