By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
With one of their top playmakers and one of their most experienced leaders on offense both due to injuries, you’d forgive the Del Rio Rams football team if they appeared unequipped to handle the visiting Leander Lions.
Instead, fans were treated to one of the most dramatic high school games at Walter Levermann Rams Stadium in which the Rams rallied from being down 20-6 and battled to three overtimes before finally succumbing to the unbeaten Lions, 34-32.
Del Rio is 0-3 on the season, but Friday night’s performance could be a step in the right direction for a team that was outscored 78-36 in its previous two games.
The Rams’ defense came up big on Leander’s first possession as John Chaney and Abraham Guillen teamed up to sack Lions quarterback Cameron Burkman for a nine-yard loss to force a punt. But Zane Hughes muffed the kick and set Leander up at the Rams’ 44-yard line.
Once again the Rams’ defense stepped up. Guillen and Manuel Padilla stuffed Peyton Gordon for a loss, Bradan Ludemann dropped Kyle Lavin for a short gain and then defended a pass to Zane Wooldridge to force fourth down.
On fourth down, sophomore George Avalos tracked down Burkman for Del Rio’s second sack of the game and put the ball back into the hands of the Rams.
Del Rio quickly moved down the field. A pass to Corbin Farrar moved the Rams into Leander territory. After a 16-yard run by Taylor, the junior signal caller heaved a pass into the end zone that Hughes plucked out of the sky for a 28-yard touchdown. Rodrigo Tamez’s kick gave Del Rio a 7-0 lead.
Hughes became Del Rio’s deep play threat after Alan Dobbins was scratched from the lineup due to injury. He joined fellow starter, center Julio Gamez, who was in a medical boot after suffering an injury in Del Rio’s opener against Roosevelt.
Del Rio wasn’t done making Burkman’s life tough. Padilla sacked him for a two-yard loss on his next pass attempt, and Jayden Rivera’s pressure on third down forced an incompletion that led to a punt.
Leander was able to slow down the Rams and get the ball back via punt, setting themselves up at their own 45-yard line. A 16-yard screen pass to Damien Stout put the Lions inside Del Rio’s 40. Two plays later, Burkman hit Woolridge for a 25-yard pass to set up first and goal at Del Rio’s 3. Stout capped the drive with a one-yard run, and Ivan Rodriguez’s kick tied the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter.
After a pair of penalties derailed Del Rio’s next drive, Leander looked to take advantage. A 32-yard pass to Woolridge moved Leander to Del Rio’s 23-yard line. After a holding penalty pushed the Lions back to the 33, two runs by Burkman and a pass to Aidan Parker got Leander to Del Rio’s 12.
Two plays later, Gordon scored on a six-yard run to give Leander its first lead of the game. Rodriguez’s kick banged off the right upright, and the Lions were left with a 13-7 lead.
The Rams’ next drive was again hampered by penalties. Taylor found Ethan Matherne for an 18-yard gain, but two plays later Del Rio was called for a false start. After a 14-yard pass to Farrar, Taylor gained eight yards on his next carry but was then sacked for a 14-yard loss by Tony Klaer.
The drive eventually ended with a punt, and the Lions looked to add to its lead with less than three minutes left in the half. An eight-yard run by Stout gave the Lions a first down, but facing a 3rd-and-15, Burkman fired a pass deep down the left hashmarks. The ball was tipped and wound in the hands of Sammy Flores who returned it to the Del Rio 26.
The Rams did get a chance at the end zone after Leander was called for a facemask penalty on a 12-yard run by Hughes, but the half ended with a five yard run by Hughes.
Leander got the ball to start the second half and the Lions marched right down the field. Starting at their own 5-yard line, it took Leander just over five minutes and 11 plays to reach the end zone, punctuating the drive with a one-yard sneak by quarterback Joseph Marro for the score. Rodriguez was on target, and the Leander lead grew to 20-7.
Del Rio was forced to punt on its next drive, and Leander appeared to pick up where the team left off. Burkman and Lavin connected for 22 yards, and then Tanner Christensen broke off a 23-yard run. But a pair of holding penalties put the Lions in a 2nd-and-30 from the Rams’ 32. With the drive stalled, Rodriguez was sent out to try a 29-yard field goal, but the Rams surged through the line and blocked it as the fourth quarter began.
That play breathed new life into Del Rio.
Facing 3rd-and-20, Farrar made a juggling, tumbling circus catch on the far sidelines that picked up 37 yards for Del Rio and got the Rams to midfield. Taylor then hit a streaking Hughes down the near sideline for a 44-yard gain to Leander’s six-yard line.
Three plays later, Taylor found a leaping Farrar in the left corner of the end zone for the touchdown, and Tamez’s kick cut the lead to 20-14.
A dropped pass on third down and short brought a quick end to Leander’s next drive, and a Rodriguez punt set the Rams up at their own 48-yard line.
Angel Martinez was able to pick up the first down on a nine-yard run, but Leander’s Michael Segovia shoved Matherne back to the ground after the play, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and moving the Rams to the Lions’ 20.
After a holding penalty moved Del Rio back to the 30, Farrar made another circus catch, this time tiptoeing the sidelines as he made a diving catch that carried him out of bounds. The play was good for 18 yards and set the Rams up for a more manageable third down.
Hughes picked up the first down, and on the next play Taylor ran it in from four yards out. Tamez’s kick gave the Rams back the lead they had lost in the first quarter, 21-20, with 6:32 left to play.
Leander quickly answered in just over two minutes. Bolstered by a 33-yard run by Stout, the Lions went 72 yards in seven plays, ending the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Burkman to Daniel Crites. Leander opted to go for two, but Logan Mitchell’s run was stopped short and left the Lions up, 26-21, with 4:27 to play.
The offensive track meet continued with Del Rio’s next possession.
A 38-yard pass from Taylor to Ethan Vasquez kick-started the drive. After a 20-yard run by Taylor got Del Rio to Leander’s 13, Hughes did the rest, carrying the ball the final 13 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Taylor then hit Martinez for the two-point conversion and a 29-26 Rams lead with 2:51 to play.
Leander wasn’t ready to quit.
The Lions used its running game to gouge the Rams defense before a 15-yard pass from Burkman to Lavin got Leander to Del Rio’s 20 with less than a minute to play.
After clocking the ball on first down to stop the clock, Burkman dropped back to pass but was hit from behind by a blitzing Juan “Chili” Peralta. The ball popped into the air where lineman Ryan Kazmir snagged it and was immediately tackled. It was the second time in the game Kazmir made a catch. He made a play on a tipped ball earlier in the game. One more incomplete pass stopped the clock and Rodriguez was sent out once more.
Despite his struggles, the junior kicker was on target when the Lions needed him most, splitting the uprights with a 44-yard kick that tied the game at 29-29 with 12 seconds to play.
Rams fans thought Del Rio set itself for a chance to win with seconds left to play after Hughes fielded the ensuing kickoff at the one-yard line, faked handing it off to Jovahn West, and found a lane down the left side of the field all the way inside the Leander 30, but a blindside block penalty brought the ball back to the Rams’ 15 where Hughes carried the ball once more for 18 yards as regulation time expired.
Leander got the ball to start the first overtime. Lonnie Green Jr. dropped Stout for a three-yard loss, and Flores’ tackle on Christensen left Leander to try a 22-yard field goal. Rodriguez was good, and gave Leander a 32-29 lead.
Del Rio looked like they’d pull out the win after a 21-yard pass from Taylor to Farrar put the Rams at the Leander 9. A four-yard run by Hughes got Del Rio to the five-yard line, but back-to-back runs results in losses and Tamez was sent out to try a 25-yard field goal. The sophomore connected again, and sent the game to a second overtime, 32-32.
The Rams got the ball to start the second overtime, but Taylor was sacked by Daniel Cedillo for a 14-yard loss on third down, and Taylor’s pass to the end zone was knocked down, setting up Leander for a potential winning score.
Fabian Venegas stopped Gordon for three yards on first down. On second down, it was Ludemann who blasted Burkman for a one-yard gain. Third down was next, and Padilla wrapped up Stout for a two-yard gain to set up fourth down.
Rodriguez trotted out for his seventh kick of the game. He’d already had one field goal blocked, and had missed a point after try from 25 yards out. The snap and hold was there, but Rodriguez’s kick sailed left of the upright and the game headed to a third overtime.
With Texas high schools following NCAA rules in terms of overtime, every extra period from the third one on meant the teams would get the ball at the three-yard line and would get one chance to reach the end zone for what would be considered a two-point try.
Leander was first and was successful as Burkman hit Gordon for two.
Del Rio’s try wasn’t successful as the Lions brought an all-out blitz and buried Taylor in the backfield, bringing an end to a wild game.
The Rams will host the East Central Hornets (1-2) Friday, Sept. 16 at Walter Levermann at 7 p.m. The Hornets lost to Smithson Valley Friday night, 45-7.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
