By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
If Del Rio wants to make the statement that the Rams program is truly back, then tonight’s game against Laredo United South is truly a must-win.
The Rams travel to Laredo tonight for a 7 p.m. showdown against the South Panthers at the Laredo Student Activity Complex.
United South is this year’s big dog in District 30-6A. The Panthers are 4-0 in district play coming into tonight’s game and have won all but one of those games by double digits. The only game South won by less than 10 points was a 39-34 war of attrition against Eagle Pass last week.
That game shouldn’t have been so close. South led 26-7 at one point, but the Eagles, playing in front of their home fans, clawed their way back into the game and scored late before failing on an onside kick attempt that sealed the win for South.
That win put the Panthers into the driver’s seat for a district championship. All that stands in their way from winning the title outright is a rivalry game next week against one-win Laredo LBJ and tonight’s contest against Del Rio.
Under head coach Joe Coss, the Panthers have become one of the most explosive offensive teams in the district. For four years, that offense lived and died by the work of running back Brian Benavides, but it’s a different Benavides that’s part of the ground game this year for South – Brian’s younger brother Brandon.
Though not as explosive as his older brother, Brandon has shown much of the same skill. Instead of hiding behind blockers and then exploding for big gains, Brandon prefers to run into the teeth of the defense and use his power and elusive running to eat up yards. Benavides had only one score against Eagle Pass, but it came on a 58-yard touchdown run.
Javier Rodriguez scored a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Panthers, both on relatively short runs.
Both running backs are big parts of the offense. Rodriguez has five rushing and two receiving scores in four district games while Benavides has six rushing scores.
He’s not the only weapon the Panthers have. Quarterback Luis Cisneros is a dangerous passer who isn’t afraid to stand tall in the pocket or pull it down and run when necessary. He threw for more than 250 yards and three touchdowns against the vaunted “Land Shark” defense of the Eagles, picking apart a defense that has been the district’s best the past three years. South’s offense was so efficient that the team punted just once against Eagle Pass.
Two of Cisneros’ TD passes went to Armando Garza while David Diaz was the recipient of the other. In district, Cisneros has thrown for eight touchdowns with at least three of them going to Garza.
The key to South’s success also lies in its lines – offensive and defensive. The Panthers have some big bodies up front and they are able to control the game to Coss’ liking. They also move swiftly for players their size, so Del Rio’s speed on the defensive front will need to be firing on all cylinders if the Rams hope to make things tough for Cisneros.
Del Rio played its best game of the season in a 28-7 homecoming win against Laredo Alexander. The offense controlled the tempo of the game and the defense never allowed the Bulldogs to get comfortable.
Luis Pablo Galaviz rushed for more than 100 yards and Zack Taylor ran for two scores and threw for a third.
The only drawback for the Rams was the amount of penalties the team racked up against Alexander. Del Rio was called for nine penalties that accounted for 85 yards. They’ll need to be more disciplined against a South team that feeds off mistakes.
To beat the Panther, Del Rio will need to once again establish its run game earlier and make the Panthers have to be honest and not just key on Taylor. Del Rio’s receivers also need to help Taylor out. Taylor only had three incompletions against Alexander, but at least one of those was a drop. Speed kills, but drops kill drives.
Defensively, the Rams cannot give up big plays. It’s the hallmark of South’s offense, but Del Rio has the talent to neutralize those big gains. All the Rams need to do is tackle properly and not let their emotions get the better of them.
Last year’s game between the Rams and Panthers came down to an Aiden Huerta 42-yard touchdown run with two seconds left that proved to be the difference as Del Rio won a thrilling 35-28 contest. Don’t expect anything different from these two teams this year.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
