Justin Northwest can’t handle explosive Red Oak offense, QBs in bi-district loss

The Justin Northwest football team has had little trouble moving the ball on offense and scoring points this season.

But the Texans met their match against an explosive Red Oak team on Friday night at Goodloe Stadium.

Red Oak scored on its first six possessions, including an 83-yard touchdown run by Iverson Young on the first offensive snap of the game, to run away from Northwest 62-7 in a Class 5A Division 1 bi-district game.

Red Oak (7-2) advances to face El Paso Del Valle (5-1) in the area round. Del Valle edged Lubbock Monterey 44-43.

Northwest (7-4) was never able to make a play when the team really needed it against a swarming Red Oak defense. The Texans lost the ball on downs five times on the Hawks end of the field and had to punt six times in 12 possessions.

While Northwest struggled, Red Oak rolled.

The Hawks piled up 722 yards of total offense behind Young at running back and quarterbacks Joshua Ervin and Chris Parson. Young, who added a 6-yard scoring run at the eight-minute mark of the second quarter, finished with 169 rushing yards on 17 carries in just under three quarters.

Ervin started the game and could do little wrong. The senior tossed two first quarter touchdown passes to Raymond Gay Jr. (19 yards) and Kentrell Anderson (94).

Anderson ran a mid-range out pattern and snagged the ball before spinning away from a Northwest defender to open field. The play gave Red Oak a 20-0 lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter.

Parson, a sophomore transfer from Duncanville, relieved Ervin late in the second quarter, but the level of play stayed high.

Parson wound up as the leading rusher for the Hawks with 173 yards on six carries and had TD runs of 3, 39, 40 and 52 yards. He added 75 yards through the air completing 4 of 8 attempts.

Ervin, who came back for two series to open the second half, was an efficient 10 of 12 for 272 yards. His 31-yard scoring pass to Jace Wyatt with 4:08 left in the third quarter gave Red Oak a 48-0 lead.

The Texans finally put points on the board with 6:14 left in the game on a 28-yard pass from Jake Strong to Jak Poe. Strong went 20 of 38 passing for 196 yards with his favorite target being Weldon Sherrell, who hauled in 12 passes for 115 yards.

Kyle Cummings was the workhorse for the Texans on the ground with 18 carries for 123 yards.

Red Oak had five receivers with 40 or more yards, including Anderson (94 yards), Wyatt (78), La’Kelsey Johnson Jr. (73), Gay (51) and Triston Edwards (43).