Frenship Tiger Football made a resounding statement Friday night with a 31-0 season opening win over the Amarillo High Golden Sandstorm at People’s Bank Stadium. The Tigers (1-0) lost the same contest 49-41 on the road in 2018. That offensive slugfest at Dick Bivins Stadium saw 6 touchdowns scored in the 4th quarter alone. The 2019 rematch was a very different story.
The Tigers’ stingy defense gave up no points and only allowed 67 passing yards and 65 rushing yards by the Sandies’ offense. Junior linebacker Tristin Laughlin and senior defensive tackle Cayson Brito each tallied 6 tackles on the day and 2 solo tackles apiece, Laughlin also hit the backfield for a tackle for loss. Safety Carson Anderson added another 5 tackles while linebacker Jake Gilbert, safety Alyjah Garcia, and defensive end Evan Barboza all chipped in 4 tackles each. Nose tackle Isaiah Vasquez was flying to the ball all night, he notched 3 tackles with 1 sack and 2 tackles for loss.
On the offensive side of the ball, Senior quarterback Donovan Smith was impressive in his debut in a Tiger uniform going 31/45 for 321 yards, and 1 touchdown. Smith added 29 yards on 6 carries and another touchdown on the ground. Senior wide receiver and captain Drew Hocutt led the way receiving with 10 snags for 93 yards and Klein Coker with the big play catch of the day grabbed a 68-yard bomb from Smith for the lone receiving touchdown. Junior running back William Bayouth led the way on the ground with 13 carries for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Tigers will be back in action Friday night completing the second half of a home and home series with Wichita Falls Hirschi. Game time is set for 7:00pm from Wichita Falls Memorial Stadium and the game can be heard in Lubbock on Double T 97.3FM or anywhere on the Double T 97.3 mobile app. The full game will be available for viewing at www.frenship.tv by Noon on Saturday, September 7.
