Farmersville defensive end Brandon Ballew (61) and the Fightin’ Farmers defense will look to slow down Sunnyvale’s high-powered offense Friday. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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Head coach Zac Quinlan purposely prepared a tougher non-district schedule for the Farmersville football team in hopes of getting the Fightin’ Farmers ready for the grind of District 7-4A Division II play.

Although Farmersville went 2-3 with losses in three of its last four games, the Fightin’ Farmers have shown that they are never out of the fight, regardless of the score.

During a 44-43 loss to Pilot Point, Farmersville showed a lot of heart by rallying from a 28-10 halftime deficit to take two leads in the second half. Although a last-minute touchdown and 2-point conversion by the Bearcats sent the Fightin’ Farmers to a heartbreaking loss, the focus Farmersville played with showed that it will be a tough out during district play.

Farmersville will look to carry that momentum into Friday night’s district opener against a Sunnyvale team that is expected to compete for the District 7-4A Division II title.

The Farmers and Raiders are playing each other for the first time since 2021, when they were rivals in District 4-6A Division II. Sunnyvale won that game 66-0. Farmersville’s last win against Sunnyvale was a 45-35 triumph in the area round of the playoffs on Nov. 11, 2016.

Here are the three keys for Farmersville to defeat Sunnyvale at Farmers Stadium:

1. Finish. The second half has been a major strength for Farmersville. The Farmers rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Blue Ridge 33-27 in overtime in Week 1, used a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to create separation in a 35-16 win over Ponder in Week 3, were an onside kick recovery away from having a chance to make it a one-possession game against Bells in Week 4 and lost by one point to Pilot Point two weeks ago. If Farmersville is in a close game with Sunnyvale in the second half, the Fightin’ Farmers can lean on their experience to pull them to the finish line.

2. Limit the damage by Sunnyvale quarterback Cayson Maupin. Maupin is the engine that makes the Raiders go. Although the Raiders came up short in a 49-28 loss to Gilmer two weeks ago, Maupin’s play was noteworthy. He threw for 254 yards on 18-of-27 passing with one touchdown and also rushed for 48 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, he has thrown for 1,447 yards and 14 touchdowns against one interception, to go along with five rushing scores. Grayson Smith, who has team highs in receiving yards (486) and receiving touchdowns (seven), is Maupin’s top target in the passing game.

3. Offensive balance. One of the Fightin’ Farmers’ most experienced players, senior quarterback Levi McAbee, has again been a huge weapon for Farmersville’s offense. McAbee threw for a career-high 379 yards against Bells and followed that with three touchdowns — two rushing and one passing — in the loss to Pilot Point. But one player who has stepped into the spotlight while raising his level of play has been junior running back Brandt Martinez. Martinez had 191 rushing yards in the loss to Pilot Point with three rushing touchdowns. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in all five games, and for the season, has 752 rushing yards with eight touchdowns. Farmersville is in good shape to make the playoffs if Martinez can continue to move the chains.

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