By Brian Argabright
Friday night’s spring football game was a chance for coaches to evaluate talent and start formulating a plan and a lineup for football come the fall.
They’ll have a hard time creating just one team as both sides produced standouts for the final part of the spring football session.
Despite the teams being assigned to the Blue or White team, both teams dressed similar, making it difficult for fans to determine which players were on which team as the game progressed. The idea was by design, though, as coaches drafted their own teams from the players who took part in spring football.
Offensive coordinator Davin Hawkins coached the White team, which was based on the visitor’s side of Walter Levermann Ram Stadium. Defensive coordinator Nick Mendez helmed the Blue team.
It was the White team that struck first on a short touchdown run by quarterback Zach Taylor to grab a 7-0 lead. The lead grew to 14-0 after a touchdown catch by Alan Dobbins.
Dobbins, a freshman, had two touchdown catches on the day that showcased not just his speed. He also had one catch over the middle that was thrown a bit behind him, but he maintained his concentration, batted the ball back towards himself and reeled in for a catch.
The Blue team did its damage in the second behind the running of Bernie Esquivel and Emiliano Lopez.
The first Blue score came after Jesus De Luna, Mendez’s number one draft pick, scooped up a Taylor fumble and returned it inside the White’s 10-yard-line. On the next play, Lopez scored on a run to the left to cut the lead to 14-6.
After Dobbin’s second score upped the score to 20-6, the Blue team responded with a long touchdown run by Esquivel that trimmed the deficit to 20-14, which would stand as the final.
Rams head football coach Roderick Taylor said overall he was pleased with what he saw from the teams and spread praise for several players on both teams.
“Lots of kids had a good game. I felt Bernie Esquivel ran the ball well and Dobbins played well at wide receiver. Zach made some big plays, but it wasn’t all offense. Juan ‘Chili’ Peralta, Luis Lee and our big freshman Manuel Padilla made some big plays on defense. De Luna also made two big plays,” Taylor said.
Taylor said he also enjoyed seeing the emotion from the teams. He said it gave the game more realism and it was good to see both teams really working hard to achieve victory.
“Both the players and coaches wanted to win. That was good to see,” Taylor said. “All that work shows that we’re on the right track. We aren’t there yet, but we’re getting there.”
Taylor said the standout play by the younger players will help to fill vacancies created by the graduation of key players and the absence of other players who may not return to the team next season for personal reasons.
“The young ones will play. Just because you’re a senior or a returner doesn’t guarantee you a spot or anything like that. I don’t run that kind of program. The best are going to play no matter where you’re from,” Taylor said.
Prior to the game, a pair of Rams addressed the team. Brothers Shane, who plays collegiately with the University of Houston, and Guy Creamer, who plays for Hardin-Simmons University, spoke to the Rams about how football has affected their lives and what the players needed to focus on as they continued playing.
“They both did a great job of speaking to the team. Guy spoke about knowing your role on the team and not quitting. He reminded them to be the best possible player they could possibly be. Not everyone is genetically gifted, but that doesn’t mean a thing. You should always work hard to be the best possible player you could be,” Taylor said.
“Shane said that when you’re elite that means you’re different. People will look at you like you’re crazy. They’re always coming at you, asking why you’re always working out and things like that. If that’s the kind of guy you want to be, then be like that,” Taylor added.
While spring football has come to an end, football activities aren’t done. Many of the players will continue working together as part of the Rams’ 7-on-7 team. They have a tournament in Mission Sharyland next weekend, and then the following week the team will be in Corpus Christi for a tournament there.
For some of the other players, Taylor said they would be attending a football camp at the University of Texas-San Antonio June 3. He said the purpose of that trip was to help expose these players who could have a chance at playing collegiately to coaches and scouts at the next level.
