By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Missed opportunities will haunt the Rams after their season-opening loss to the San Antonio Roosevelt Rough Riders.
Del Rio twice saw scoring opportunities go by the wayside including a kickoff return touchdown that was called back due to a penalty. In the end, Roosevelt got the better of Del Rio, 28-14, to hand head coach Fiacro Ramirez his first loss as the new Rams head coach.
Roosevelt’s offense went through running back Brennan Carroll. The elusive and powerful ball carrier touched the ball seven times on the Rough Riders’ first drive. His second carry went for 25 yards while his first pass reception was good for 34 yards. He capped Roosevelt’s opening drive with a one-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 7-0 Roosevelt.
Del Rio’s answer came immediately. Senior Alan Dobbins took the ensuing kickoff, found a seam through the right side of the field, and zoomed down the field before being brought down at the Roosevelt 6 yard-line.
Despite the excellent field position, the Rams’ offense couldn’t take advantage. Using the flexbone offense, which is run heavy and relies on precision timing and blocking to be successful, the Rams lost seven yards on their first offensive play and failed to gain a yard on the next two players.
Rodrigo Tamez came on to try a 30-yard field goal, but Roosevelt’s Jussiah Ali surged through the line and blocked the kick. The ball bounced into the hands of another Rough Riders defender who returned it untouched for a touchdown that helped put the Rams in a 14-0 hole with just five minutes left in the first quarter.
Del Rio’s next drive found more success behind the running of junior Zane Hughes. Hughes gained 10 yards on his first drive, and a late hit out of bounds against the speedy back gave the Rams another 15 yards. Hughes’ next carry netted 11 yards and moved the Rams into Roosevelt’s territory.
When the Rams faced a fourth-and-8 from the Roosevelt 25, quarterback Cheo Ortiz called his own number and found enough room to run to pick up 12 yards and keep Del Rio’s drive alive. Two players later, Hughes’ number was called again. He surged forward, made a defender miss, and strolled into the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown run. Tamez hit the point after try, and the Roosevelt lead was cut to 14-7 with less than 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
Roosevelt grabbed its double digit lead back on its next possession when quarterback Shai Markajani found Elijah Smith for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Smith looked to be stopped early after making the reception by defensive back Perry Mcintire, but he was able to break out of Mcintire’s tackle attempt and raced to the end zone for the score and a 21-7 lead.
Special teams came up big for the Rams again on the ensuing kickoff when Hughes returned the kick to the Rams’ 40 yard-line. Del Rio was able to get to the Roosevelt 37 yard-line on a 21-yard pass from Ortiz to Hughes, but on fourth-and-9 a pass from Ortiz to Dobbins fell incomplete and Roosevelt took over on offense.
If the Rough Riders were looking to add to their lead, then Del Rio’s Richard Camposano had other plans.
The sophomore linebacker, making his first start for the Rams, followed Markajani’s eyes and jumped a pass route, picking off the pass and never broke stride, returning it 50 yards for the touchdown and helping to cut the Roosevelt lead to 21-14.
The Rough Riders had a chance to add to its lead late in the first half as they fired two passes into the end zone, but Mcintire deftly deflected the first pass away on a perfectly defended play, and Marcelo Rodriguez prevented the second pass from being caught.
The second half began with a bang when Hughes collected the deep kickoff and returned it for a touchdown, but the celebration was short-lived after the Rams were called for an illegal block below the knees and Del Rio’s scoring strike was wiped from the scoreboard.
Del Rio had to start at its own 25-yard line and things didn’t get any better from there. After a three-yard run by Ethan Matherne, Del Rio lost 17 yards on its next two plays and was forced to punt.
Once again Roosevelt turned to the legs of Carroll to carry the load. The big back had eight more touches on the ensuring drive, including six straight carries. He rewarded the coaches’ decision to put the ball in his hands with a nine-yard touchdown run that helped seal Roosevelt’s 28-14 win.
Hughes was unofficially held to 34 yards a touchdown on 13 carries. His counterpart from Roosevelt, Carroll, finished with 26 carries for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Del Rio will get the chance to even their record Friday, Sept. 1, when the Rams welcome the Warren Warriors to town for a 7 p.m. match-up at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
