By BRIAN ARGABRIGHT
The 830 Times
Before the season began Del Rio head football coach Fiacro Ramirez said the biggest thing the Rams needed to learn was how to close out games.
Friday night in San Antonio, Del Rio did just that with an eight-minute, fourth-quarter touchdown drive that gave the Rams the lead for good in a 24-17 win over the Warren Warriors at Gustafson Stadium.
The win evens the Rams’ record on the season to 1-1. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Rams and gave them their first win over Warren since 2016. Friday night’s loss leaves Warren at 0-2 in 2024.
Del Rio’s defense helped disrupt the Warriors’ first drive of the game when David Rodriguez shot in unblocked and dropped Warren quarterback Davian Gonzales for a six-yard loss that forced a punt. A strong wind knocked the ball down near midfield and set the Rams up at their own 39 to start their first offensive series.
Fermin Rodriguez did most of the heavy lifting on the drive, carrying the ball eight times for 31 yards, capping things with a three-yard scoring run. Rodrigo Tamez added the point after to give Del Rio an early 7-0 lead. Brian Natividad contributed a 20-yard run on the drive as Del Rio ate up the clock as well as plenty of yardage.
The teams exchanged punts until the Rams put together their second scoring drive of the game early in the second quarter.
Zane Hughes got things going with a 12-yard carry on first down. Natividad had a 19-yard gain two plays later to set the Rams up inside the Warren 30. Del Rio would be able to get as close as the eight-yard line before Tamez was sent out for a 25-yard field goal attempt. His kick was true, and Del Rio pushed its lead to 10-0.
Warren finally got its offense going on its next possession. A 32-yard pass from Gonzales to Jamare Jones put the Warriors into Rams’ territory. A 13-yard end around by Jones put Warren at the Del Rio 16-yard line, but a penalty against the Warriors helped to slow down their drive. Warren eventually settled for a 32-yard field goal by Steve Jimenez to cut the Rams’ lead to 10-3.
Del Rio’s ensuing drive was rolling along well. Ramirez then tossed a pass to Caleb Villa. Villa got held up and stripped by Warren’s defense. The ball bounced to George Silva who pounced on it to set the Warriors up at their own 18. Warren was able to run three plays before the first half came to an end.
The Rams got the ball to start the second half, but four plays into the third quarter Ramirez fumbled and Warren’s Aiden Urdiales recovered at the Del Rio 39-yard line.
But as Del Rio giveth, the Rams also taketh away when Damion Bagneschi picked off his second pass of the season to put Del Rio right back on offense.
The turnover bug stayed busy as the next Rams drive ended with Ernesto James dashing into Ramirez’s passing line and pick off a bubble screen before returning it 37 yards for the touchdown. The point after try tied the game at 10-10 midway through the third.
Del Rio returned to its ground game on its next possession. After three straight runs by Rodriguez got the Rams to midfield, Ramirez took the snap, called his own number and raced 50 yards to the end zone. Tamez’s kick put Del Rio back in front, 17-10.
The Rams’ defense again came up big to turn Warren away on its next drive. Warren drove to the Rams 20 before Gonzales was stripped of the ball only to have his teammate David Araiza recover it. Warren tried a pair of passes to find the end zone, but Richard Camposano and Jacob Ortiz batted away back-to-back passes to force a turnover on downs.
Del Rio’s next drive was pure ground and pound as the Rams used 14 plays to drain about eight minutes off the clock from the third to the fourth quarter. Ramirez got things going with a 14-yard run. He added a 16-yard, third-down jaunt to keep the drive going.
Three short runs gave Del Rio a fourth-and-2 at the Warren 30. After a timeout, Del Rio came out and lined up to try and pick up those two crucial yards. Rodriguez got the call and the bruising back churned, spun around and dragged defenders for a 23-yard gain to set up first and goal at the Warriors’ 7-yard line.
A false start penalty versus Del Rio led to Tamez being sent out to try a 22-yard field goal, but while his kick was good, Warren was called for being offsides and the ball was moved to just outside the two-yard line. This time Del Rio opted to go for it, and Ramirez picked up his second touchdown of the game to put the Rams ahead 24-10 with just over five minutes left to play.
Warren wasted little time to cut the lead to one score again as the Warriors needed just five plays to go 75 yards, capping things with a three-yard touchdown run by Gonzales to help trim the lead to 24-17.
Del Rio recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Rams kept the ball moving until turning it over on downs with 11 seconds left to play. Warren was able to hit on a final 14-yard pass, but they’d get no further as Del Rio held on for the win.
Rodriguez and Ramirez each finished with more than 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Rodriguez had 26 carries for 118 yards while Ramirez had 16 carries for 137 yards. As a team, Del Rio had more than 360 yards of offense on the night.
The Rams travel to New Braunfels Sept. 13 for a 7 p.m. game against the New Braunfels Unicorns.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
