MAVERICKS FOOTBALL GRIDIRON NEWS

Mavericks fall to

Laredo Martin Tigers 28 to 15

District 14-5A D1 Gridiron Opener

By: Conrado Perez, Jr. – Eagle Pass Sports Central

“Your best and only source for local sports news in Eagle Pass”

The mighty C.C. Winn Mavericks varsity football team under the direction of head football coach Eric Villaseñor kicked off their respective quest for the District 14-5A Division I title on Friday, September 28, 2018 when they entertained the Laredo Martin Tigers in a 7:30 PM district opening gridiron encounter at the Eagle Pass ISD Student Activity Center Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium which was packed on the home side with the famed Mavericks Nation in attendance who always come to stadium early ready support their beloved C.C. Winn Mavericks varsity football team.

The Laredo Martin Tigers came into this contest sporting an overall season record of 2-2 while the home standing Mavericks ventured into this match sporting an overall season record of 3-1. The visiting Laredo Martin Tigers tallied 21 unanswered points to come away with a 28 to15 win over the Mavericks.

This key district opening matchup started out as planned as the Mavericks stingy defense showcased their aggressiveness on the first series of the game holding the Laredo Martin Tigers to negative yardage on their first possession of this game and forced the Tigers to punt on fourth down.

After the ensuing punt the Mavericks offense took over neared-field and methodically mounted a well orchestrated 12 play scoring drive capped off with a 1 yd. blast to pay dirt by running back Fernando Zapata with 5:32 showing on the first quarter clock. Ernesto Fuentes tacked on the point after to give the Mavericks the early 7 to 0 lead over the Tigers.

The predominately run oriented Laredo Martin Tigers featuring their one-two rushing duo of quarterback Matthew Duron and tailback Jose Castaneda countered with a 67 yard scoring drive that culminated with a one yard scamper into the end zone by tailback Jose Castaneda with 2:05 left in the opening period. Abraham Escamillia converted the game tying point after to knot up the score at 7 all.

The fighting C.C. Winn Mavericks countered right back on their next possession with a 3 play 69 yard scoring drive highlighted by a sensational 58 yard gallop to pay dirt by quarterback Ethan Johnston with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter. Jose Blanco added a two-point conversion to give the Mavericks a 15 to 7 lead over the Laredo Martin Tigers.

The Mavericks had one more excellent opportunity to add to their lead early in the second quarter driving down to the Laredo Martin 16 yard line where they faced a fourth down an six, the Mavericks threw a pass into the end zone where the Mavericks receiver caught it in mid-air but it fell incomplete on the way down so the Laredo Martin Tigers dodged a bullet.

The Tigers took over at their own 16 yard line but once again the stingy Mavericks defense held rock solid against the Tigers offense forcing them to punt but the ensuing punt disaster struck as the Mavericks punt return man mishandled the punt and the opportunistic Tigers pounced on the errant pigskin. The Tigers sensing a momentum swing marched all the way down to the C.C. Winn two yard line where the Mavericks defense inflicted a vicious tackle by Mavericks linebacker Alex Chris Garcia on the ball carrier causing him to fumble and Alex Chris Garcia himself recovered the ball at the Mavericks two yard line.

The Mavericks however only managed to lose one yard on three running plays and were forced to punt from their own end zone. A short Mavericks punt gave the Tigers excellent field possession at the C,C. Winn 33 yard line where the Tigers went back to their bread and butter running game with Matthew Duron, Jose Castaneda and Daniel Martinez taking turns carrying the pigskin to cap off the short scoring drive with a 7 yard keeper by quarterback Matthew Duron with only 12 seconds left before halftime. Abraham Escamilla tacked on the extra point to close out the scoring in the first half with the home standing C.C. Winn Mavericks enjoying a slim 15 to 14 lead over the Laredo Martin Tigers.

The second half of the game was mostly all Laredo Martin as their talented quarterback Matthew Duron began to showcase his athletic, speedy and elusive ability leading the Tigers to a pair of touchdowns the first of was a six play 55 yard drive that was capped off with a six yard run by Matthew Duron with 7:35 showing on the third quarter clock. Abraham Escamilla split the uprights with the point after to give the Tigers a 21 to 15 lead over the Mavericks.

The second Laredo Martin score of the second half came late in the third quarter when the Tigers mounted a 51 yard scoring drive picking up key third down conversions to sustain the drive which was capped off with a 3 yard plunge to pay dirt by tailback Jose Castaneda with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter, Abraham Escamilla converted the point after to give the Tigers a 28 to 15 lead over the Mavericks.

Neither team managed to score in the fourth quarter of play allowing the Laredo Martin Tigers to walk away with the 28 to 15 victory over the gallant C.C. Winn Mavericks. Mavericks quarterback Mavericks quarterback Ethan Johnston led all rushers with 124 yards on 17 carries with one rushing touchdown, Matthew Duron led the Tigers in the rushing department with 120 yards on 19 carries and could have had more but a pair of penalties brought back two long runs but did manage to tally a pair of touchdown runs. One other bright spot for the Mavericks was the return of last year’s leading tackler linebacker Miguel De Los Santos who had sat out the first four games of the season nursing a leg injury.

The C.C. Winn Mavericks will now regroup and reload their arsenal and journey to San Antonio, Texas next Friday, October 5, 2018 to battle against the winless McCollum Cowboys in a vital 7:30 PM district matchup at the famed Harlandale Memorial Stadium.

OFFICIAL GAME TEAM STATS:

MAVERICKS OPPONENT

First Downs 12 12

Att./ Yds. Rushing 36/180 49/211

Yards Passing 73 76

Total Yards 253 287

Pass att./comp./int’s 9/18/0 6/11/0

Return Yards 0 0

Punts /Avg. 4.32.2 4/38.0

Fumbles/Lost 1/1 1/1

Penalties/Yards 4/30 7/60

OFFICIAL INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATS:

PASSING:

#2 Ethan Johnston 9 comp. 17 att 73 yds.

#6 Jared Roiz no comp. 1 att.

RUSHING:

#2 Ethan Johnston 17 carries 124 yds 1 TD.

#3 Patricio Hernandez 1 carry (-) 1 yd.

#6 Jared Roiz 1 carry 3 yds.

#22 Marc Cardenas 2 carries 7 yds,.

#23 Raul Solis 1 carry 6 yds.

#24 Fernando Zapata 12 carries 41 yds. 1 TD

RECEIVING

#6 Jared Roiz 3 rec. 26 yds.

#22 Marc Cardenas 1 rec 3 yds.

#23 Raul Solis 2 rec. 13 yds..

#88 Jose Blanco 3 rec. 31 yds.

OFFICIAL INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE STATS:

#3 Patricio Hernandez 10tackles 4 assists 2 tackles for a loss

#11 Hector Nunez 3 tackles 1 assist

#20 Gilberto Vasquez 4 tackles

#21 German Velasquez 7 tackles 2 assists

#31 Azael Rodriguez 4 tackles 2 assists

#32 Alex Chris Garcia 6 tackles 1 assist 5 tackles for a loss

1 caused fumble 1 fumble recovery

#33 Miguel De Los Santos 4 tackles 2 assists 2 tackles for a loss 1 QB Sack

#42 Axel Rodriguez 1 tackle 1 assist

#44 Javier Cerda 1 tackle 1 tackle for a loss

#46 Ricardo Morales 5 tackles 1 assist 4 tackles for a loss

#48 Alexis Ontiveros 1 tackle

#94 Alejandro Ontiveros 1 tackle for a loss