By Brian Argabright
For Del Rio and Laredo United South, their battle under the Friday night lights turned into a literal game of Catch 22.
Del Rio’s No. 22, Aiden Huerta, and South’s No. 22, Brian Benavides, put on a show as they combined for six touchdowns, but it was Huerta who had the final word with a 42-yard scoring run with two seconds left in the game to lead the Rams past the visiting Panthers, 35-28, and keep their hopes for a share of the District 30-6A crown alive.
The Rams (4-3 overall, 4-1 in district) will close out their season Thursday night in Eagle Pass as they face the Eagles (5-0) in the 98th official meeting of the two teams.
If Del Rio beats Eagle Pass, they will share the district crown with the Eagles and possibly Laredo United, pending the outcome of the Longhorns’ final game of the season against Laredo Alexander.
If United loses, Del Rio would claim the No. 1 seed by way of beating Eagle Pass head-to-head. If United wins, then the Rams, Longhorns and Eagle Pass would flip coins to decide the 1, 2 and 3 seeds due to each team holding one win over one of the other teams.
It wasn’t Huerta or Benavides that got the scoring going Friday night, but the Rams’ defense as Alejandro De Luna blitzed Panthers quarterback Alfredo Villarreal, recording a strip sack. The fumble was recovered in the end zone by Del Rio and the lead was 7-0 early.
After a Villarreal to Benavides screen pass resulted in the tying score, the Rams pulled ahead by 14 points thanks to a 48-yard touchdown run by Huerta and a 57-yard touchdown pass from Victor Medina to Ricky Haynes.
South’s defense cut the lead to 21-14 after recovering a Medina fumble and returning it 30 yards for the score. Benavides then scored South’s next two touchdowns on runs of 36 and 23 yards to give his team a 28-21 lead at the half.
The second half belonged to the Rams. The defense shutout the Panthers over the final two quarters of play, and the offense was powered by Huerta.
Huerta, who rushed for 124 yards in the second half alone, scored on Del Rio’s first possession of the second half, escaping the South defenders and racing up the middle for a 46-yard touchdown. Donny Lewis, who was 5-for-5 on the night on point after tries, tied the game at 28-28.
Del Rio’s final drive started with 1:27 left in the game, and the Rams turned to their passing game as they got out near midfield until there was 15 second left to play. After Huerta picked up seven yards before scurrying out of bounds, he then took the handoff and eluded defenders up the left side of the field and into the end zone for a 42-yard scoring run that proved to be the game-winner.
Huerta finished with 215 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the game.
