IOWA PARK — Quanah coach Mike Bowling admitted he handled Lexston Reese with kid’s gloves during his freshman season in 2024.
But after the sophomore’s performance in a Region II-2A Division II bi-district playoff game against Petrolia on Thursday, Nov. 13, it was safe to assume something had changed.
“The gloves are off,” Bowling exclaimed after Reese rushed for a school-record 395 yards, leading the Indians to a 57-28 upset of Petrolia and delivering the program’s first playoff win since 2020.
The win avenges a 56-20 non-district loss the Indians suffered in Week 3 against Petrolia — a game that was close in the first half before Petrolia pulled away in the third quarter. The memory of that game felt fresh in the Indians’ minds, though.
“We wanted to come back and whip them,” Reese said.
Reese was the showstopper in a matchup of two prolific run-heavy offenses that combined for 912 rushing yards. Four different players surpassed 100 rushing yards, starting with Quanah’s Nicholas Gonzales with 111 and two TDs.
Petrolia’s two-headed monster in the backfield didn’t disappoint, with Kason Gee rushing for 208 yards and a TD on 20 carries while Brodie Jackson added 140 yards and three TDs on 15 carries.
However, 256 yards and all of the touchdowns occurred in the first half. The Pirates’ duo was held to a respectable 92 yards and the team was shutout during the final two quarters.
“They kept getting long runs, and our runs were getting shorter,” Petrolia coach Brad Blassingame said. “We had some guys go out with injuries, and they just got the momentum. We couldn’t get it away from them.”
The Indians led 34-28 at halftime and got TD runs of 56 and 74 yards from Reese in the third quarter, allowing them to pull away.
Reese finished with four rushing TDs and threw a 29-yard TD pass to Kaden Dixon on a halfback pass in the third quarter.
The sophomore didn’t realize he had flirted with 400 rushing yards after game, showing genuine surprise when he was told his yardage total.
“I mean, my blocking was great. I want to give credit to all my blockers, even the receivers down the field. They were all great,” said Reese, who now has 1,952 rushing yards on the season. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”
And as grateful as Reese was for his teammates, the feeling was mutual. Several circled around him while he was being interviewed postgame, jumping up and down in elation with each answer.
“It’s very exciting for all of us. It’s wonderful,” Reese said. “I love Quanah.”
REGION II-2A DIVISION II BI-DISTRICT
Quanah 57, Petrolia 28
Quanah 20 14 16 7 — 57
Petrolia 14 14 0 0 — 28
FIRST QUARTER
P – Kason Gee 66 run (run failed), 7:59
Q – Kaden Dixon 29 pass from Lexston Reese (kick failed), 6:25
Q – Reese 39 run (Charlie Call kick), 3:05
Q – Nicholas Gonzales 3 run (Prather Parr run), 2:17
P – Brodie Jackson 41 run (Hayden Pierson run), 2:01
SECOND QUARTER
P – Jackson 4 run (run failed), 4:25
Q – Reese 11 run (Gonzales run), 1:55
P – Jackson 21 run (Cody Cox run), 1:07
Q – Gonzales 35 run (run failed). 0:24
THIRD QUARTER
Q – Reese 56 run (Parr run), 6:20
Q – Reese 74 run (run good), 2:34
FOURTH QUARTER
Q – Gonzales 6 run (Charlie Call kick), 5:48
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: (Q) 27; (P) 17
Rushing: (Q) 53-502; (P) 49-410
Passing: (Q) 2-2-0—38; (P) 1-7-1—8
Punts: (Q) 2-19; (P) 0-0
Fumbles: (Q) 2-1; (P) 0-0
Penalties: (Q) 8-55; (P)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: (Q) Lexston Reese 26-395, Nicholas Gonzales 20-111, Prather Parr 3-10, Blayton Chandler 2-4, team 2-(-18); (P) Kason Gee 20-208, Brodie Jackson 15-140,Hayden Pierson 6-38, Cody Cox 3-20, Kyler Capes 3-12, Jayton Maxwell 2-(-8).
Passing: (Q) Reese 1-1-0–29; Parr 1-1-0–9; (P) Cody Cox 1-5-1–8; Jackson 0-1–0; Maxwell 0-1-0–0.
Receiving: (Q) Kaden Dixon 2-38; (P) Gee 1-8.
Records: Petrolia (8-3); Quanah (6-5)
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Reese runs wild: Sophomore’s big night powers Quanah to playoff upset of Petrolia
Reporting by Jonathan Hull, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
