BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
GRAHAM— The Peaster Greyhounds have only been playing football since 2020. Since the program’s inception, it has seen its ups and downs. Twice the Greyhounds had appeared in the playoffs, and both times they were unable to make it past the first round. Then came Thursday night’s game against the Comanche Indians at Newton Field in Graham.
Peaster got off to a great start but struggled in the second half before storming back and winning in overtime 33-30 for the program’s first postseason win. Head coach Trevor Owens took in the moment and gave his comments after the game.
“It’s awesome just to know all of the background of how far Peaster has come, just since I have been here, but in general and everyone who laid the foundation for this moment it is awesome to finally see. Especially for the whole community.”
Comanche fumbled the ball away on the first play to give the Greyhounds instant momentum. Just a few plays later, quarterback Layton Kennedy began his career day with a nine yard screen pass to Hudson Salyers for a touchdown. The extra point was no good, which ended up being a key factor later in the game.
Kennedy completed 20 of his 28 pass attempts for 271 yards and four touchdowns, adding 14 yards rushing on eight carries and another score on the ground.
The Indians tried to respond with a long drive that got deep into Peaster territory. But the Greyhound defense turned them away on fourth down. Minutes later, Kennedy delivered another blow on a busted play that broke open for him to run 25 yards to paydirt, making it 13-0 after one quarter.
The remainder of the first half turned into a defensive struggle until with just seconds left, Cayden Davis found Alex Terrell in triple coverage for the Comanche touchdown to make it 13-7 going into the locker room.
Davis had a great day on the ground, rushing for 229 yards on 25 carries and a pair of scores, adding two touchdowns through the air.
Peaster was forced into a quick punting situation to open the second half and the Indians quickly took advantage with a 14-yard keeper by Davis to take a 14-13 lead. However, the Greyhounds responded when Kennedy avoided a heavy rush and found Brayden Gent from 46 yards out to reclaim the lead at 20-14 just before the end of the third quarter.
Comanche came back out in the fourth quarter and got another score when Davis faked the run and found a wide open Terrell over the middle, however the extra point was missed after a false start penalty, keeping the score at 20-20.
Then Comanche took the lead again with one big play when Davis faked the pitch on the option and took it 77 yards to the house with just under four minutes to go.
Peaster faced a long third down early into the ensuing drive but converted, and set up a game tying pass from Kennedy to Cade McCollough from 28 yards out, ultimately sending the game to overtime.
The Indians tried to ride the running capability of Davis, but the Greyhounds had figured it out and forced a field goal. The Greyhounds needed a touchdown to end the game, and they got it when they ran a misdirection pass to Slayte Robertson from seven yards out to win the game and send Peaster to the second round for the first time.
The Greyhounds improved to 9-2 on the year and will face Shallowater in the Area round at 7 p.m Friday, November 22 in San Angelo.
