Mineola pulled away in the second half for a 59-29 road win over Lone Oak Friday, evening the Yellowjackets’ record at 2-2 heading into district play.
Lone Oak struck first for an 8-0 lead before Mineola scored 24 points in the second quarter. The Buffaloes answered with 14 points, leaving the Yellowjackets with a 24-22 halftime lead.
Mineola took control after the break, outscoring Lone Oak 35-7 in the second half. The Yellowjacket defense held the Buffaloes to one score after halftime.
“We played really well on both sides of the ball. I thought the defense was the story of the 2nd half only allowing 7 points,” head coach Cody Moore said.
Senior running back Aidan Shepherd led Mineola with 300 rushing yards on 15 carries, averaging 20 yards per attempt. He also caught four passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Shepherd finished with 416 total yards and six touchdowns.
“Our offensive line played really well. We were able to rush for almost 400 yards with Aidan Shepherd and Braelyn Geremonte accounting for that. Braxton Moore finished with 220 passing yards and 2 touchdowns,” Moore said.
Freshman quarterback Braxton Moore completed 16 of 27 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
Through four games, Shepherd has rushed for 963 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. He has accounted for 1,196 total offensive yards and is averaging more than 240 rushing yards per game.
MaxPreps named Shepherd the overall player of the game. Steven Reyes was named defensive player of the game, Grayson Dupont offensive player of the game and Beckham Bowker special teams player of the game.
Mineola returns home Friday to open district play at Meredith Memorial Stadium.