By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
SAN ANTONIO — Del Rio’s season debut saw sophomore Zane Hughes pick up where he left off last season, but it wasn’t enough for the Rams to get the win.
Hughes scored on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Zack Taylor and helped set up Del Rio’s two other scores with impressive punt returns, but the Rams dropped their season opener to the San Antonio Roosevelt Rough Riders, 43-21, Friday night at Heroes Stadium.
The Rams’ troubles extended to the injury report as well as Del Rio lost offensive lineman Julio Gamez and defensive lineman Manuel Padilla to lower leg injuries. Both should be re-evaluated this week to determine if they would be able to play next Friday against the San Antonio Warren Warriors.
Del Rio’s defense came up big on Roosevelt’s first drive thanks to the efforts of defensive back Bradan Ludemann and quarterback pressures by Sammy Flores and Padilla.
But on Del Rio’s first offensive play of the game Gamez’s lower leg was rolled on and the senior center was forced to leave the game. He would not return.
The Rams offense sputtered for a few drives in his absence, gaining just 13 yards over the team’s next three drives combined.
Even after Del Rio forced and recovered a fumble by Andrew Price, the Rams still couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt it back to Roosevelt. It took two plays for the Rough Riders to find the end zone after that as a run by Brennan Connell helped set up a 24-yard scoring strike from quarterback Bryan Rhoder to help stake Roosevelt to a 7-0 lead.
Del Rio was able to get to midfield on its next drive thanks to a 12-yard pass from Taylor to Ethan Matherne and a personal foul penalty against Roosevelt, but the Rams managed negative-2 yards from that point and punted back to the Rough Riders.
Price muffed the punt, recovered and returned it 34 yards to the Rams’ 39-yard line. On the next play, Carroll took the handoff, found a hole through the left side of the defense and sprinted to the end zone as the quarter expired, helping Roosevelt take a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.
While the first quarter ended with a bang, the second quarter started with its own fireworks show as Hughes took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 39 yards to the Rams’ 46-yard line. A Rough Riders penalty moved the ball to the Roosevelt 39.
On the next play, Taylor used the read-option to fake the handoff to Elian De La Paz, keep it, and burst through the middle of the Roosevelt defense. He showed off his track speed to reach the end zone untouched, and Rodrigo Tamez’s kick cut the Roosevelt lead to 14-7 17 seconds into the second quarter.
Del Rio was able to hold Roosevelt on its next possession and forced a punt that while netted no yardage did result in a penalty against Roosevelt and moved the Rams to the Rough Riders’ 47. The Rams were unable to pick up a first down and once again Corbin Farrar was sent out to punt.
The ball went to Price again. He again didn’t cleanly field the punt, but he was able to avoid the first wave of tackles, find some space down the sideline and outraced the rest of the Rams defenders 86 yards for the touchdown. Roosevelt would tack on the two-point conversion to up its lead to 22-7.
The teams exchanged punts for the next three possessions before heading into halftime.
Del Rio got the ball to start the second half but still struggled to move the ball consistently. Facing a fourth-and-11, Del Rio punted again. While the team was able to hold Roosevelt to a minimal return, Padilla, who was in the game as part of special teams, went down with what appeared to be a cramp in his right leg. He was helped from the field by Del Rio’s training staff, but he, too, would not return to the game.
Roosevelt took advantage of Padilla’s absence and Carroll broke loose for a 21-yard gain on the first play following the injury. It took about three minutes for the Rough Riders to march down the field and find the end zone again, this time on a two-yard run by Carroll that helped make the score 29-7 in favor of Roosevelt.
After another Rams punt, Del Rio thought it got the ball back when cornerback Fabian Venegas appeared to jumped in front of a Roosevelt pass and intercept the underthrown ball, but he was called for pass interference and Roosevelt was set up at the Rams’ 45-yard line.
A 13-yard run by Price and a 19-yard pass from Rhoder to Price helped set up Price’s second score of the game, this one on a 15-yard run, that made the score 36-7 with just over three minutes left to play in the third quarter.
The Rams were able to get something going on their next drive. Jovahn West moved Del Rio into Roosevelt territory with a 22-yard run. Two plays later, Taylor found Alan Dobbins who made a tightrope catch on the sidelines for a 30-yard gain that put Del Rio into first and goal at the Rough Riders’ 8-yard line.
The Rams ran into trouble after a sack by Kenneth Ray, but after a roughing the passer penalty against Roosevelt moved Del Rio to the Rough Riders’ 7-yard line, Taylor hit West in the left corner of the end zone for the score. Taylor then connected with Dobbins for the two-point conversion to cut Roosevelt’s lead to 36-15 early in the fourth quarter.
Roosevelt had an answer, though, as they used an eight-yard drive to go 75 yards, capped by a six-yard touchdown run by reserve quarterback Amir Calhoun, to push its lead to 43-15.
The teams exchanged punts again before Del Rio was set up at its own 29-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Taylor took the snap, rolled to his left and found Hughes. The speedy sophomore evaded the first defender he faced and then turned on the jets, going 71 yards for a touchdown. The two-point try was no good, and Del Rio trailed 43-21 with just over minutes left in the game.
Roosevelt kept the ball in Calhoun’s hands for the rest of the game. After being sacked on first down by Lonnie Green Jr. and Danny De Leon, Calhoun was able to churn out 27 yards on his next four carries. Roosevelt ran one more play before kneeling the ball to end the game.
Del Rio is scheduled to return to San Antonio Friday, Sept. 2, for a match-up against the Warren Warriors at Gustafson Stadium at 7 p.m.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
