Panhandle unable to slow Hawley’s Austin Cumpton, falls in UIL Class 2A Division I area round playoffs
LUBBOCK — Landyn Hack has been the do-it-all athlete all season for the Panhandle football team.
The senior, and Amarillo Globe-News Preseason Football Player of the Year, has taken snaps at quarterback, punter, kicker and free safety to help the Panthers advance to the second round of the Class 2A Division I playoffs.
On Friday, Hack watched as another No. 12 — Hawley’s Austin Cumpton — did just a little more to help the Bearcats secure a 72-26 victory in a regional playoff game at PlainsCapital Park at Lowrey Field.
“Since I’ve been playing football since I was a freshman on varsity and I’ve been lifting weights for a while,” said Cumpton, who finished with 172 yards and three touchdowns to go along with an interception on defense. “And I run hard. If I need to make a cut, I’ll make a cut. But if I have to run someone over — I’ll make it.”
Cumpton — a 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back and linebacker — capped the night with a key interception to go along with more than 100 yards and three TDs as he literally took on the Hawley offense every time he carried the ball and bulldozed through several Panhandle defenders.
With the loss, the Panthers (9-3) end their season three wins better than the 2022 campaign. The Bearcats (12-0) kept their undefeated record intact and are set to take on the winner between Sonora and Farwell in the regional round.
“We’ve struggled a lot this season, injury-wise,” Panhandle coach Dane Ashley said. “We couldn’t even play our base defense tonight because we had five linebackers hurt. And we threw something together as best we could.
“I thought it was okay early, but they figured it out and ran the ball well against us. But I’m just proud of the fact that we just kept going down the field and kept playing until the end.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Panthers appeared to be in a good spot considering they were without the services of several key players.
But that changed when the second quarter began.
Cumpton capped an 8-play drive with a 6-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion where Texas Tech commit Chandlin Meyers caught a pass, making it 8-0 in favor of the Bearcats with 11:55 left before halftime.
The first offensive touchdown was set up by a Hack interception, the first of three in the contest. He finished with 139 passing yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 152 and two more scores on the ground.
“He didn’t play his best game tonight and that’s really going to hurt him,” Ashley said. “But, man, he’s done a lot of amazing things for us.”
On the ensuing possession, Hack threw his second interception — picked off by 2024 Texas Tech commit Chandlin Meyers, who finished the night with a pair of picks to go with three catches for 55 yards.
“Our coach always says big players make big plays,” said the 6-2, 165-pound Meyers. “And we made big plays tonight.”
It resulted in the Bearcats enjoying a 28-0 lead as both teams entered their respective locker rooms.
The second half saw a continuation of the heavy-handed running attack, while the Panthers found some success on the ground.
Hack completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Landon Durst, cutting the deficit to 34-6 at the 7:53 mark of the third quarter. The Panhandle quarterback also capped a one-play drive by weaving around the Hawley defense before finishing with a 62-yard touchdown to make it 54-12 with 4:44 left in the contest.
The Bearcats continued to find success on the ground or through the air en route to their 12th straight victory, while the Panthers said goodbye to a special group of seniors led by Hack.
“When I talked to Landyn just a few minutes ago, I said, ‘As your coach, I just want to say thank you for the 170 touchdowns, the 7,000 yards rushing, 5,000 yards passing,’ everything he’s done,” Ashley said. of his ringers and son. “But as a dad, I’m just proud of him. He’s a great kid.”
