By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Up 14-7 at halftime, and in complete control of a struggling Laredo United offense, the Del Rio Rams entered the second half hopeful of a second straight win and a 2-0 mark to start district play.
But the Longhorns had other ideas.
United outscored Del Rio 27-0 in the second half and picked up its first win of the season, 34-14, Friday night at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
The loss drops the Rams to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in district. United improves to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in district.
United actually took the first lead of the game, 7-0, on a 34-yard scoring strike from Atzel Chavez to Cesar Ramirez to cap the Longhorns’ opening drive.
But the Rams answered right back.
After Alan Dobbins’ kick return set the Rams up at the United 11, Luis Pablo Galaviz scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard run to help tie the game at 7-7.
The two teams exchanged punts, but then the Rams’ defense came up big as Braden Ludemann picked off Chavez and set Del Rio up at its own 21-yard line.
Del Rio wound up having to punt, but United couldn’t capitalize as Alexis Lopez missed a 23-yard field goal attempt wide right to keep the game tied 7-7 about three minutes into the second quarter.
The Rams then marched down the field, aided by a personal foul penalty against United for hitting Del Rio quarterback Zack Taylor out of bounds. Five plays later, Taylor hit wide receiver Jovahn West in stride for a 27-yard touchdown and a 14-7 Rams lead.
Ludemann then made his presence known a second time as he intercepted Chavez again to give the Rams the ball at their own 37. Del Rio eventually punted, but Corbin Farrar’s kick took a big Rams bounce and turned back towards the field, eventually being downed at the four-yard line by Nathan Adame.
United wasn’t deterred, piecing together a 13-play drive that was aided by a pair of penalties by the Rams. The Longhorns eventually faced fourth-and-10 from the Rams’ 13-yard line, but Gabriel Sanchez sacked Chavez for a 16-yard loss to snuff out the drive and help send the teams to halftime.
The second half belonged to the Longhorns.
United scored four times in the second half to take the lead and never look back.
United tied the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Chavez to Sebastian Alvarado. They then took the lead on a 26-yard touchdown run by Steve Loring.
The lead grew to 28-14 on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Chavez to Juan Andrade. The Longhorns capped their scoring with a 46-yard touchdown from Chavez to Luz Leal.
Del Rio’s offense just never got going in the second half. The Rams managed just 12 yards on five drives. Only two of Del Rio’s second half drives didn’t wind up in three-and-outs, and the longest Rams drive of the half was aided by three penalties against United including two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and one pass interference penalty.
Del Rio travels to Laredo Friday, Oct. 15, to face the Nixon Mustangs at 7 p.m. at Shirley Field.
The Rams’ next home game will be Friday, Oct. 22, when they welcome Laredo Alexander to town for a 7 p.m. Homecoming Game at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
