But May 17th-year head coach Craig Steele was quick to warn his team the Blum squad it will be facing at 6 p.m. Saturday in Dublin for a berth in the state championship game will be much different from the one the Tigers defeated earlier this season.
“When we found our right after our game that Blum had won I talked to them on the field in Ozona about how this wasn’t the same team we saw before,” said Steele, who is looking to guide May to its third state berth during his tenure after back-to-back trips in 2013 and 2014. “We’ve watched film with the kids from the first time we played them until now to show them how much better they are, how the changes they’ve made and them being healthy has made them a better team. They’re playing really good football right now plus they’ve been here and done this. Last year they lost to McLean and Jonesboro early in the year and came back and beat both of them on the way to winning state, so this is a group of kids and a coaching staff at Blum that has been there and done that, so I’m sure they have a lot of confidence that they can get this done.”
In May’s 74-28 win over Blum, the Tigers raced out to a 38-6 lead in the first period and never looked back. Up 38-14 at halftime, May increased the lead to 66-22 in the third quarter and ended the game via the 45-point mercy rule in the fourth.
May generated 309 yards of total offense – 285 rushing and 24 passing – and returned two kicks for touchdowns, both by Kaden Halk covering 75 yards apiece.
Isidro Salinas led the ground game with 93 yards and three touchdowns, Halk chipped in 79 yards and two scores, Rory Bustamante rushed for 43 yards, Korbin Bass tacked on 40, Damian Salinas added 14 yards with a touchdown, Aaron McGinn contributed 10 yards and Blake Harrell rushed for 6 yards.
Harrell completed a 14-yard pass to Bustamante, while Bustamante hurled a 10-yard scoring toss to Halk.
Defensive standouts for May included Hayden King (13 tackles, a fumble recovery, and 5 tackles for loss), Chris Flenniken (8 tackles, a fumble caused, and 2 tackles for loss), Isidro Salinas (8 tackles), Harrell (5 tackles, a fumble caused, and a fumble recovery for a TD), Halk (5 tackles, and an interception), and Damian Salinas (5 tackles).
“When we played them the first time they weren’t healthy, and we knew going in that they weren’t,” Steele said. “Now they’re healthy and Coach (Cooper) Thornhill has made some personnel changes within his starters and moved some kids around to different positions and that’s really paid off for them. They’re peaking at the right time, playing their best football right now.
“Their starting tailback was out and he’s 195-pound kid that can run downhill and runs hard. We’re going to have to do a good job on him as far as tackling. They took a kid that was a lineman and moved him to quarterback and he’s really fixed some of the problems they were having and really solidified that position for them. He’s really found the right mixture within his team to be successful. That’s good coaching on his part and we’ll definitely have to bring our ‘A’ game.”
In playoff action, Blum has upended Coolidge (58-28), Saint Jo (56-28) and previously-undefeated Union Hill (62-50).
During Blum’s second-round victory over Saint Jo, the Bobcats trailed 14-8 after one quarter, led 34-14 at halftime and took a 48-14 advantage in the fourth period. The Bobcats allowed 308 yards and forced two turnovers, while generating 376 yards – 220 rushing and 156 passing – with a pair of turnovers.
Koby Clickscales rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 31 yards, while Trey Bullard threw for 125 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Braden Horn caught three passes for 57 yards, Tucker Willingham grabbed two scoring receptions totaling 61 yards, Iven Rawls hauled in a 34-yard touchdown reception and Laine Goode chipped in a 9-yard scoring catch. Armando DeHoyos also rushed for 36 yards and a touchdown.
May’s playoff wins have come at the hands of Irion County (46-0), Jonesboro (62-16) and Leakey (72-38).
Against Leakey in the Region IV championship game, May faced a 38-32 deficit at halftime. The Tigers, however, held Leakey to 68 yards in the second half and created three of its four takeaways.
“We haven’t really had a game like that so I was worried at halftime because we haven’t been in that situation this year, but our kids really came through in a big way for us,” Steele said. “I think that gives us a lot of confidence and we’ve been pushing hard so it’s not overconfidence. They need to keep their feet on the floor, really focus this week and not look ahead because looking ahead doesn’t do you any good if you don’t win this week.”
For the season, May is averaging 58 points and 333 yards per game – 243 rushing and 90 passing.
The ground attack is led by Halk (842 rushing yards, 19 TDs) – coming off a 337-yard, 7-touchdown performance against Leakey – Bustamante (775 rushing yards, 14 TDs), Isidro Salinas (536 rushing yards, 11 TDs), McGinn (303 yards, 5 TDs), and Damian Salinas (276 rushing yards, 6 TDs).
Through the air, Bustamante has thrown for 613 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception while Blake Harrell has added 543 yards with 10 scoring tosses and one pick.
Leading receivers include Flenniken (13-288, 5 TDs), Halk (12-292, 5 TDs), King (8-252, 5 TDs), Isidro Salinas (6-125, 2 TDs), and Cross (6-113, 3 TDs).
Defensively, the Tigers allow just 17 points per game with 35 takeaways – 17 fumble recoveries and 18 interceptions – including eight returned for touchdowns.
Standouts include King (129 tackles, 32.5 for loss, 3 FRs), Isidro Salinas (89 tackles, 13.5 for loss, 1 INT), Flenniken (72 tackles, 17.5 for loss, 2 FRs, 2 INTs), Brian Kunkel (59 tackles, 10 for loss, 3 FRs), Bustamante (56 tackles, 4 for loss, 5 INTs, 2 FRs), Halk (50 tackles, 1 for loss, 7 INTs, 1 FR), Harrell (43 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 FR), Damian Salinas (41 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 FR, 1 INT), and McGinn (35 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 INTs, 2 FRs).
Regarding the keys to a May victory, Steele said, “We have to keep our heads about us and understand they’re going to make some plays because of the improvement they’ve made. We just have to trust what we’re doing. We need to pick up where we left off in the second half of the Leakey game, continue with that and not backtrack. Trust the game plan, execute the game plan, and hold on to the football and we’ll be fine.”
According to sixmanfootball.com, May is a 45-point favorite.
Saturday’s winner will face either No. 1 Sterling City (13-0) or No. 2 Borden County (11-2) in the Class A Division II state championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16.