EAGLES FOOTBALL GRIDIRON NEWS

Eagles take overtime thriller over

PSJA Bears 34 to 28

Reg. IV Class 6A Bi-District Champions

Will face Brownsville Hanna in Area Round

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

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

The mighty Eagle Pass Eagles varsity football team mentored by head football coach Tom Gonzalez ventured to the heart of the Rio Grande Valley on Friday, November 16, 2018 to kick off their respective postseason with a 7:00 PM gridiron encounter against the PSJA Bears for the UIL Region IV Division II Class 6A bi-district title at the PSJA football stadium located on 601 Kelly St. in Pharr, Texas. The visiting Eagle Pass Eagles entered this matchup with an overall season record of 8-2 while the home standing Bears came in sporting an overall season record of 7-3.

The mighty Eagle Pass Eagles defeated the PSJA Bears 34 to 28 in a thrilling overtime victory behind a well balanced running and passing offensive exhibition along with the Eagles fast and aggressive defense stepping up big against a very potent offensive squad to capture the bi-district championship thus advancing to the UIL Region IV Class 6A area round where they face-off against the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles vs. Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles next Friday, November 23. 2018 at the Gayle and Tom Benson football stadium at the campus of Incarnate Word University located on 4301 Broadway St. with kickoff time yet to be determined Arriba Los Eagles!

This high powered matchup between two high scoring and potent offensive squads would prove to be a game of perseverance with both teams battling until the very end but it was the famed Eagles “Land Sharks” defense that made the first statement in this game as they forced the Bears to turn the ball over on downs on a failed fourth down attempt near midfield,

The Eagles offense took over at the PSJA 49 yard line and immediately unleash their well balanced offensive attack mounting an impressive four play 49 yard scoring drive capped off with a 29 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Richie Luna to his season long primary target Rey Rey Mendoza who caught the pass in stride and rambled untouched into the end zone with 6:11 showing in the opening period. Eagles’ left footed placekicker Erick Ramirez tacked on the point after to give the Eagles the early 7 to 0 lad over the Bears.

The PSJA Bears led by their highly touted signal caller Trey Guajardo countered with a 90yard scoring drive in their next offensive possession culminating with a 2 yard run to pay dirt by their running back JR Vasquez with 1:07 left in the first quarter. Bears’ placekicker Jared De Leon tacked on the point after to knot up the score at 7 all. The Bears would then break the tie courtesy of a 42 yard field goal courtesy of Jared De Len wiy10:38 remaining in the second quarter to give the Bears their only lead in this game.

The proud Eagle Pass Eagles supported by their Loyal Legion of faithful in attendance answered right back with a three play 70 yard scoring drive utilizing their running game with the backfield tandem of Saul Peralez who busted loose with a 40 yard run to get deep into PSJA territory followed with a brilliant 28 yard touchdown run by freshman standout running back Jose Hernandez right through the heart of the entire Bears defense with 9:48 left in the second quarter. Erick Ramirez split the uprights with the point after to give the Eagles a 14 to 10 lead in this game.

Meanwhile the Eagles aggressive front seven of their dual pair of pass rushing specialists Moises Rocha, and Manny Rodriguez along with teammates Charlie Schuessler, Jorge Gonzalez and their stellar line backing trio of standout David Kypuros, Jacob Salinas and Roger Ulloa continued to apply their relentless pressure on the Bears quarterback making things quite uncomfortable for him sacking him a total of 10 times in this game which took its toll on him by the start of the fourth quarter. The Eagles defense bent a little but did not break coming up with some key stops.

The Eagles defense accounted for the next score of the night when standout defensive lineman Moises Rocha recovered a fumble at the PSJA 45 yard line to set up the Eagles offense that quickly capitalized on the turnover with a 45 yard scoring drive capped off with a 22 yard touchdown pass from, Richie Luna to Rey Rey Mendoza who made a sensational grab in the end zone completely stretched out in the air with 7:08 left in the first half. Erick Ramirez converted the point after to give the Eagles a 21 to10 lead over the Bears.

But the home standing PSJA Bears with their relentless aerial show countered late in the first half with a 46 yard scoring drive culminating with a14 yard scamper into the end zone by running back JR Vasquez with 1:03 left in the first half. Jared De Leon tacked on the point after to narrow the Bears; deficit to 21to17 heading into the halftime break.

The Eagles received the second half kickoff and mounted what looked like a promising and potential scoring drive but were forced to turn the ball over on downs at the PSJA 28 yard line. But once again the mighty Eagles defense rose to the challenge and forced the Bears to a three and out,

After the ensuing punt the Eagles offense took over at their own 11 yard line where they struck quicker than lightning with a play 91 yard scoring drive capped off with a 78 yard touchdown pass from Richie Luna to his sure handed wide receiver David Lopez hitting him in stride with Lopez showcasing his speed by outracing the entire Bears; secondary with 5:44 showing on the third quarter scoreboard clock. Erick Ramirez added the point after to give the Eagles a 28 to17 lead over the stunned PSJA Bears.

The PSJA Bears would fight back in the fourth quarter to surprisingly knot up the score in this game first with a 23 yard field goal by Jared De Leon with 4:12 left in the game followed by a 50 yard touchdown pass from Trey Guajardo to wide receiver Miguel Flores which was aided by a questionable pass interference call against the Eagles secondary on the previous play. The Bears then tacked on a game tying two point conversion run to send this game into overtime.

In the overtime period the Eagle Pass Eagles had first crack to go on offense and it did not take long for the Eagles to cash in. After a four yard gain on first down on a keeper by quarterback Richie Luna, Luna then connected with his fourth touchdown pass of the game when he found wide receiver Oscar Castillon open in the end zone. The point after attempt failed due to a bad snap from center but the Eagles took the lead by the score of 34 to 28.

The Bears then took their turn to answer in overtime period. The Bears threw an incomplete pass on first down followed by a short four yard pass completion on second down Facing a third and six the Eagles defensive pressure forced another incomplete pass so the Bears had to go for it on fourth down to try to keep their hopes alive but on fourth down the Bears pass attempt to a wide open receiver running a slant pattern down the middle was thrown behind the receiver and when the ball hit the turf for an incompletion jubilation reigned on the visiting Eagle Pass Eagles side of the field as the mighty Eagle Pass Eagles came away with their hard fought and well earned 34 to 28 victory over the totally exhausted and worn down PSJA Bears who endured some hard punishment as well as an aggressive and relentless pressure by the Eagles’ “Land Sharks” defensive unit all game long.

Hats off goes to the entire Eagles’ “War Eagle” offensive unit led by their dual threat quarterback Richie Luna who was the difference maker in this game both with his pin point accuracy in the passing department outdueling the PSJA highly touted quarterback tossing four touchdown pass to only one for Guajardo thanks to the Eagles stingy and swarming defensive secondary unit of Nico Moyeda, Josh Monsivais, Raul Lechler, Eric Heredia and Ryan Chisum as well as with his timely running with 62 yards on the ground to only 32 yards for Guajardo. High praise also goes to the Eagles’ talented and sure handed trio of wide receivers the likes of Rey Rey Mendoza who had 4 pass receptions two of them for touchdowns for 66 yards, David Lopez who had a pair of receptions one of which went for a 78 yard touchdown reception and Oscar Castillon who hauled in 5 receptions for 70 yards including the 21 yard game winner in overtime. Last but certainly not the least the entire Eagles offensive line who battled in the trenches to pave the way for 203 yards rushing by the backfield trio of Richie Luna, Saul Peralez and standout freshman running back Jose Hernandez and also provided a rock solid pass protection in their passing game to account for 209 yards through the airway whitch accounted for four touchdown passes being completed.

Eagle Pass Sports Central congratulates the mighty Eagle Pass Eagles varsity football team on their outstanding achievement in capturing the UIL Region IV Class 6A bi-district championship title and wish each of you the very best of luck in next Friday’s area round matchup against the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles.

GAME TEAM STATS:

EAGLES OPPONENT

First Downs 8 23

Att./ Yds. Rushing 26/203 31/70

Yards Passing 210 367

Total Yards 413 437

Pass att./comp./int’s 12/20/1 34/53/0

Return Yards 0 0

Punts /Avg. 5/36.6 4/32.7

Fumbles/Lost 0/0 3/1

Penalties/Yards 6/55 5/45

INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATS:

PASSING:

#10 Riche Luna 12 comp. 20 att. 1 int. 210 yds. 4 TD’s

RUSHING:.

#10 Riche Luna 6 carries 62 yds

#18 Carlos Santos 1 carry 6 yds.

#21 Saul Peralez 10 carries 55 yds.

#23 Jose Hernandez 9 carries 80 yds. 1 TD

RECEIVING:

#7 Rey Rey Mendoza 4 rec. 66 yds. 2 TD’s

#13 David Lopez 2 rec. 73 yds. 1 TD

#14 Oscar Castillon 6 rec. 70 yds. 1 TD

INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE STATS:

#28 Raul Lechler Co-Defensive Player of the Game 10 tackles 1 assist

3 tackles for a loss 1 Big Hit

#44 Moises Rocha Co-Defensive Player of the Game 9 tackles 2 assists

5 tackles for a loss 2.5 QB Sacks 1 fumble recovery 2 Big Hits

#25 David Kypuros Co-Defensive Player of the Game 7 tackles 8 assists

2 tackles for a loss 2 QB Sacks 2 Big Hits

#50 Roger Ulloa 7 tackles 3 assists 1 tackle for a loss 1 caused fumble

#31 Josh Monsivais 6 tackles 3 assist

#8 Eric Heredia 5 tackles 1 assist

#32 Jorge Gonzalez 4 tackles 2 assists 3 tackles for a loss 1 QB Sack

1 caused fumble

#45 Jacob Salinas 3 tackles 4 assists

#94 Manny Rodriguez Co-Defensive Player of the Game 3 tackles 3 assists

3 tackles for a loss 2,5 QB Sacks 1 Big Hit

#22 Mando De Los Santos 3 tackles

#5 Nico Moyeda 2 tackles 7 assists

#40 Charlie Shuessler 2 tackles 2 assists 1 tackle for a loss 1 QB Sack

1 caused fumble 1 blocked pass

#54 David Santos 2 tackles 1 assist 2 tackles for a loss 1 QB Sack

#1 Ryan Chisum 1 tackle 3 assists