By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
East Central’s Austin Vivier proved the Hornets live and die with his performance on the field.
Vivier rushed for two touchdowns and threw for a third as the Hornets handed the Rams their fourth straight loss to open the season, 27-7, in front of the home fans at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium Friday night.
Vivier, the Hornets’ leading scorer on the season, rushed for 132 yards in the first quarter alone as his legs helped East Central build a 14-0 lead over Del Rio. He finished with 279 yards of total offense as he was able to use his mobility to roll out of the pocket and find open receivers consistently.
By contrast, the Rams had just 11 yards of offense in the first quarter as Del Rio didn’t pick up its first first down until there was less than a minute and a half left to play in the opening period. That first down came courtesy of a roughing the passer penalty against the Hornets.
East Central’s first score came with just under six minutes to play in the first quarter when Vivier was able to find some space in the Rams offensive line, and then cut left before outrunning defenders 59 yards to the end zone. Daniel Gauna hit the extra point and staked the Hornets to a 7-0 lead.
After the Rams were forced to punt, Vivier threw back-to-back incompletions before he called his own number. He zipped around the left end of the line and sprinted to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown run. Gauna’s kick made it 14-0.
The score remained 14-0 until there was about 10 minutes left in the first half. Vivier lined up to punt, but instead of kicking the ball he took the snap, set his feet and lofted a pass to a wide-open Abel Vasquez. Vasquez took off down the field, evaded Del Rio’s last group of defenders near the goal line, and scored on a 56-yard fake. Gauna was again good, and the East Central lead was 21-0.
Gauna’s leg made it 24-0 after he closed East Central’s next drive with a successful 36-yard field goal. He would bang home another field goal, this one from 26 yards out, to stake the Hornets to a 27-0 lead with 13 seconds left in the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Zane Hughes collected the ball at the 20-yard line, found a seam down the near sideline and used his speed to outrun the Hornets defense for an 80-yard kickoff return score, but the big play was negated by an illegal block in the back penalty and Del Rio got one more untimed down at its own 10 yard line.
Hughes got loose again, sprinting for a 65-yard run as the first half came to an end.
The second half saw the Rams sub in some of other offensive weapons to try and jumpstart their drives. Elian De La Paz and Ethan Matherne handled the bulk of the ball carrying in the third quarter as the two alternated in the backfield.
Matherne had a19-yard gain on his second carry of the second half, and back-to-back runs by De La Paz gave the Rams a first down later in the quarter.
Del Rio even changed up its quarterback as head coach Rod Taylor removed his son Zack Taylor from the role and inserted Eliseo “Cheo” Ortiz. Ortiz ran the offense for two drives and had Del Rio’s second longest run of the game at one point, a 23-yard scramble early in the fourth quarter.
Taylor returned and the Rams went three-and-out, but on their final possession Taylor put the ball into Hughes’ hands and he found running room down the right side of the field, racing for a 68-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left to play. Rodrigo Tamez connected on the point after try, and the score was 27-7.
East Central killed the remainder of the game clock with one kneel down and earned its second win of the season.
Hughes finished the game unofficially with three carries for 138 yards and one touchdown. He also made two catches for 21 yards.
Del Rio will close out its non-district schedule Saturday, Sept. 24, when they travel to Midland to play the Midland Christian Mustangs (1-3) at 2 p.m. Midland Christian lost to San Antonio Cornerstone Christian Friday night, 28-21.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
