Week 7 area football thoughts

City View-Jacksboro unsung heroes, wild finishes and playoffs coming into shape

Hunner Brown was one of several athletes who stepped up in Friday’s City View-Jacksboro football game. photo by Kael Duncan

City View’s 28-21 overtime victory over Jacksboro was sensational theatre Friday night.

I wrote a column about the Mustangs’ resolve they showed in coming back to force overtime and then beating the Tigers on their home field.

But that type of game – an OT battle between two ranked teams – deserves more. I had a different headline topic planned for my Sunday night recap post, but that will have to wait.

Because I wanted to focus on another aspect of Friday’s 6-3A Division II opener that I couldn’t fit into my column.

It occurred to me midway through the third quarter that two of the area’s best receivers were having quiet nights. Desmond Whiteside finished with two catches for 16 yards. Cannon Valenzuela had two grabs for 15 yards.

They were basically averaging 100 yards receiving per game before Friday and had combined to score 15 touchdowns.

Whiteside was part of why Valenzuela had a quiet night. They put the Mustang senior on the Colorado State commit, and the Tigers didn’t really look his way much.

But what I wanted to showcase was how the Mustangs and Tigers had others rise to the occasion. Hunner Brown is probably the best example. He’d gained 17 rushing yards and 89 receiving yards in City View’s first five games.