By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio is in the win column for the first time this season.
The Rams defense intercepted Laredo LBJ quarterback Guillermo Trejo four times and Zack Taylor threw two touchdowns as Del Rio opened district play with a 20-7 victory over the Wolves.
The win moves the Rams to 1-5 on the season. LBJ drops to 4-2.
Del Rio didn’t waste time finding the end zone. After four straight runs by Zane Hughes, Taylor hit Corbin Farrar for a 9-yard gain. After a short run by Ethan Matherne, Taylor connected with Jovahn West on a short screen pass. West used his elusiveness and speed to zoom down the near sideline 50 yards to the end zone. Eusebio Tamez hit the point after try, and Del Rio led 7-0 less than six minutes into the game.
The defense made its first big play on LBJ’s next possession when Juan “Chili” Peralta intercepted Trejo and gave the Rams the ball near midfield.
Taylor and West hooked up again on the ensuing drive as Taylor was able to escape LBJ’s pass rush and find West for a 38-yard gain. However back-to-back tackles for loss by the Wolves’ Alejandro Olvera forced the Rams into a passing situation. Under pressure, Taylor heaved a pass downfield into double coverage where the Wolves’ Luis Rios picked off the lofty toss and killed the Rams’ drive.
LBJ benefited from a roughing the passer penalty against Del Rio, but after a short run by the Wolves’ Rene Ramos, Sammy Flores blasted David Betancourt to force an incompletion on second down and then the Rams pass rush, led by Dakar Cadena, drove Trejo out of bounds for a sack and forced an LBJ punt.
Del Rio’s next drive was a costly one. Wide receiver Alan Dobbins made an 11-yard catch but sustained a lower body injury that forced him from the game for the remainder of the contest. Then after reaching the LBJ 5-yard line, Del Rio’s offense stalled and Tabez was sent out to try a 22-yard field goal. The kick struck the right upright and was no good, leaving the game a 7-0 in favor of Del Rio with just over six minutes left in the first half.
LBJ dipped into its bag of tricks for its next drive, using a fake punt to complete a pass to Ricardo Sanchez Jr. for 23 yards and a first down at Del Rio’s 33-yard line. But two plays later Del Rio’s Sammy Flores beat LBJ’s Anthony Rodriguez to the ball and picked off Trejo for the Wolves’ second turnover of the game.
Del Rio eventually punted, but the Rams ended the first half on a high note as Abraham Guillen sacked Trejo for a three-yard loss and helped bring a close to the half with Del Rio ahead, 7-0.
Though Del Rio got the ball to start the second half, the Rams would punt the ball back to LBJ. This time, the Wolves were able to put together a drive that ended in success as Ramos scored on a nine-yard run, and Trejo’s kick tied the game at 7-7.
Ramos, who had been held in check in the first half, had 27 yards on five carries on the scoring drive and Trejo was a perfect 4-for-4.
Another LBJ sack helped derail the Rams’ next drive after Roy Rangel dropped Taylor for a 12-yard loss and forced Del Rio to punt. Del Rio’s defense again stepped up as Flores jarred another ball from a Wolves receiver to bring about another LBJ punt and give the Rams another shot on offense.
After a Hughes punt return set up the Rams at the LBJ 25, Del Rio caught a big break after Farrar was hit and fumbled after catching a pass from Taylor, but his lineman Hector Rodriguez smothered the loose ball to keep the drive alive.
On the next play, Taylor found Angel Martinez with a shovel pass and the burly running back rumbled 13 yards to the end zone. Tamez connected on the point after, and Del Rio led 14-7 late in the third quarter.
LBJ’s next drive was another lengthy one starting at its own 14-yard line. Trejo’s arm got the Wolves out of trouble, but he had to sit out a play after taking a hard hit on a Rams blitz. On his first play back, Trejo appeared to find Gerardo Mendoza for a 25-yard touchdown, but Del Rio was called for offsides and the play was blown dead when the Rams made contact with LBJ in the neutral zone, wiping away the score.
The next time Trejo fired a pass into the end zone, Peralta made his second interception of the game and the Wolves were turned away again.
After the two teams exchanged punts, Del Rio was pinned at their own 10-yard line. The Rams got out of trouble thanks to a 15-yard pass to Martinez, but Taylor was dropped for a 5-yard loss, and then he was sacked by Rios and Zade Costilla to put the Rams at their own 11-yard line on third and long.
Del Rio opted to play it safe and hand the ball off to Hughes, but the speedy running back broke through LBJ’s first line of defense and then outraced the remainder of the Wolves defenders for an 89-yard touchdown run. Del Rio went for two, but Hughes was stopped short, leaving the score 20-7 in favor of the Rams with 1:30 left to play.
LBJ got a first down on a 13-yard pass to Abraham Huerta, but after Trejo was called for intentional grounding, Fabian Venegas sealed Del Rio’s win by picking Trejo off for the QB’s fourth turnover of the game with 40 seconds left to play.
Taylor came on to kneel the ball and run the remainder of the game clock off the board to preserve Del Rio’s win.
West finished the game with five catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. Hughes finished with nine carries for 108 yards and a touchdown. He remains the only Ram to score in all six of Del Rio’s games this season.
The Rams welcome Laredo United South to Walter Levermann Ram Stadium Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. It will also be Del Rio’s homecoming game.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
