The Abernathy Antelopes traveled to Benny Douglas Stadium to face the Muleshoe Mules. Both teams came into this game 3-1, looking to take the next steps in their 2022 campaign.  

Muleshoe’s defense forced Abernathy to cough up the ball on their first drive. Coach Richards gave the nod to sophomore quarterback, Nathan Martens.  

Abernathy’s defense came to play as defensive back Ethan Piaz (20) turned his interception into a touchdown early in the first quarter. With 1:38 left in the first quarter, Sianez punched in a Muleshoe touchdown. Piaz answered back quickly with an 85-yard kickoff return to make the game 14-7 in Abernathy’s favor. 

Kaleb Harrell drove the Lopes into Muleshoe territory, but Judas Reyes was there to defend with an interception in the end zone. Soon after, Martens connected with Eliasar (Bones) Cisneros to make it 14-14. The Lopes were forced to punt it away once again. Martens and company got right back to work, scoring on a halfback pass from Torres to Cisneros.  

Abernathy came out hot in the second half as Harrell found Landry Miller over the middle of the field to tie the game 20-20. On the Lopes’ next possession, Muleshoe’s Irvin Torres sparked a fire with an interception on the Abernathy 20-yard line. Just after, Sianez carried the rock into the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown. Torres kicked the point after to give the Mules a 27-20 lead.  

The Lopes marched down the field but were unable to convert. This gave the Mules the ball with 7 minutes left in the game. Torres faked out the defense with a fake punt to convert on downs. Minutes later, Muleshoe punted the ball away with 2:22 left to play. Harrell and the Lopes started their drive at their own 25-yard line. The crowd went crazy as Abernathy drove the ball down the field without any time outs.  Harrell scrambled for a 20-yard gain, leaving 58 seconds on the clock.  Davian McMullen sacked Harrell for a loss of 12 yards. With 8 seconds left, Noah Cantu picked off the pass from Kaleb Harrell, sealing the win for the Mules.  

The Abernathy Antelopes will have a bye week before beginning district play. The Muleshoe Mules will host Brownfield on Friday at 7 p.m.