Football: Crane soars into 2A playoffs

This season after a regular-season closing victory over Van Horn, the Crane football team didn’t have to wait to find out what happened elsewhere to know if they had earned a playoff spot from District 7-2A.

Thanks to key wins throughout the season — and a surprisingly easy trip through district play — Crane (9-1 overall, 5-0 district) won the district title and had clinched a playoff spot in Week 9.

“That was definitely a good feeling to have,” Crane coach Naldo Esparza said. “We wanted to come out healthy and we did, and we are just looking forward to this next game and to getting better every week.”

Crane, which shut out Van Horn 43-0 on Friday to close the regular season, missed the playoffs in 2006 when Alpine lost to Reagan County in the final week.

Crane opens the Class 2A Division II playoffs with a bi-district game against Comfort (7-3) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at San Angelo Stadium.

“I feel like we are peaking at the right time,” Esparza said. “I know this will be a short week for us, but the kids are just ready to start playing playoff football. Their goal is to get into December football, and they are ready.”

One keys to success for Crane has been the size on the offensive and defensive lines. The Golden Cranes also feature up to four solid running backs and a maturing quarterback in Lloyd Chisum.

“It definitely is a good thing,” Esparza said. “Missing out last year was a disappointment not only to our kids and our staff but also the community. Everyone is ready to get things going.”