Eagles-Laredo United Football Game Report: Sept. 28, 2018

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EAGLES FOOTBALL GRIDIRON NEWS

Eagles downed by

Laredo United 39 to 20

“Land Sharks” record 8 QB Sacks

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

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

The much anticipated matchup for District 29-6A Supremacy between the current 8th ranked team in Region IV in Class 6A the mighty Eagle Pass Eagles under the direction of head coach Tom Gonzalez and the pre-season district favorite the Laredo United Longhorns with their patented aerial show took center stage on Friday, September 28, 2018 at the Laredo United ISD Bill Johnson Student Activity Center with a 7:30 PM district opening encounter.

The mighty Eagle Pass Eagles entered this district opening gridiron game sporting an unblemished overall season record of 4-0 while the home standing Longhorns came in sporting an overall season mark of 2-2. Laredo United seized momentum after trailing 20 to 10 in the first half with 29 unanswered points to hand the Eagles their first defeat of the season by the final score of 39 to 20.

This clash between these two long time rivals provided many ups and downs throughout the entire game where turnovers, special teams and field possession playing a major role in determining the final outcome of this game. The home standing United Longhorns opened the scoring in this game with an 11 play 68 yard scoring drive capped off with a 17 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Wayo Huerta to running back Jerry Gonzalez with 8:12 showing on the first quarter clock. Luis Aguirre tacked on the point after to give the Longhorns the early 7 to 0 lead over the Eagles.

After the ensuing kickoff the Eagles offense were held to three and out but on fourth down the special teams failed to get the punt off after a bad snap and a bobbled handling of the ball gave Laredo United excellent field possession at the Eagle Pass 25 yard line. The Longhorns drove the ball into the red zone but could not convert on third down as the Eagles stingy defense held their ground so they settled for a 31 yard field by placekicker Luis Aguirre with 4:40 left in the opening quarter to give the Longhorns a 10 to 0 lead over the Eagles.

The proud Eagle Pass Eagles did not fold and fought back with a long scoring drive of their own that culminated with a well executed 29 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Richie Luna to wide receiver Isaac Gonzalez with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter. The point after attempt was no good but the Eagles now only trailed 10 to 6.

Early in the second quarter the Eagles offense mounted another scoring drive mixing up their running game with their passing to maneuver down the field. The drive was capped off with a 21 yard touchdown pass from Richie Luna to wide receiver Rey Rey Mendoza who made a sensational sliding catch in the end zone with 9:40 left in the second quarter. David Lope tacked on the point after to give the Eagles a 13 to 10 lead over the Longhorns.

On the ensuing kickoff the Laredo United Longhorns; return man coughed up the pigskin and the Eagles recovered the ball at the Laredo United 12 yard line where it took the Eagles offense just one play from scrimmage to cash in on the turnover as Eagles tailback Saul Peralez sprinted 12 yards to pay dirt with 9:21 left before halftime, David Lopez converted the point after to give the Eagles a 20 to 10 lead over the stunned home standing Longhorns.

The pass happy Longhorns answered late in the first half with a scoring drive that resulted in a 9 yard touchdown pass from Wayo Huerta to wide receiver Jorge Murillo with only 38 seconds left before halftime. The point after attempt was no good so the Eagle Pass Eagles took a 20 to 16 lead into their halftime locker. In that first half the Eagles hard hitting and aggressive defense managed to hold the Longhorns leading rusher Jerry Gonzalez to a total of only 28 yards rushing and the Longhorns main receiver Jorge Murillo to only one catch as the Eagles defensive back Nico Moyeda blanketed him all game long.

The second half of this contest however was all Laredo United who took full the momentum of this game when Eagles starting signal caller Richie Luna went out of the game when he was hit on his throwing arm attempting to throw a pass that was picked off by Ramon Zamarripa who returned the interception 38 yards to the house with 10:38 showing on the third quarter clock. Luis Aguirre tacked on the point after to give the Longhorns a 23 to 20 lead over the Eagles and they would not relinquish that lead as they went on to tack on another two touchdowns in the third quarter with a pair of one yard TD runs from Jerry Gonzalez as well as safety when United’s linebacker Jesse Santos tackled Eagles backup quarterback Allan Rodriguez in the end zone which enabled the Laredo United Longhorns to come away with a 39 to 20 victory over the Eagle Pass Eagles to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season and drops the Eagles to a 4-1overall season record. The victorious Longhorns greatly capitalized on excellent field possession and two costly Eagles turnovers (one fumble and one interception) as well as from the Eagles special teams especially in the punting department.

But hats off goes to the Eagle Pass Eagles “Land Sharks” defense who were forced having to defend the potent Longhorns offense against extremely poor field possession the entire game and yet managed to record a whopping total of 8 quarterback sacks and managed to hold the potent Longhorns offense to their lowest offensive total yardage of the season and way below their usual 500+ yards per game average and held the Longhorns main threat in their passing scheme Jorge Murillo to only three receptions for a measly total of 35 yards in this game.

The Eagle Pass Eagles will now regroup and get ready to host the Laredo LBJ Wolves on Friday, October 5, 2018 in a 7:30 PM district gridiron matchup at the Eagle Pass ISD Student Activity Center Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Stats courtesy of Jason Mack-Laredo Morning Times

TEAM GAME STATS:

EAGLES OPPONENT

First Downs 12 19

Att./ Yds. Rushing 33/86 39/90

Yards Passing 113 168

Total Yards 199 258

Pass att./comp./int’s 8/10/1 14/19/0

Return Yards 0 0

Punts /Avg. N.A N/A

Fumbles/Lost 1/1 2/2

Penalties/Yards 4/33 5/49

INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATS:

PASSING:

#10 Riche Luna 6 comp. 8 att. 1int. 101 yds. 2 TD’s

#17 Allan Rodriguez 2 comp. 2 att. 12 yds.

RUSHING:

#10 Riche Luna 6 carries 16 yds.

#15 Isaac Caballero 1 carry 8 yds.

#17 Allan Rodriguez 10 carries 6 yds.

#21 Saul Peralez 14 carries 54 yds. 1 TD

#23 Jose Hernandez 3 carries 12 yds.

Team 1 carry (-) 13 yds. (bad snap on punt)

RECEIVING:

#7 Rey Rey Mendoza 3 rec. 36 yds. 1 TD

#11 Isaac Gonzalez 1 rec. 29 yds. 1 TD

#13 David Lopez 1 rec. 5 yds.

#14 Oscar Castillon 3 rec. 43 yds.

INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE STATS:

#44 Moises Rocha Co-Defensive Player of the Game 12 tackles 3 assists

6 tackles for a loss 2 QB Sacks 1 Big Hit

#25 David Kypuros Co-Defensive Player of the Game 9 tackles 6 assists

5 tackles for a loss 2 QB Sacks 2 Big Hits

#50 Roger Ulloa 6 tackles 3 assists 2 tackles for a loss 1 QB Sack

#5 Nico Moyeda Co-Defensive Player of the Game 5 tackles 6 assists

2 tackles for a loss

#8 Eric Heredia 5 tackles

#32 Jorge Gonzalez 4 tackles 4 assists 2 tackles for a loss 1 QB Sack

#54 David Santos 3 tackles 1 assist 3 tackles for a loss 1 QB Sack

#22 Mando De Los Santos 3 tackles 2 assists 1 caused fumble

#94 Manny Rodriguez 2 tackles 1 assist 1 tackle for a loss

#1 Ryan Chisum 2 tackles 2 assists

#27 Juan Guerra 1 tackle 1 assist 1 caused fumble

#55 Chance Perez 3 assists