EAGLES FOOTBALL GRIDIRON NEWS
Eagles dominate the
Del Rio Rams 41 to 0
Will face PSJA in Bi-District Round
Alex Trevizo & Lizzy Lopez - King & Queen
By: Conrado Perez, Jr. – Eagle Pass Sports Central
“Your best and only source for local sports news in Eagle Pass”
The playoff bound Eagle Pass Eagles varsity football team under the guidance of head football coach Tom Gonzalez resumed their district gridiron battles on Friday, November 9, 2018 in a key 7:30 PM District 29-6A regular season and district football game finale against their longest and oldest rival the Del Rio Rams at the Eagle Pass ISD Student Activity Center Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium.. This game was also been designated as the Eagle Pass High School 2018 Homecoming Game with the coronation of the King and Queen and the Royal Court taking place during the halftime festivities. The visiting Del Rio Rams entered this game with an overall season record of 2-3 and a district mark of 2-3. The home standing Eagle Pass Eagles came in sporting an overall season record of 7-2 and a district mark of 3-2. The Eagle Pass Eagles-Del Rio Rams football series originated back in 1920 when Del Rio was then known as the Wildcats.
Overall season records are meaningless throughout this storied rivalry series as the Eagles and Rams have always battled each other out on the gridiron as if it were for the State High School football championship. Showcasing their highly touted hard hitting stingy defense and a well balanced offensive game plan the home standing Eagles thoroughly dominated the visiting Rams coming away with a convincing 41 to 0 victory to advance into the post season where they will square off against the PSJA Bears next Friday, November 16, 2018 with a 7:00PM UIL Region IV bi-district round playoff at PSJA Football Stadium located on 601 Kelly St.
The Eagle Pass Eagles supported by their Loyal Legion of faithful as well as returning Eagle Pass High School alumni received the game’s opening kickoff and immediately set the tone for this game with a well orchestrated six play 75 yard scoring drive capped off with a 55 yard touchdown pass from Richie Luna to wide receiver Rey Rey Mendoza who hauled in the pass and tight roped down the left sideline just inches away from going out of bounds on his way to pay dirt with 10:00 showing on the first quarter clock. Eagles’ left footed placekicker Erick Ramirez tacked on the point after to give the Eagles an early 7 to 0 lead over the Rams.
On their second offensive series of the game the Eagles once again manufactured a well orchestrated 14 play 75 yard scoring drive mixing up their running game with J Herrera and Richie Luna toting the mail via the ground and Richie Luna utilizing all of his receivers the likes of Oscar Castillon, David Lopez, Rey Rey Mendoza and Isaac Gonzalez to sustain the scoring drive culminating with an 8 yard keeper by quarterback Richie Luna on a fourth and goal situation with 3:24 left in the opening period. Erick Ramirez split the uprights with the point after with the point after to extend the Eagles lead to 14 to 0.
Meanwhile the famed and highly touted Eagles “Land Sharks” defensive unit was showcasing their patented aggressive and relentless pressure and inflicting some bone rattling tackles on the Rams offense holding them in check forcing the Rams to turn the ball over on downs in one possession and to punt the ball on their other three possessions in just the first four offensive possessions of this game with minimal yardage allowed.
Early in the second quarter the Eagles were pinned deep in their own territory at the 9 yard line after a long punt by the Rams but the potent Eagles offense responded with a 91 yard scoring drive that was capped off with a perfectly placed 42 yard touchdown pass from Richie Luna to wide receiver Oscar Castillon who turned on the jets to out run the entire Rams defensive secondary into the end zone with 10:08 showing on the second quarter clock. Erick Ramirez converted the point after to pad the Eagles lead to 21 to 0.
The Eagles scoring onslaught continued midway through the second quarter when the Eagles mounted a three play 37 yard scoring drive when quarterback Richie Luna hit wide receiver Oscar Castillion in stride on a crossing pattern down the muddle with a 32 yard touchdown pass with 7:50 left in the second quarter. Erick Ramirez added the point after to make the score Eagles 28 Del Rio 0.
The hard hitting Eagles defensive unit one of the best defensive squads throughout South Texas as well as in the entire UIL Region IV Class 6A set up the Eagles next score of the game when defensive tackle Manny Rodriguez recovered a Del Rio fumble near midfield. The Eagles offense capitalized on the turnover with a 5 yard touchdown pass from Richie Luna to Rey Rey Mendoza from five yards out with only 1:58 left before halftime. Erick Ramirez tacked to the point after to give the Eagles a comfortable 35 to 0 lead over the visiting Del Rio Rams heading into their halftime locker room. That touchdown pass was Richie Luna’s fourth TD pass of the first half.
The official halftime time stats brought to you by Eagle Pass Sports Central showed quite an over whelming advantage to the Eagles. The Eagles offense at the half had a total of 132 yards rushing and 205 yards pass for a total of 337 yards and had 10 first downs. The Eagles stingy “Land Sharks” defense managed to hold the Del Rio Rams to a mind boggling one yard rushing in that first half and 23 yards passing for a measly total of 24 yards and only one first down and that came as a result of a defensive penalty.
During the halftime ceremonies the much anticipated announcement of the 2018 Homecoming King and Queen and the Royal Court were announced by the golden voice of longtime public address announcer Charles “Boogie” Purcell. The 2018 EPHS Lord and Lady representing NHS were Luis Alonso Fernandez and Larissa De Santiago, the 2018 EPHS Count and Countess representing the senior class were Jesus Valero and Jimena Aldaba, the 2018 EPHS Duke and Duchess representing Band were Juan Jimenez and Michell Anderson, the 2018 EPHS Prince and Princess representing the Diamond Dance Team were Ricky De Los Santos and Sammy Mijares and the 2018 Eagle Pass High School King and Queen representing Cheer were Alex Trevizo and Lizzy Lopez who received a rousing applause of approval from those in attendance at the game.
The second half of this regular and district season finale saw the Eagles coaching staff give their offensive and defensive reserves a chance to get in some playing time and they too managed to put points on the board with a brilliant 17 yard run to pay dirt by backup quarterback Allan Rodriguez with 1:16 left in the third quarter. The Eagles two-point conversion pass failed but the Eagles now had an insurmountable 41 to 0 lead over the Rams.
Neither team managed to tally more any points in the fourth quarter so the proud Eagle Pass Eagles came away with a convincing 41 to 0 shutout victory over the oldest high school gridiron rival. This was a total team effort. Leading rusher for the Eagles was Saul Peralez with 81 yards rushing on 12 carries all in the first half. Leading receiver was Oscar Castillon with 4 receptions for 98 yards with 2 TD receptions followed by Rey Rey Mendoza with 4 receptions for 72 yards and 2 TD’s. The Eagle Pass stout defensive unit allowed a total of 49 yards rushing in the game on 25 carries with the majority of those yards coming late in the fourth quarter against their defensive backups and a total of 65 yards passing for a total of 114 yards and recorded a total of four turnovers in this game. The Eagles thus improve their overall season record to 8-2 and finish district play in third place with a mark of 4-2.
Eagle Pass Sports Central congratulates the victorious Eagle Pass Eagles on the well earned 41 to 0 victory over the Del Rio Rams and would like to wish the entire Eagle Pass Eagles varsity football team the very best of luck next Friday in your UIL Region IV bi-district football game against the PSJA Bears. GO EAGLES! BEAT THE BEARS!
GAME TEAM STATS:
EAGLES OPPONENT
First Downs 14 8
Att./ Yds. Rushing 39/227 25/49
Yards Passing 226 65
Total Yards 453 114
Pass att./comp./int’s 17/29/0 12/29/1
Return Yards 0 0
Punts /Avg. 4/28.5 9/35.8
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 4/3
Penalties/Yards 8/60 5/40
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATS:
PASSING:
#10 Riche Luna 16 comp. 27 att. 214 yds. 4 TD’s
#17 Allan Rodriguez 1 comp. 2 att. 12 yds.
RUSHING:
#9 Carlos De Luna 3 carries 6 yds.
#10 Riche Luna 5 carries 28 yds 1 TD
#15 Isaac Caballero 4 carries 17 yds.
#17 Allan Rodriguez 4 carries 60 yds. 1 TD
#18 Carlos Santos 2 carries no gain
#21 Saul Peralez 12 carries 82 yds.
#24 J Herrera 7 carries 29 yds.
RECEIVING:
#4 Jacob Ruiz 1 rec 6 yds.
#7 Rey Rey Mendoza 4 rec. 72 yds. 2 TD’s
#11 Isaac Gonzalez 3 rec. 20 yds.
#13 David Lopez 5 rec. 30 yds.
#14 Oscar Castillon 4 rec. 98 yds. 2 TD’s
INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE STATS:
#31 Josh Mosivais Selected “Land Shark” of the Week 5 tackles 2 assists
1 interception 1 game changer
#94 Manny Rodriguez Co-Defensive Player of the Game 4 tackles 2 assists
2 tackles for a loss ½ QB Sack1 fumble recovery 1 Big Hit
#25 David Kypuros 4 tackles 2 assists 1 Big Hit
#5 Nico Moyeda 4 tackles 1 assist 1 tackle for a loss 1 Big Hit
#33 Raul Garcia 4 tackles 1 assist
#44 Moises Rocha 3 tackles 1 tackle for a loss 1 QB Sack 2 Big Hits
#40 Charlie Schuessler Co-Defensive Player of the Game 3 tackles 1 assist
2 tackles for a loss 1 QB Sack 2 caused fumbles 2 game changers
2 blocked passes 2 Big Hits
#26 Javier Sanchez 3 tackles 1 assist 1 tackle for a loss 1 QB Sack
#22 Mando De Los Santos 2 tackles 4 assists 1 caused fumble 2 Big Hits #45 Jacob Salinas 2 tackles 3 assists 1 tackle for a loss
#80 Eddie Trevino 2 tackles 2 assists
#28 Raul Lechler 2 tackles 1 tackle for a loss 1 Big Hit
#2 Kristian Barcena 1 tackle 3 assists 1 fumble recovery
#8 Eric Heredia 1 tackle 1 assist 1 Big Hit
#29 Mario Salazar 1 tackle 2 assists
#1 Ryan Chisum 1 tackle 2 assists
#55 Chance Perez 1 tackle 1 caused fumble
#52 Raul Olivas 1 tackle 1 fumble recovery
#49 MJ McGehee 2 assists