By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
For the second straight week, one point meant all the difference for the Del Rio Rams.
Down 20-7 in the fourth quarter, Laredo United rallied and scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 7 seconds left to play as the Longhorns handed the Rams their second one-point district loss, 28-27, Saturday night at Laredo’s Bill Johnson Student Activity Complex.
The Rams drop to 1-7 on the season and 1-2 in District 30-6A. United improves to 2-1 in district.
Del Rio lost to Laredo United South last week, 20-19, at home.
Del Rio’s defense proved an early spark for the Rams after defensive back Andrew Villarreal intercepted United’s Atzel Chavez Jr. in the end zone to kill the Longhorns’ first drive.
The Rams took advantage of the turnover, needing just four plays to find the end zone for their first score of the game. Quarterback Zack Taylor took the snap, planted his foot and headed up field. Once he got the blocks he needed, Taylor’s speed was the difference as he outran the Longhorns defense for a 64-yard touchdown. Rodrigo Tamez’s kick was good, and Del Rio led 7-0.
After the teams exchanged punts, the Rams defense came up big again when Fabian Venegas dropped United running back Juan Reyes for a three-yard loss on second down that helped to eventually force United to punt the ball back to Del Rio.
Del Rio returned to the end zone on its next drive. A pair of 14-yard runs by Zane Hughes, including a nifty escape against the Longhorns defense that should have been a tackle for a loss, helped set up an eventual 45-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Corbin Farrar. Tamez’s kick was again good, and the Rams led 14-0 in the second quarter.
It was the Del Rio defense that turned the Longhorns away again when “Chili” Peralta jumped the United route and intercepted Chavez deep inside Del Rio territory with less than four minutes remaining in the half.
Once again, the Rams took advantage.
A 22-yard pass from Taylor to Hughes set the Rams up at the Longhorns’ 28. Three plays later, Taylor froze the United defense with a pump fake and then tossed a pass to a wide open Farrar. With no defender within 10 yards of him, Farrar trotted into the end zone for a 31-yard score. Tamez came on to try the extra point, but his kick was blocked by the Longhorns and kept the Rams ahead 20-0 with 1:21 left in the half.
That 20-0 score would carry into halftime, and the Rams hoped to carry that momentum into the second half starting with receiving the kickoff. The opening drive reached midfield before the Rams were forced to punt the ball away.
United’s offense was able to get on track. Chavez’s arm and his legs slowly started finding space in the Rams defense. After an 11-yard pass to Reyes put the Longhorns at the Rams’ 29, Chavez connected with Martin Cabral for a 29-yard score. Rogelio Baldazo’s kick made the score 20-7.
It looked like United would get the ball back not too long after when Darrel Doyle hit Hughes, jarring the ball loose and eventually recovering it himself, but the Longhorns were called offsides on the play and an additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty versus United put Del Rio into Longhorns’ territory. The Rams would get as close as the United 37 before Taylor was tackled for a loss on fourth down by United’s Mauricio Gonzalez.
Chavez again led the Longhorns down the field. He ran for 19 yards on the drive including a one-yard rush for a score set up by a 13-yard pass to Ramon Chavez. Beldazo’s kick cut the Rams’ lead to 20-14.
Del Rio’s next drive benefited from a pass interference penalty against United. Taylor would complete four straight passes before capping the drive a 20-yard pass to Alan Dobbins who dove into the end zone for a touchdown. Tamez connected on his third point after try and set the Rams up by two scores, 27-14, with just over six minutes left to play.
United’s next drive nearly got derailed when Chavez was sacked by a trio of Rams including Manuel Padilla. Lonnie Green Jr., playing less than 24 hours after his father passed away, led the charge on the play and helped slow up the Longhorns’ signal caller long enough for his teammates to clean things up.
The Longhorns bounced back and moved to Del Rio’s 26-yard line on a pass interference penalty against the Rams. A 17-yard pass to Ramon Chavez put the Longhorns at the Rams’ 2, and Itzel Chavez did the rest, carrying the ball twice to reach the end zone and help cut the lead to 27-21.
Del Rio got the ball back with 2:59 left to play, but the Longhorns had all three of their timeouts left. The Rams picked up a first down on two Hughes runs, but a sack of Taylor pushed Del Rio back. Hughes got the lost yards back, forcing the Longhorns to use their last timeout, but on third down Jovahn West was handed the ball and he was dropped for a 12-yard loss thanks to the defensive work of United’s Ricardo Salinas Jr.
Del Rio eventually punted and United went back on offense at the Rams’ 49-yard line with 52 seconds to play. A 17-yard run by Itzel Chavez and a lateral to Reyes that turned into a pass back to Chavez put the Longhorns at the Rams’ 21.
After a 15-yard run by Itzel Chavez, and an incomplete pass to stop the clock, Chavez tossed a pass just high enough to avoid a leaping Villarreal and that found the arms of Cabral with seven seconds to play.
Baldazo’s kick proved to be the game winner as the Rams were unable to score on its final possession and fell by one point.
Del Rio returns to Laredo Thursday to face the Alexander Bulldogs at the SAC at 7 p.m.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
