By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio’s football season came to an end Friday night, but not the way the Rams and their fans would have liked.
The Rams rallied from a 17-0 deficit to cut the Eagle Pass lead to three, but Del Rio was stuffed on a fourth-and-three deep in Eagles territory and Luis Flores scored on a 65-yard scamper on the next play to snuff out any chances for a Rams comeback and give Eagle Pass a 23-14 win.
Del Rio ends its season 3-7 overall and 2-4 in district.
The Eagles grabbed a 7-0 lead with just under six minutes left to play in the first quarter when Pepe Hernandez reeled in a pass from Xavi Barrera and zoomed 27 yards for the score.
Three minutes later, Barrera had his second touchdown pass of the game when he lofted a deep pass into the arms of Sebas Velasquez in the end zone for a 37-yard scoring strike and a 14-0 Eagles lead.
Things got worse for the Rams in the second quarter when a bad snap on a punt helped set the Eagles up at the Del Rio 25-yard line. Del Rio’s defense would keep the Eagles out of the end zone, but Lazaro Frausto came on to hit a 28-yard field goal to put his team up 17-0, which stood as the score at halftime.
The Eagles got the ball to start the second half, but Del Rio was able to force an Eagle Pass punt. On the Rams’ first play from scrimmage, Zane Hughes went in motion, took the ball from quarterback Jayden Mendoza and turned on the jets around the right end of the line for a 70-yard touchdown run. Rodrigo Tamez hit the point after try and the Eagles’ lead was cut to 17-7.
Del Rio got the ball right back when Yeshua Bocanegra fell on a fumble by Flores and put the Rams offense back in business at the Eagles’ 36-yard line.
The Rams couldn’t take advantage, though, after Mendoza was forced out of the pocket and threw an interception. To make matters worse, Hughes was injured in the ensuing scrum to bring the Eagles defender down. He hopped off the field, keeping his weight off his right leg and would not return to the game.
Del Rio’s defense would again step up and stopped the Eagles on fourth-and-one near midfield after the interception. Brian Natividad would kick off Del Rio’s offensive possession with a first down run, and then Mendoza called his own number, weaved his way through the defense and outran the last defender to the left pylon for a 36-yard touchdown run that helped cut the lead to 17-14 with 2:56 left to play in the third quarter.
The Rams defense kept the pressure on Barrera throughout the second half. Bocanegra, Jayden Sanchez and Humberto Figueroa didn’t let the Eagles’ signal-caller get comfortable and helped keep Del Rio within striking distance.
However, a Mendoza fumble stopped the Rams’ next drive. Del Rio caught a break when a bad snap on a 34-yard field goal attempt left the Eagles scrambling to try and run for a first down only to be stopped at the Rams 17-yard line. Del Rio would have to punt, but the Rams got the ball back again when Hernandez fumbled, and Figueroa recovered to give the Rams new hope with 6:16 left to play.
The drive started strong when Fermin Rodriguez, who had been held in check for most of the game, stiff-armed an Eagle Pass defender into the turf on his way to a big gain. Mendoza then completed a pass to Caleb Villa who was then blasted out of bounds by an Eagles defender for a personal foul penalty that moved the Rams to their own 49-yard line.
Del Rio tried to use its ground game to bust through for one last score, but the Rams were held to seven yard on their first three plays. On fourth-and-three, Mendoza tried to run for the first down but was hit for a two-yard loss that ended the drive.
On the next play, Flores broke loose for his 65-yard touchdown and essentially brought an end to any hopes for a Rams comeback.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
