Jim Ned muscles past Bushland in 3A DI UIL Football Area Playoffs

LUBBOCK — With time winding down in the fourth quarter, the Bushland Falcons had a chance to complete an improbable comeback against the Jim Ned Indians.

The Falcons — who had trailed 24-7 at the start of the fourth quarter — capitalized on a handful of explosive passing plays to quickly tack on two touchdowns.

After another defensive stop, Bushland was set to get the ball back with about 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter trailing Jim Ned by a touchdown.

The Falcons pushed their way downfield in search of a go-ahead score when the Indians’ defense slammed the door on Bushland’s comeback hopes.

Jim Ned senior linebacker Stone Griffon leaped over a Bushland receiver to snag a game-clinching interception that allowed the Indians to run out the clock and muscle their way to a 24-20 victory over Bushland in the area round of the Class 3A Division I Texas high school football playoffs Friday night at Lubbock ISD's Lowrey Field.

“He was wide open,” Griffon said. “I was low hold, supposed to be the drag guy, but I made my way back there somehow and got a little lucky. He shouldn't have been back there, but I was able to help my teammate out.”

“They got a lot of confidence in their ability,” Jim Ned head football coach Johnathan McClure said.

“You know, bad things happen. We talked about that. You can't let your highs get too high and your lows get too low, and they do a great job with that. We were never out of the fight. That's a warrior mentality. That's the way we approach things. And these guys, they embody that.”

The Indians earned a hard-fought area round win with their dominant defense and relentless power running game.

Griffon and junior defensive back Cason Cumby each snagged pivotal second-half interceptions, and Jim Ned’s entire secondary made countless key pass breakups throughout the night.

Jim Ned also dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Senior defensive end Michaiah Powell spearheaded a fierce pass rush, and the Indians’ front seven sealed off inside running lanes for Bushland’s running backs.

“The whole line played amazing today,” Jim Ned senior running back Aiden Ellis said. “They just fought hard the whole game, all four quarters.”

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On the offensive side, Jim Ned ran for 257 yards as a team and averaged 5.8 yards per carry.

Ellis and senior quarterback Cash Gwinn combined to lead the Indians’ rushing attack.

Ellis racked up a game-high 134 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Gwinn, meanwhile, ran for 87 yards and a rushing touchdown and threw for 83 yards and a touchdown on 7-of-15 passing.

“We're real close friends,” Gwinn said. “(When we’re playing together), it’s like let's just run hard and try to run through people.”

Jim Ned (11-1) extends its nine-game winning streak with the victory and advances to face the Paradise Panthers (11-1) in the regional semifinals of the 3A DI UIL Football Playoffs set for 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28, at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.

The matchup will be a rematch of last year’s 3A DI regional semifinals, when the Panthers defeated the Indians 10-7.

“Man, (Paradise) is just super disciplined. They have so much team speed, and we have tons of respect for that program and their coaches and the way they do things,” McClure said.

“We're expecting a battle, no doubt. We're going to be the underdog, and our guys typically respond to that. Hopefully we can give them a great game.”

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Jim Ned muscles past Bushland in 3A DI UIL Football Area Playoffs