By MITCH WORD

The Brownfield Cubs got a huge 36-33 win over the Lamesa Golden Tors last week. It was a triumph that helped the team on many different levels, not the least of which means the Cubs are still eligible for the playoffs.

The Cubs, 2-7 for the year and 2-3 in District 2-3A action, host the Shallowater Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Cub Stadium with an outside shot to earn a postseason berth. Should the Cubs beat the Mustangs and Levelland defeats Lamesa, the teams would be in a three-way tie for third place behind Estacado and Cooper.

Should that happen, Brownfield would advance to the playoffs if they defeat Shallowater by 11 or more points. Should Lamesa upset Levelland, a simple win over the Mustangs would vault the Cubs into the playoffs as the third-place team in the district..

Just as important, though, was the fact that the Cubs saw success throughout the game, including a late come-from-behind touchdown that lifted the team to the win.

“At the start of the fourth quarter I thought we had the jump on them,” stated Brownfield Coach Brian Welps. “Then late in the game we scored and went ahead. We got the ball back and were going to try to close out the game, but we had two incomplete passes. Then we had a bad snap that they recovered and ran in for a touchdown.”

At that point the Cubs trailed 33-28. However, the Cubs scored in the waning seconds on a 19-yard pass from Anthony Delgado to Shacolby Hill. The two then connected on the two-point conversion for the final 36-33 Cub win.

Welps said that the Cubs were the benefactors of simply seeing plays work for them compared to when they had struggled throughout the year.

“That was huge for us,” he said. “We threw the ball well, the offensive line gave us time to throw, and the receivers did a good job catching the ball. We stayed in our two-minute offense most of the night. We only ran the ball nine times, but we ran for five yards a carry. We just took what the defense gave us all night long.”

The Cubs racked up 454 yards total offense. Delgado was 23-of-45 with five touchdowns and one interception. Hill had two touchdowns while Devon Gonzales had three scores for the night.

Defensively the Cubs gave up 273 yards for the night.

The Cubs now focus their attention to the Mustangs, who fell to Cooper 42-35 last week. Shallowater is 2-2 in district action.

“Shallowater is a very good running team. They have two good running backs and a very good quarterback who throws the ball well,” Welps said. “They also have a big and physical offensive line. We’re going to have to attack their secondary and throw it 45-50 times. In order to give us a chance.”

Welps said the team comes into the game this week full of excitement he hasn’t seen in a while.

“I feel like the kids are excited about what we’re doing. The win against Lamesa gave them some excitement seeing things work the way they did,” he said.