Buffalo tight end Payton Doty, center, blocks a Viking linebacker Kaden Blake to give Prairie View running back Parker Schwarz running room in the game against Parsons on Friday night.
(Photos by Roger Sims)
By Roger Sims
The Parsons Vikings have been a nemesis for Prairie View football over the past few years. Both 3A teams, Parsons has dominated the fives games the two teams have played against each other in recent years.
That happened again on Friday as the Vikings quickly shot down the hopes of a Buffalo season-opening win by a score of 42-8.
The season opener was a shakedown for both teams as both had turnovers and picked up penalties. However, Parsons was able to take advantage of the Buffalos’ mistakes.
After receiving the kickoff, the Vikings got on the board on seven plays early in the first quarter. Viking senior running back Jahmarion Washington carried the ball into the end zone, and senior kicker Jayce Quirin, who excelled throughout most of the night, added the extra point.
Prairie View's Wyatt Atteberry, right, breaks up a pass meant for Viking J.J. Kendrick.
Prairie View sophomore Parker Schwarz took the ensuing kickoff to the Buffalos’ 29, and Prairie View advanced the ball to their own 44 before losing a fumble on the 45.
A holding penalty against Parsons on the next play dropped them back to their own 46, first and 21.
The Buffalo defense, Viking penalties, a fumble and an incomplete pass stopped the Parsons drive on the Buffalo 38, and Quirin punted the ball to the Buffalo 1-yard line.
Using a combination of Schwartz, junior running back Elijah Williams and sophomore running back Josh Goodwin, the Buffalos were able to dig out of that hole, moving the ball to their own 36. But faced with a fourth-and-15 and a call to punt, a misfire gave the Vikings the ball on the Prairie View 36.
Parsons made it into the end zone on a 12-yard pass to senior wide receiver Landon Wheat, and with an extra point drilled through the uprights, it was the Vikings up, 14-0, four minutes into the second quarter.
Senior Jacob Mills took the kickoff for the Buffalos with an 18-yard return to their own 26. From there senior quarterback Gabe Murillo scrambled for a 4-yard gain to the Prairie View 30. A carry by Goodwin was stopped at the line of scrimmage, and Schwarz moved to the 35 yard line, fourth and 2. But a delay of game penalty pushed the Buffalos back another five yards to their own 30.
Buffalo running back Josh Goodwin tries to power through the Viking secondary.
A 1-yard Buffalo punt gave the Vikings field position on the 41 yard line, but Prairie View halted the Parsons march to the end zone at the Buffalo 28.
Prairie View junior linebacker Stevie McGuire put enough pressure on the Parsons kicker to make him miss a 45-yard field goal attempt, and the Buffalos took over the ball on their own 20 yard line. But two plays later, Parsons intercepted a Murillo pass and ran it in for a touchdown. With the extra point good, the Buffalos were down 21-0.
With just over two minutes left in the first half, Prairie View worked its way to the Parsons 27 yard line using a combination of carries by Goodwin and Schwarz, including a 14-yard rush by Goodwin and a 19-yard run by Schwarz.
With 28 seconds left in the half, Murillo went to the air for the next three plays. But with the Parsons defense providing triple coverage of Buffalo receivers, the Prairie View quarterback threw three incomplete passes before the Vikings took over on downs with time for just two plays.
The Buffalos opened the second half with four plays before turning over the ball to Parsons on a fumble. Drawing their second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the fumble, the Vikings began their drive from the Prairie View 42. Eight plays later, Parsons scored again on a 7-yard run, and with a good point-after kick, the Vikings were up 28-0.
Prairie View linebacker Stevie McGuire, with an assist from Wyatt Atteberry wraps up Viking running back Jahmarion Washington as Jacob Mills runs to assist.
Using a Schwarz and Goodwin combination, the Buffalos marched from a kickoff return to the Prairie View 25 to the Vikings 29 before a holding penalty moved the line of scrimmage back 10 yards. But Viking defensive back Mikey Ramsey picked off a Murillo pass and ran it back nearly 70 yards for another Parsons touchdown. The kick was good and the Vikings were up 35-0 at the end of the third quarter.
With the clock running, a blocked punt and a recovery by Parsons on the next Prairie View possession set up a 40 yard touchdown run by Parsons. Again, the kick was on the money, and it looked like the Buffalos would be shut out, 42-0.
But Schwarz managed to break through the Viking secondary on the Buffalos’ next drive, running 77 yards into the end zone. McGuire carried the ball into the end zone for two points, saving the home team from a shutout, 54-8.
Schwarz had 15 carries for 143 rushing yards, or 9.5 yards per carry. Goodwin carried the ball 17 times for a total of 69 yards and an average 4.1 yards per carry.
Goodwin turned in the best defensive performance with the team with 5.5 tackles, senior linebacker Peyton Doty had 4 tackles, and Schwarz had 3.5 tackles as a linebacker.
Prairie View had 228 yards total offense including 226 yards passing and 2 yards in the air.
Parsons had 253 yards of total offense including 87 yards rushing and 166 yards passing.
The Buffalos were 4 of 10 in third-down conversions and turned the ball over six times, including four fumbles and two interceptions. Parsons was 2 of four in third-down conversions and had no turnovers. While the Vikings did fumble the ball, those fumbles didn’t lead to turnovers.
Prairie View will host league opponent Santa Fe Trail Chargers on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. The Chargers lost to league opponent Burlington in their first game of the 2023 season last Friday.
Buffalo linemen Grant Steenburgen, from left, and Jarrett Williams keep the pocket open for quarterback Gabe Murillo as he makes a handoff to Josh Goodwin.
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