Fort Stockton’s offense has done what they want to do, when they want to do it for a majority of their 2021 campaign thus far – averaging 483 yards of offense and 37 points per game through six outings.

But the Panthers defense has been just as impressive as their counterpart the past few weeks.

Fort Stockton faced another elite offensive threat in Crane quarterback Jaxson Willis, who has a Division I offer to play football at Army, on Oct. 1 on the Panthers home turf.
Willis’ Golden Cranes squad were averaging 26 points a game and totaling 291 yards on offense per contest before Friday’s contest. Fort Stockton’s relentless pass rush and fundamentally sound play on the backend of defense held Willis to a season-low in pass yards, and the Cranes to a season-low point total in the Panthers 44-8 victory.

“They’re playing with great effort and when we play with great effort good things are going to happen for us. We have some talented kids,” Fort Stockton head coach Mike Peters said of his team after Friday’s game.

Fort Stockton’s defense tallied three sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, 9.5 tackles for loss, and hauled in two interceptions against Crane. The totals led to a season-low 128 passing yards by Willis and 92 rush yards – the second-lowest mark by the Golden Cranes in 2021.

Jordan Franco recorded a team-best 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Xavier Dominguez and Felipe Sotelo also ended the game with a sack apiece.

Cristian Garcia and Daren Ureste led the Panthers in tackles with eight each.

Peters credited his defense’s physicality, focus, and preparation for their success.

“When you play physical you can change the course of the game. I think our guys have done a great job being prepared and putting that into play on the field,” he said.

The Panthers amassed a season-high 532 yards on offense – 428 of which was on the ground. Quarterback Dominic Aguilar added three rushing touchdowns and 190 yards on the ground on just nine carries (21 yards per carry). His total is now at 17 for the season.

The senior signal caller scored on rushes of 16, 80, and 29 yards. All three scores were in the first half, leading the Panthers to a 38-0 halftime lead.

Pioneer Athlete of the Week Isaiah Garcia scored his third and fourth offensive touchdowns of his career on Friday, while fellow receiver Devon Rodriguez capped the game with a 20-yard TD reception with 4:04 left in the third quarter.

Garcia scored his first rushing TD of his career on a 20-yard run with 2:55 left in the first half and caught a TD on a 62-yard strike from Aguilar.

Fort Stockton’s record improved to 5-1 while the Cranes fell to 4-2. The Panthers will host El Dorado (3-3) for homecoming on Oct. 8.