WOLFFORTH – The way the 2009 season started for the Frenship football team was in no way indicative of the way the game ended up.

Then again, Frenship has always been about results, not beginnings.

The Tigers overcame the inability to hang on to the football in the first quarter by leaning on its defense, and that allowed the offense to work out the kinks to the tune of a 52-13 victory over Lubbock High that came because the Tigers took advantage of Westerner miscues, but LHS could not do the same.

“I was on the sideline literally just confused by what was going on,” said senior fullback/linebacker Alec Birchfield, who scored the Tigers’ first touchdown on a 35-yard pass from quarterback Brandon Hanslik, then later added a 7-yard TD run in the third quarter.

“Our scrimmage against Snyder we looked good, I guess this was just pregame jitters. Hopefully we’ve got that out of the way for next week. I honestly thought we were going to dig ourselves a hole we couldn’t get out of, but luckily we were able to dig out of it with 52 points.”

Frenship (1-0) put the ball on the ground five times in the first half but lost it just once. Lubbock High (0-1) turned the ball over five times in the game, and the Tigers converted most of those into points, scoring 27 off of five different LHS turnovers.

That allowed Frenship to not only overcome an initial 3-0 Lubbock High lead, but also pull away for the win after the Westerners had closed to within 21-13 with a touchdown late in the first half and a field goal to open the third quarter.

But after the Westerners had closed to within eight points, the Tigers answered with a two-play touchdown drive, the finished the game with three touchdowns and a field goal on four of their final five possessions.

“I told the kids at the half we’d had enough turnovers in the first half to last a season and let’s not have any more,” Frenship coach Brad Davis said. “We were able to come out in the second half and play like we’d hoped to start the game. But in every game you’re going to have adversity and you can either dwell on it or go forward and play the next play. We were able to overcome the adversity and stepped up and put together what I think ended up being a great football game for us.”

It also ended up being a solid debut for a couple of Tigers newcomers. First-time starting quarterback Brandon Hanslik completed 8 of 11 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, and he also had a 1-yard TD run. Sophomore tailback Bobby Huey overcame some early fumbles to finish with 86 rushing yards on 13 carries, and it was his 39-yard score that put Frenship ahead 28-13 and kept the Westerners from turning the momentum of the game.

Lubbock High showed some brilliance of its own in the form of senior quarterback Angel Armendariz and receiver Nathan Slaughter. Armendariz completed 18 of 35 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, and Slaughter finished with seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

But Armendariz also threw a pair of interceptions, one of which was converted into a touchdown, and he was also sacked three times as the Westerners were held to minus-42 yards rushing, some of that coming on a muffed punt snap in the third quarter.

“It’s a bunch of kids to just need to gain confidence, that’s what it is,” LHS head coach Mike Speck said. “They know what they can do but they were nervous and put the ball on the ground, and then we didn’t take advantage of some things. The film will really tell the tale of missed opportunities.”

The Westerners took advantage of the Tigers’ only turnover when Huey fumbled a pitch and Victor Montalvo scooped it up, returning it to the Frenship 8. The Tiger defense stiffened, forcing a 19-yard Kelan Hamman field goal and a 3-0 lead.

From there, though, it was all Frenship for about the next 15 minutes. The Tigers answered the LHS score with the first touchdown of the season as Hanslik capped a 12-play, 79-yard drive by hitting Birchfield out of the backfield down the seam, and Birchfield avoided a pair of tacklers en route to a 35-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead.

On the play prior to the score, however, standout receiver Asheton Hastings was carried off the field with a left leg injury after a 6-yard gain on a reverse. He was later carted to the lockerroom just before halftime, unable to put any weight on the leg, and Davis said he will have an MRI on Saturday to determine the extent of the injury.

That did not faze the Tigers as they forced a fumble by Anthony Kinney on the ensuing LHS kickoff return, recovering the ball at the LHS 28. It took just five plays for Frenship to find the end zone, this time on a 3-yard touchdown run by Huey to make it 14-3.

Lubbock High’s following possession ended in another turnover as Tigers cornerback Phillip James stepped in front of an Angel Armendariz pass at the Frenship 39. A pass interference penalty and a 34-yard catch and run by Jon Phariss put the Tigers at the LHS 3, and two plays later Hanslik plunged in from a yard out to make it 21-3.

Lubbock High, however, would fire back just before halftime, driving 61 yards in 13 plays and getting several big catches from receiver Nathan Slaughter, who had six catches for 79 yards in the first half. He finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown catch with 3 seconds left, cutting the lead to 21-10 at the intermission.

A 36-yard completion to Slaughter early in the third put the Westerners at the Frenship 5, but the Tiger defense stiffened and forced a punt. On Frenship’s ensuing offensive possession, Hanslik hit Dallas Croyle for 41 yards, and Huey toted it the rest of the way on the next play for a 39-yard score, and LHS could get no closer.

“I think that was the difference in the game, that one point,” Davis said. “If they score they … are within four and it’s still up for grabs. We score in two plays and from that point forward I felt like it was all ours..

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FRENSHIP 52, LUBBOCK HIGH 13

Lubbock High 3 7 3 0 — 13

Frenship 0 21 21 10 — 52

First Quarter

LHS – Kelan Hamman 19 FG; 3:36

Second Quarter

FRE – Alec Birchfield 35 pass from Brandon Hanslik (Xavier Vasquez kick); 10:38

FRE – Bobby Huey 3 run (Vasquez kick); 8:13

FRE – Hanslik 1 run (Vasquez kick); 3:32

LHS – Nathan Slaughter 7 pass from Angel Armendariz (Hamman kick); :03

Third Quarter

LHS – Hamman 31 FG; 9:17

FRE – Huey 39 run (Vasquez kick); 8:30

FRE – Stoney Allison 2 pass from Hanslik (Vasquez kick); 6:51

FRE – Birchfield 7 run (Vasquez kick); 3:01

Fourth Quarter

FRE – Vasquez 32 FG; 8:10

FRE – Gabe Guerrero 20 pass from John Curtis (Vasquez kick); 5:46

TEAM STATISTICS

LHS FRE

First downs 9 17

Rushes-yards 16 (-42) 38 190

Passing yards 187 185

Comp.-att.-int. 19-36-2 9-12-0

Punts-avg. 1-44.0 1-17.0

Fumbles-lost 4-4 6-2

Penalties-yards 6-50 4-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Lubbock High, Garrett Forbes 2-6, Nathan Slaughter 1-4, Shaquille Johnson 3-2, Reggie Williams 3-2, Tim Evans 1-0, John Bradshaw 1-(-2), Angel Armendariz 4-(-20), Chris Lascano 1-(-32); Frenship, Bobby Huey 13-86, Gabe Guerrero 5-25, Alec Birchfield 2-18, Brayden Rose 1-18, Asheton Hastings 2-15, Antony Jenkins 2-12, Zak Britton 1-8, Josh Vasquez 1-4, Chad Quisenberry 1-(-2), Dallas Croyle 1-(-11).

PASSING: Lubbock High, Armendariz 18-35-2-187, Forbes 1-1-0–0; Frenship, Hanslik 8-11-0-172, John Curtis 1-1-0-13.

RECEIVING: Lubbock High, Slaughter 7-115, Evans 5-49, Scotty Vasquez 1-8, Donnie Bryant 1-5, Kellen Hearn 1-5, Williams 1-1, Bradshaw 1-0, Johnson 1-(-2); Frenship, Jon Pharris 2-45, Birchfield 2-42, Croyle 1-41, Hastings 1-29, Josh Vasquez 1-13, Guerrero 1-13, Allison 1-2.