By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio controlled the ball, controlled the game clock, and frustrated Warren’s offense for much of the game Friday night.
But a fumble on a promising drive turned the tide and allowed Warren to grab the lead for good, sending the Rams to their second consecutive loss of the season, 18-13.
Warren struck on its opening drive. After its running game was stifled by Del Rio’s defense, led by Manuel Padilla, the Warriors found success with quick passes that turned into big gains. Warren found the end zone when Antonio Meza connected with Lorenzo Ramirez for a six-yard touchdown pass. The point after try sailed wide left, and Warren was left with a 6-0 lead.
Things looked to get worse for the Rams when their next offensive possession ended in a punt and Rodrigo Tamez’s kick went just five yards, setting Warren up on Del Rio’s side of the field. But back-to-back defensive plays by Padilla, including a sack of Meza on third down, forced the Warriors to punt.
Del Rio started moving the ball on its second possession with Ethan Matherne pounding the interior and Zane Hughes striking on the outside. Del Rio was able to get into Warren territory but had to punt once again.
The Rams defense stiffened again, and Warren went three-and-out and punted the ball back to Del Rio. The kick was partially blocked and downed at the Warren 25 yard-line. Del Rio was unable to move the ball any further and Tamez came on to attempt a 44-yard field goal, but his kick sailed low and left and missed to keep the Warriors ahead 6-0.
Tamez redeemed himself the next time he touched the ball, punting the ball near the right sideline. It caught a friendly roll for the Rams and was downed at the Warren one yard-line. The Rams nearly pinned Warren running back Tre’vion Mitchell in the end zone for a safety, but he was able to escape to the six yard-line. However, Warren would have to punt, and another poor kick gave the Rams the ball again inside Warren territory.
This time the Rams took advantage. Matherne started the drive with a six-yard gain. After three straight Matherne runs and a carry by Hughes got the Rams to Warren 18, Del Rio capped its drive with an 18-yard run by Hughes around the right end and through traffic to the end zone. Tamez’s point after try was perfect and Del Rio had a 7-6 lead just before the first half came to a close.
Del Rio had a chance to pad its lead as they received the second half kickoff. A pass interference penalty against Warren moved Del Rio to the Warriors’ 38. The Rams appeared to use a big pass from Eliseo Ortiz to Alan Dobbins to move inside the Warren 20 yard-line, but an offensive pass interference penalty wiped out the gain and pushed Del Rio back and the Rams were forced to punt.
The two teams exchanged punts until Warren was able to move the ball again, once again behind Meza’s arm. He found Ramirez for a 17-yard gain, ran for another first down, and then reconnected with Ramirez to get to the Rams’ six-yard line. On the next play, Meza was flushed out of the pocket and forced to roll to his right. He then threw the ball back towards the middle to a cutting Alex Crosby for the touchdown. Warren went for two, but dropped the conversion attempt and maintained a 12-7 lead.
Once again the Rams turned to its ground game to chew up yards and the clock. Matherne started with a 13-yard gain. But on the next play he was stripped of the ball and Warren’s Andrew Martinez scooped up the loose ball and made a beeline to the end zone. Ortiz gave chase and was able to knock him out of bounds but appeared to be injured in the process. He was eventually able to get back to his feet and walk to the bench under his own power.
Warren would cap the short drive with a pass to the far side of the end zone to pump its lead to 18-7 with just under 5:30 to play.
The Rams came out and showed how effective the flexbone offense could be on their next drive. It took just under two minutes for the Rams to march down the field, spurred by a big Hughes run and an acrobatic and evasive run by Ortiz, that allowed Matherne to score on a short four-yard run to cut the lead to 18-13. Del Rio went for two, but Matherne was stopped at the goal line.
With all three of their timeouts remaining, the Rams defense just needed to stop Warren’s offense and get the ball back. But Warren would never relinquish the ball again as big runs by Jamarie Jones, Meza and Ramirez kept the clock moving and ground Del Rio’s chances to zero as the game came to an end.
Del Rio will look for its first win of the season Friday, Sept. 8, when the team travels to Leander to face the Lions at Leander Bible Stadium at 7 p.m.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
