LITTLEFIELD — Will McDowell and Cheeto Richardson aren’t nearly as tall or as heavy, and neither has the durability to carry the ball 25 times a game, but together they did a pretty good impression of Patric Barrio.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Barrio, Littlefield’s workhorse running back who has rushed for 922 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, wasn’t available for the most important game of the Wildcats’ season after suffering a knee injury against Denver City last week.

Littlefield running back Will McDowell, left, braces for a hit by Post's Ernest Saldivar during their game Friday night in Littlefield. McDowell rushed for three touchdowns, and Littlefield claimed the District 3-2A championship with an 18-13 victory.

Littlefield's Will McDowell stumbles into the end zone for one of his three TDs in the Wildcats' 18-13 win over Post on Friday in Littlefield.

But McDowell and Richardson made up for his absence Friday night in an 18-13 victory over Post at Wildcat Stadium, which gave Littlefield its second consecutive District 3-2A championship. McDowell rushed for 50 yards and all three of the Wildcats’ touchdowns, while Richardson racked up a team-high 131 yards on the ground.

“It hurt us a little bit,” Richardson said of Barrio being on the sideline. “But Will stepped in and played his role, I stepped up, and the line stepped up.”

Littlefield (9-1, 7-0 in 3-2A), which was averaging more than 40 points and 400 total yards per game, managed only 18 points and 291 total yards against Post (7-3, 5-2). But the Wildcats’ offense, which also got 80 yards passing from quarterback Tracy Huseman, did enough to win.

“Obviously, we’re going to have to use all of them to chip in for (Barrio) not being there,” said Littlefield head coach Bryan Huseman, who isn’t sure when Barrio will be able to return. “We’ve got to adjust to him not being there, and I think it’s going to take us some time.”

Littlefield, which will face Alpine in a Class 2A Division I bi-district playoff at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa, also got a strong contribution from its defense. Post got 156 rushing yards and a touchdown from Giles Dalby and also scored on a 68-yard pass from Clint Windham to Jacob Perez, but the Antelopes came up empty on three different drives deep into Wildcat territory.

The first time, after losing 15 yards on two plays, Reed Williams missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt that would have given Post an early lead in the first quarter. Windham threw an interception to Josh Merrifield as the Antelopes were trying to drive for a tying score early in the third quarter, and McDowell at defensive end all but sealed the victory with a fourth-down sack in the fourth quarter.
“Hats off to their defense,” Post head coach Chris Jones said. “That was the big key, especially in the second half. They made the stops when they had to.”

Despite the loss, and finishing second behind the Wildcats in district play, Jones said his players should be proud of themselves for giving Littlefield a fight on its home turf. He also said the experience will benefit the Antelopes as they prepare for their first-round playoff game against Sonora, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Sweetwater.

Bryan Huseman and his Wildcats were just happy to escape with a victory, and get by without Barrio for the first time.

“It’s a great feeling,” Richardson said of repeating as district champions. “It just makes me want to collect more gold balls (trophies), makes me want to go that much harder. I’m pretty sure the whole team feels the same way.”

To comment on this story:
adam.zuvanich@lubbockonline.com uE06C 766-8733
courtney.linehan@lubbockonline.com uE06C 766-8735

LITTLEFIELD 18, POST 13
Post 0 6 7 0 — 13
Littlefield 0 12 6 0 — 18
Second Quarter
LIT – Will McDowell 7 run (kick blocked); 9:13
POS – Giles Dalby 5 run (kick blocked); 3:46
LIT – McDowell 1 run (kick failed); 0:01
Third Quarter
LIT – McDowell 4 run (run failed); 4:25
POS – Jacob Perez 68 pass from Clint Windham (Reed Williams kick); 3:05
TEAM STATISTICS
POS LIT
First downs 14 16
Rushes-yards 37-202 40-211
Passing yards 68 80
Comp.-att.-int. 1-4-1 6-10-0
Punts-avg. 1-28.0 1-27.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 4-30 3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Post, Giles Dalby 19-156, Clint Windham 11-35, Ernie Saldivar 4-13, Trent Babb 2-4, Aaron James 1-(-6); Littlefield, Cheeto Richardson 14-131, Will McDowell 15-50, Tracy Huseman 9-28, Team 2-(-2).
PASSING: Post, Windham 1-4-1 – 68; Littlefield, Huseman 6-10-0 – 80.
RECEIVING: Post, Jacob Perez 1-68; Littlefield, Raymond Sansom 1-47, Barrick Hodge 2-21, Richardson 2-8, Zach White 1-4.
RECORDS: Post 7-3, 5-2; Littlefield 9-1, 7-0.