By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Rams sophomore quarterback Zack Taylor etched his name into the Del Rio Rams record book after his performance against Laredo Nixon.
Taylor accounted for 458 yards of offense for Del Rio and rushed for a pair of touchdowns of 98 yards or more to lead the Rams to a 46-28 win over the Mustangs Friday night at Laredo’s Shirley Field.
It was the third time this season that the speedy Taylor had a touchdown run of at least 98 yards. He also had one against Laredo LBJ.
Taylor finished the game with 275 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He also threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-23 passing.
The win moves the Rams to 3-4 on the season and 2-1 in district. Nixon drops to 2-6 on the season and 0-4 in district.
Taylor wasn’t the only football player enjoying a big Friday night at Shirley Field. Nixon’s Hernando Ruiz racked up 193 yards rushing and one touchdown on 22 carries. His teammate, Andres Bautista, carried the ball 14 times for 123 yards.
As a team, Nixon rushed for 395 yards and four touchdowns, turning the football game into a track meet for much of the first three quarters of play.
Nixon took the first lead of the game when Ruiz broke loose for a 96-yard touchdown run on the Mustangs’ first offensive play of the game, making it 7-0 early in the first quarter.
But the Rams had an answer on their second possession of the contest when Taylor found running back Luis Pablo Galaviz for a 77-yard touchdown pass that helped tie the game at 7-7.
Nixon reclaimed the lead on its next possession, grinding out a 75-yard drive capped by a four-yard touchdown run by quarterback Antonio Calderon to make it a 14-7 Mustangs lead.
Once again the Rams had a response as Taylor tossed his second touchdown pass of the game, this one a seven yarder to Zane Hughes, to help tie the game at 14-14 on the first play of the second quarter.
The tie didn’t last long as the Mustangs pulled ahead again on its next possession. A 50-yard pass from Calderon to Damian Aguirre set Nixon up at the Rams 12-yard line. Three plays later, Calderon called his own number and used a quarterback sneak to help lift Nixon to a 21-14 lead.
Each team’s defense helped derail the next drives. Nixon’s Alexis Aldana nearly intercepted Taylor and helped force a punt back to the Mustangs. But then the Rams Sammy Flores intercepted Calderon and put the ball right back in Del Rio’s hands.
The ensuing dive didn’t go anywhere and the Rams punted the ball back to the Mustangs. Another big defensive play gave the Rams the ball once more when Lonnie Green Jr. stripped Nixon of the ball and Manuel Padilla recovered it for the Rams at the Nixon 42-yard line.
Four plays later, Taylor had his first rushing score of the contest, this one from seven yards out, to tie the game at 21-21, which stood as the halftime score.
Nixon got the ball to start the second half, but Del Rio was able to force a punt thanks in part to a tackle for loss by Nathan Reyes.
Del Rio’s ensuing drive started with a pair of incomplete passes, but then Taylor used his legs to get the Rams going. After a 21-yard run, Taylor was able to get the Rams inside the Mustangs’ 20-yard line. Three plays later, Taylor used a pump fake to freeze a Nixon defender and then lofted the ball to a wide-open Alan Dobbins for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Rams in front, 28-21.
After Nixon’s next drive stalled at midfield, a Mustangs punt pinned the Rams at their own 2-yard line. After a run by Galaviz netted zero yards, Taylor took the snap, just tried to get the Rams out of the shadow of their own end zone. Instead, he found a clear running lane and he raced down the near sideline. After leaving Aldana, Nixon’s last hope for a stop, behind, Taylor finally stopped in the end zone for his second 98-yard touchdown run of the season. Elian De La Paz ran in the two-point conversion to stake the Rams to a 36-21 lead.
The Mustangs cut the lead to one score when Calderon scored his third touchdown of the game, once again from a yard out, to make it 36-28 in favor of the Rams.
Del Rio added to its lead on a 30-yard field goal by Camilo Alvarez, increasing the score to 39-28 midway through the fourth quarter.
With no timeouts left, Nixon did its best to move the ball down the field as quickly as possible. The Mustangs chewed up yards thanks to big runs by Ruiz and Bautista and a pass from Calderon to Ruiz.
Nixon had first and goal from the Del Rio 8, and after three straight runs the Mustangs were at the Rams’ 1-yard line. Ruiz got the call, but Del Rio’s Braden Ludemann shot in and upended him just shy of the goal line and forced a turnover on downs.
As he did before, Taylor took the snap and looked for whatever running room he could find to get the Rams away from a possible safety. What he found was a hole through the middle of the line and another chance for a long score. Sure enough, Taylor outran the Nixon defense 99 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the game and a 46-28 Del Rio lead.
Del Rio’s Padilla and Nathan Mayes helped put the stamp on the win by sacking Nixon’s Raymundo Gonzalez on the Mustangs’ final possession.
The Rams will host the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs Friday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium for Del Rio’s annual Homecoming Game.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
