Marfa Shorthorns gained an historic first win as a six-man team, Friday night before an excited home-field crowd, defeating the Sanderson Eagles 55-42.
The Shorthorns got off to a slow start, allowing 14 points by Sanderson in the first quarter. By the second, however, the defensive squad began to flex their muscles, holding the Eagles through 4 downs and taking possession of the ball with 7:55 left until the half. A completed pass during that drive brought the Horns to midfield, followed by a run from #7, Robert Morales, which put the Horns at 1st and goal from the 9 yard line. Marfa’s first TD of the game soon followed, with just under 6 minutes remaining in the half.
The Horn’s momentum only seemed to build from there, complimented by a botched snap on Sanderson’s part that cost the Eagles 20 yards. Morales, whose performance largely steered the course of the game and contributed to the win, delivered a nearly field-length TD run with 3 minutes left in the half, bringing the score to 14-14. However, Sanderson managed to return the effort and brought the score to 20-14 just a minute later. The Horns held strong though, completing a pass for a TD with just a minute left in the half, but failed to score as they went for the conversion. The score was a tense 20-20 at the half.
Marfa took an edge over Sanderson in the second half, bringing the score to 35-20 with 4:30 to go in the third. The Eagles got in a quick TD with just 44 seconds left in the quarter, kicking for the extra points and bringing the score to 35-28, Marfa.
The Marfa offense continued to reign in on Sanderson in the fourth, driving in a touchdown and completing the kick for extra points, which brought the score to 43-28. The last minutes of the game proved energetic as Morales again scored a long run for the Shorthorns with just 2 minutes remaining and Sanderson returned with a FG kick about a minute later, taking the score to 49-36 with Marfa still at the helm. Morales again ran in a TD, giving Marfa a comfortable 55-36 lead, though the Eagles did manage to answer as they scooped up an onside kick for a TD with just 35 seconds left in the game. Sanderson then missed the kick for extra points and failed to reach the end-zone again.
The consistent Marfa offense and Morales’ crucial runs, in no doubt bolstered by the crowd’s enthusiasm and mascot Bullit’s wildly exuberant performance, granted Marfa with a much-needed 55-42 win after last week’s 47-0 loss against Grandfalls-Royalty. The Shorthorns hit the road for the next 4 weekends,playing Balmorhea, Sierra Blanca, Ft. Hancock and El Paso before returning to Martin Field October 12.
Marfa v. Sanderson: 55-42 – final. The Marfa Shorthorns take on the Balmorhea Bears Friday, Sept. 14th at 7:30 pm in Balmorhea.
