By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
For the second time this season, an injury unraveled the Rams’ chances at victory.
Del Rio starting quarterback Ivan Ramirez had to leave the Rams’ home game against the San Antonio Davenport Wolves due to an upper body injury.
The Wolves took advantage of his absence and was able to rally to stop the Rams, 35-10, to drop the Rams to 1-3 on the season.
Davenport had its own key injury to worry about when the Wolves’ starting quarterback went down on the team’s first drive. Backup junior Barrett Fallon came in and on his snap called his own number and sprinted through the defense for a 91-yard touchdown to help put his team ahead, 7-0.
Del Rio was able to tie the game on its second drive of the game when Zane Hughes took the pitch and used his speed to outrun the defense for a 78-yard touchdown. Rodrigo Tamez added the extra point and the game was tied 7-7.
After exchanging punts, the Rams were able to move down the field on the strength of Hughes’ running again. A 22-yard gain by Hughes set Del Rio up deep in Davenport’s side of the field. Despite being set up at the eight-yard line the Rams couldn’t complete the drive, so the Rams had to settle for a 30-yard Tamez field goal attempt. His kick was good, and Del Rio carried a 10-7 lead into the second quarter.
Davenport was able to force a turnover on downs and immediately turned the opportunity into points. Fallon scored his second touchdown of the game, this one on a six-yard run, and the Wolves grabbed a 14-10 lead with about seven minutes left in the first half.
Del Rio stuffed on its next possession and the ball went back Davenport. This time it was running back Kele Solidum who did the heavy lifting for the Wolves, finding a seam in the defense for an 11-yard touchdown that gave Davenport a 21-10 lead headed into halftime.
When it became clear Ramirez would be unable to return to the game, the responsibilities of being the Rams quarterback fell on sophomore Casimiro Cardenas, who had never taken a varsity snap before the Davenport game.
Cardenas handled himself the best he could, but he was unable to move the offense with the same ability as Ramirez or first string quarterback Jayden Mendoza, who had been injured in the Rams’ first game of the season and who missed Del Rio’s remaining non-district games.
The second half saw both Del Rio and Davenport exchanged punts, but eventually the Wolves were able to gain control of the flow of the game and utilize its ground game to control the clock.
The rushing attack proved fruitful again when Solidum scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run to build the Wolves’ lead to 28-10.
Davenport’s final score of the game came with about eight minutes left to play when Fallon burst through a hole in the line and rumbled 32 yards untouched to the end zone for his third touchdown of the game. That score would eventually help make the final score 35-10.
Despite losing Ramirez early on the Rams finished the game with nearly 300 yards of rushing offense. Hughes, who scored Del Rio’s only touchdown, had seven carries for 119 yards. Fermin Rodriguez had 12 carries for 64 yards. Hughes and Rodriguez were the only Rams players to rush for more than 20 yards in the game.
Fallon led Davenport with 252 yards on 26 carries. Solidum had 14 carries for 127 yards.
Del Rio is scheduled to open district play Friday at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium against the Laredo LBJ Wolves at 7 p.m.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
