By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Zane Hughes had the kind of first half that video game stats are built on.
The junior running back had 190 yards rushing and two touchdowns to put the Rams up 14-3 by halftime. Del Rio only built on that lead and opened its District 30-6A schedule with a convincing 24-9 win over the previously unbeaten Laredo LBJ Wolves.
Del Rio improves to 2-4 on the season and 1-0 in District 30-6A.
Unofficially, Hughes finished with 215 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Rams offense.
Del Rio’s third possession of the game opened the doors for Hughes. After a four-yard run, Hughes took the pitch from quarterback Eliseo Ortiz, split a pair of LBJ defenders and then sprinted 86 yards to the end zone for his first touchdown of the game. Rodrigo Tamez hit the point after try and staked the Rams to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
LBJ had a chance to tie the game when an 18-yard run by Abraham Huerta set up a first and goal for the Wolves at Del Rio’s nine-yard line. But the Rams defense shut down the Wolves from there, pushing LBJ back to the 10 on a Jacob Ortiz tackle and forcing a 27-yard field goal attempt. The kick was good and the Rams lead was cut to 7-3 early in the second quarter.
The Wolves got the ball back when Hughes was hit and fumbled, but again Del Rio’s defense stepped up and forced another field goal attempt. The kick was no good, and the Rams maintained their lead.
Three plays later Hughes struck again. He took the handoff, found a hole created by his offensive line on the right side, and zipped through the Wolves defense for a 75-yard touchdown. Tamez connected on the kick, and Del Rio’s lead grew to 14-3.
Del Rio had a chance to add to its lead late in the half when the Rams got to the LBJ 15, but a sack of Ortiz by Hector Cordova pushed the Rams back to the Wolves’ 26. With no timeouts, Del Rio hustled its field goal unit out, but a 47-yard attempt by Tamez was no good and the teams went to halftime with the Rams up, 14-3.
The Rams defense continued to harass LBJ in the second half as Manuel Padilla and Moses Fernandez teamed up to sack LBJ quarterback Guillermo Trejo on the first play of the third quarter. Trejo dusted himself off and helped move the Wolves down the field but he looked downfield for a big strike only to see his pass picked off by Ethan Vasquez at the Rams’ one-yard line to turn away the LBJ drive.
Del Rio would punt the ball back to the Wolves, but the defense came up big again when Ethan Matherne intercepted Trejo at the Rams 22 and returned it 49 yards to the Wolves 19-yard line. Tamez capped the short drive with a 26-yard field goal to stake the Rams to a 17-3 lead near the end of the third quarter.
LBJ found the end zone on its next drive which started at the end of the third quarter and surged through much of the fourth quarter. The 18-play drive end with a five-yard scoring run by Ivan Gonzalez. The point after try was no good, and the Del Rio lead remained 17-9.
The Rams started their next drive deep in their side of the field after a holding penalty and an unnecessary roughness penalty on the kickoff pushed Del Rio back to its own 13-yard line. Facing a 3rd-and-7 at their own 27, Ortiz took the snap, looked to his left and uncorked a long pass in the direction of Alan Dobbins. He hit the speedy two-way player in stride and Dobbins outran the defense to the end zone for a 73-yard score. Tamez’s kick put Del Rio ahead 24-9 with less than two minutes to play in the game.
LBJ benefited from a big return on the ensuing kickoff and eventually worked the ball to the Rams’ one-yard line. But on fourth and goal, Gonzalez tried to pass for a score only to have Dobbins snare the pass for an interception in the end zone to turn the Wolves away one final time.
Ortiz took the final snap and kneeled to run out the clock and secure the Rams win.
In other District 30-6A games, Laredo Alexander defeated Eagle Pass, 28-20, Thursday night; and Laredo United defeated Laredo United South, 35-7.
The Rams will travel to Laredo Thursday to face the United South Panthers at 7 p.m. at the Student Activity Complex.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
