By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
The third time wasn’t the charm for the Del Rio Rams.
Twice in the second half the Rams turned away the Warren Warriors from or just inside the one-yard line, making the scoring attempt into a turnover for the Warriors as Del Rio recovered a pair of fumbles in the end zone.
But with three-tenths of a second left in the game, Warren quarterback Mac Anderson was shoved into the end zone by his teammates, a purple-clad variation of the Philadelphia Eagles’ infamous Tush Push, to lift his team to a come from behind 17-14 win over Del Rio.
The loss drops the Rams to 0-2 on the season while Warren improves to 1-1.
Warren scored on its opening drive thanks to a field goal, and then forced the Rams to punt on their first possession.
After the Warriors were forced to punt, the Rams’ offense behind the legs and arm of quarterback Jayden Mendoza. A pass to Casmiro Cardenas picked up 11 yards and moved Del Rio into Warren territory. Then a 21-yard pass to Gerardo Carmona set Del Rio up at the Warren 28.
A facemask penalty against Warren put Del Rio at the Warriors’ 13-yard line. Four plays later, Mendoza called his own number and scored on a four-yard run. Joel Renteria hit the point after try and Del Rio grabbed a 7-3 lead with 7:27 left in the first half.
Those two scores proved to be the only points of the first half as the teams traded punts before Warren intercepted Mendoza and then ran out the clock to close out the second quarter.
Del Rio opened the second half with a boom as the Rams forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and recovered it at the Warren 40-yard line.
Mendoza’s passing propelled the Rams down the field. He hit Caleb Villa for a 13-yard gain. On fourth down, he hit Nathan Mojica for an 11-yard gain and a fresh set of downs. After an eight-yard run by Raul Deluna, Mendoza finished the drive with a six-yard run into the end zone to help put Del Rio up 14-3.
With the defense still keeping Warren under control, the Rams looked to add to their lead. It started with Santiago Ortiz returning a punt near midfield, but a personal foul penalty against Warren moved the Rams to the Warriors’ 41-yard line.
Del Rio’s fortunes quickly turned as an illegal formation penalty and a short run left the Rams 12 yards short of a first down. Renteria was sent out to punt, but Warren blocked the attempt and Zaydyn Oneal recovered it at the Rams’ 23-yard line.
Warren would move the ball to inside the one-yard line where Anderson would be on the receiving end of the Tush Push and would score to cut the Del Rio lead to 14-9. The Warriors then added the two-point conversion to trim the lead further, 14-11.
The Warriors struck again on the Rams’ next drive, intercepting Mendoza. Del Rio’s defense held up and forced Warren to attempt a field goal that would tie the game. The kick was good, but the Rams were flagged for a personal foul on the play and Warren was awarded a first and goal from the one-yard line. Warren tried another quarterback plunge, but this time Anderson had the ball jarred from his hands as he tried to stretch across the goal line. The Rams recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback.
Looking to add to its lead, Del Rio set out by using its run and effective pass game to move up field. But on fourth and 1 at the Warren 46, Mendoza was stuffed shy of the first down marker and Warren was given another chance.
Again, the Warriors drove to the Rams’ one-yard line, and again the Rams defense was ready. Warren’s running back took the ball and surged to the right side of the line. Del Rio’s Jose Manuel Garcia dove in like a missile and crashed into the ball carrier, knocking the ball loose. The ball rolled into the end zone where teammate Juan Hernandez gathered it up for a touchback.
With the ball in their hands, and just over two minutes left to play, the Rams looked to control the clock and close out the game. Instead, Del Rio eventually punted the ball back to Warren with 1:47 left and 52 yards to stop the Warriors.
Del Rio, however, ran into penalty issues. A defensive holding call moved Warren to the Del Rio 32. Four plays later Anderson tried to run the ball into the left side of the end zone but he was met at the one-yard line by Del Rio linebacker Adam Balvantin. With not timeouts, it looked as if Warren had run out of chances but the Rams were flagged for a late hit and Warren was set up at the one-yard line.
On their very first chance, Warren used the Tush Push to barrel Anderson into the end zone for the game winner.
Del Rio hosts the New Braunfels Unicorns Friday night at 7 p.m. at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
