By BRIAN ARGABRIGHT
The 830 Times
Laredo United’s fast start was too much for the Del Rio Rams to overcome.
United scored on all three of its first quarter possessions and built a 34-3 lead by halftime as the Longhorns handed the Rams their eighth straight loss, dating back to last season, with a 48-3 final Saturday night at the Student Activity Complex in Laredo.
Three different quarterbacks completed passes for United in the first half. Jesse Garcia-Perez started things off with a 49-yard pass to Colt Lozano on the first play of the game. That would help set up a five-yard touchdown pass from Jorge Luna to Garcia-Perez for a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest.
Del Rio punted on its first possession and United went right back to work. Luna hit Garcia-Perez for a 22-yard gain. Two plays later, Luna connected with Rola San Miguel for a 16-yard play. Luna then completed the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Lozano to help make the score 14-0.
The Rams made a dent in the score on their next possession. A pass from Jayden Mendoza to a wide open Casimiro Cardenas gained 52 yards and put Del Rio at the United 35. A sack of Mendoza by Dariel Trevizo pushed the Rams bac, but Joel Renteria came on and hit a 30-yard field goal to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 14-3.
With just under four minutes left in the first quarter, United came out to try and add to its lead. What followed was a nine-play scoring drive highlighted by an 18-yard pass from Luna to Garcia-Perez and a 25-yard pass from Luna to Santiago Delgado and ending with a four-yard touchdown run by Juan Lopez to make the score 21-3 with three seconds left in the first quarter.
Del Rio’s offense showed some signs of life following United’s third score. Mendoza found Aaron Smith for a 22-yard gain to near midfield. On third down, Mendoza looked as if he was brought down short of the first down, but the senior quarterback stayed alert and popped up and continued running until he finished with an 11 -yard gain and a Rams first down.
The Rams were only able to gain one more yard after that, though, and punted back to the Longhorns.
A 29-yard pass to Delgado and a 17-yard completion to Lozano put United at their own 48-yard line, and a pass interference call against Del Rio moved the Longhorns to the Rams’ 40. On the next play, Luna found Lozano again, this time for a 40-yard touchdown and a 28-3 Longhorns lead.
Del Rio’s defense came up big on United’s next drive as Dario Carrizales picked off a Luna pass that bounced off the hands of Garcia-Perez. Unfortunately, Del Rio could not capitalize and punted, but the Rams forced a United punt and got the ball right back.
After another Del Rio punt, United aimed to add one more score to its tally before the half ended. New quarterback Alex Martinez found San Miguel for a 25-yard gain, then completed passes of 13 yards and 19 yards to Victor Reyes and Garcia-Perez, respectively, before another pass interference penalty against the Rams set the Longhorns up at Del Rio’s six-yard line.
On the next play, Martinez hit a wide open Aaden Ochoa for the score. The point after try was muffed, and the teams eventually went to halftime with United leading 34-3.
Del Rio’s defense seemed to make the right adjustments against the Longhorns as the second half began. The Longhorns’ first two possessions of the third quarter ended in turnovers. Jacob Ortiz recovered a Lopez fumble to kill one drive while Eli Crispin intercepted a Luna pass off the hands of Ochoa and returned it 47 yards to the Laredo United eight-yard line.
However, Del Rio saw its best chance to score up to that point take the unluckiest of bounces when Mendoza, looking to stretch the ball across the goal line, lost possession of the football at the two-yard line and could only watch as it bounced into the end zone and out of the right side of the end zone for a touchback.
Del Rio’s defense kept up the pressure on United. Juan Hernandez nearly picked off Luna for the Rams’ third interception of the game. Kai Gee then sacked Luna for a 10-yard loss that helped lead to the Longhorns punting the ball away.
The Rams went three-and-out and punted the ball back to United, but the Longhorns muffed the return and Del Rio’s Richard Camposano came out of the pile with the ball for his team.
Del Rio did get a big 16-yard run by Raul Deluna, but on the next play Mendoza was unable to corral the snap and inadvertently kicked the ball out of his own reach only for it to be recovered by United’s Deven Rodriguez.
United cashed in on the turnover, ending a five-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Reyes for a 41-3 advantage.
Del Rio’s lone touchdown came on its next possession. Mendoza scrambled for 14 yards, Nathan Mojica picked up two more, and then Santiago Ortiz broke loose on a reverse for a big 43-yard gain. Mendoza then capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown, aided by a fake pitch before keeping it himself, to cut the deficit to 41-10.
United answered on its final drive of the game as the Longhorns went on a 10-play drive that consisted of only runs. Ochoa finished things off with a 19-yard touchdown run to push the score to 48-10, which proved to be the final.
The Rams will look to snap their losing streak Friday night when they host the Laredo United South Panthers at 7 p.m. at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
