FLOYDADA — The New Home Leopards led by freshman quarterback Caleb Cook executed a diversified passing game to defeat the Floydada Whirlwinds 34-20 at Charles Tyer Stadium on Friday.
Cook played like an upperclassmen in utilizing 10 receivers for 375 yards and four touchdowns all in the air. When New Home went to its uptempo no-huddle offense, it appeared to cause problems for Floydada’s defense, especially the first few times the Leopards used it.
“New Home did pose some problems especially in the first half. Our coaches made some adjustments of going with our base defense and stop flipping the players around. When we settled down, our kids played some good defense. New Home’s quarterback did a good job of finding the guys in the open. I sure credit him for that,” explained Floydada coach J.R. Compton.
After a scoreless first quarter, New Home scored three touchdowns with a pair of passes from Cook to Spencer Keys (five yards) and Jackson Raines (60 yards), plus a one-yard plunge by Alex Vitolas.
Floydada got on the scoreboard with a seven-yard run by Andres Mendoza. The Whirlwinds trailed 20-6 at halftime.
“I thought the Whirlwinds made improvements in the second half, especially when we cut it to a one touchdown deficit of 20-14 to start the fourth quarter. I thought our defensive front (Davian Ramos, Edgar Cervera and Adam Delgado) and inside linebacker Iziaih Alvarado did a good of containing New Home’s running game. Jayson Cooper and Saul Reyes played good at safeties,” said Compton. Floydada did have some bright spots like two interceptions by Saul Reyes and a pair of touchdowns by Izaiah Alvarado in the second half. The versatile Alvarado got in the end zone on a two-yard run and a 12-yard pass from Trace Glasscock.
The Whirlwinds opened the game with a nine-play, 64-yard drive that stalled out at New Home’s seven yard line. It was very similar to what happened to Floydada at Lockney, and a couple of possessions against Smyer.
New Home sealed the victory with two nice touchdown passes from Cook to Alex Vasquez for 29 yards, and 28 yards to Logan Addison.
