By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
CONVERSE — There are two things coaches have often said their teams need to avoid to have a better chance at winning – turnovers and giving up big plays.
Both of those haunted Del Rio in its season opener as the Rams fell to the San Antonio Veterans Memorial Patriots, 55-20, Thursday night at D.W. Rutledge Stadium.
The Rams turned the ball over three times and gave up eight plays of 20 yards or more as they fell behind 27-0 by halftime before finally finding the end zone three times in the second half.
It didn’t take long for the Patriots to grab the lead as they returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown and an early 7-0 advantage.
Del Rio stopped Veterans Memorial on its next two drives, but the Patriots found the end zone again early in the second quarter when quarterback Alex Alva hit Weston Ross for a 32-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The lead grew to 21-0 when quarterback Chris Irving scored on a two-yard run. Alva and Irving shared quarterbacking duties throughout the game with them alternating series until the second half when Irving was given the reins for much of the third and fourth quarters.
Del Rio put together its best drive of the first half with just under seven minutes to play.
It started with a 35-yard run by Emiliano Lopez to the Memorial 26. A pass interference penalty against Memorial bailed out the Rams on fourth down, and a pass from Zack Taylor to Alan Dobbins set the Rams up at the Patriots’ three-yard line.
After a first and goal attempt by Elian De La Paz was stuffed, Taylor called his number and skirted around the left side of the line to try and reach the end zone. There was plenty of confusion that followed as there was no signal from the referees for a Rams touchdown nor did they let the Rams coaches know it was third and goal. The play even confused the public address announcer who called Taylor’s run a touchdown for Del Rio.
Taylor quickly gathered the Rams at the line of scrimmage to punch the ball in, but there was a fumble and the ball was recovered in the end zone by Memorial.
Six plays later, J.C. Solitaire cut through the Rams defense for a 63-yard touchdown run. The ensuing point after was blocked, keeping the score at 27-0.
Del Rio’s second turnover would be an interception of a Taylor pass by Memorial’s Amarrion Reese with 16 seconds left in the first half.
The second half started poorly for Del Rio as well as the Rams were forced to punt. Memorial then used a 40-yard pass from Alva to Ross to get inside the Del Rio 20. Three plays later, Alva kept the ball and scored on a 10-yard run to push the lead to 34-0.
Del Rio did its best to answer, using a 21-yard pass from Taylor to Dobbins to get near midfield, but the drive came to an abrupt end when Jacques Burkhalter picked Taylor off and returned it 64 yards to the Rams’ 13 yard line.
James Peoples capped the ensuing short drive with a six-yard touchdown run that put the Rams in a 41-0 hole.
Del Rio finally got its offense moving on its next drive, thanks to a personal foul against Memorial and the legs of Lopez.
Lopez carried the ball six times on the drive, accounting for 52 yards including a four-yard touchdown run. Julian Rivera, making his debut as Del Rio’s placekicker, nailed the extra point and cut the Memorial lead to 41-7.
It didn’t take Memorial long to answer. Peoples’ returned the kickoff 50 yards to the Rams’ 45. Two plays later, he escaped the Rams defense and raced 45 yards to the end zone to help make it 48-7, Patriots.
Once again, Del Rio had an answer. Taylor took the snap, rolled right, and zipped up the right side of the field, leaving defenders in his dust as he sprinted for a 75-yard touchdown. Rivera was on target again, and the lead was 48-14
Memorial’s final score came on a one-yard run by Kenny Dang with just over six minutes left in the game. That made it a 55-14 game.
Del Rio capped its final offensive possession with a one-yard touchdown run by Bernie Esquivel. The score was set up by a 32-yard pass from Taylor to Dobbins. Del Rio went for two, but came up short, leaving the final at 55-20.
The Rams did finish the game with two players amassing more than 100 yards rushing. Taylor had 10 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown while Lopez finished with 16 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Del Rio welcomes the Odessa High Bronchos to Walter Levermann Ram Stadium on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. All tickets for the game must be purchased online. Tickets go on sale beginning Monday at 1 p.m.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
