Eagle Pass Eagles Rally to Defeat Laredo United South Panthers 35-31 in Key District 29-6A Football Contest
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017
The mighty Eagle Pass High School Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat their District 29-6A nemesis Laredo United South High School Panthers 35-31 in a key district football contest on Thursday, October 19, 2017, at the Laredo United Independent School District Student Activity Complex, improving to 6-1 overall in the season and 4-0 in District 29-6A standings.
The Eagles lead at halftime 7-3 in a defensive battle between both teams, but the second half was a totally different game as both teams offenses and special teams played a greater role in the thrilling final outcome of the game.
The Panthers came out strong in the second half, taking a 24-14 lead over the Eagles with 4:38 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Eagles intercepted a Panthers pass and got excellent field position at the Panthers own 10 yard line and Eagles quarterback Dee Andre Torres scampered for a 10 yard touchdown and the point after attempt was good to narrow the Panthers lead to 24-21 with 3:01 minutes left in the third period.
The Eagles wrecking crew defense forced a Panthers fumble and pounced on the loose pigskin to give the Eagles great field position, culminating on a nine yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dee Andre Torres to wide receiver Rey Mendoza and the extra point by Eagle place kicker Jose Riojas was good to regain the lead 28-24 over the Panthers with 8:35 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and game.
The never say die Panthers engineered a touchdown drive on their next possession resulting on a 40 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Contreras to wide receiver Espinoza and the point after attempt was good to give the Panthers the lead 31-28 over the Eagles with 6:40 minutes left in the game.
On the Eagles next possession, the Eagles answered the Panthers score with a 40 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dee Andre Torres to one of his wide receivers and the extra point was good to rally and regain the lead in the game 35-31 with 5:04 minutes remaining in the critical District 29-6A contest.
The Eagles wrecking crew defense once again answered the call and held the Panthers explosive offense from scoring by forcing Panthers quarterback Contreras to fumble the football and recovering the ball at the Panthers 17 yard line with 4:16 minutes left in the game. The Eagles attempted a 38 yard field goal by place kicker Jose Riojas, but it was short and the Panthers received the football at their own 21 yard line with 2:09 minutes remaining in the game.
The Eagles staunch defense stifled the potent Panthers offense on downs and took over possession on downs with less than two minutes left in the ball game, leading 35-31.
The Eagles kneeled the football in an attempt to run out the clock but were forced to punt to the Panthers with 9.9 seconds remaining in the game. The Panthers received the Eagles punt and attempted to lateral it, but the Eagles recovered the football to seal the key District 29-6A victory over the Panthers.
With the win over the Laredo United South Panthers, the Eagles are in first place in District 29-6A with a 4-0 record while the San Antonio Southwest Dragons are 3-0 and scheduled to play Laredo United Longhorns on Saturday, October 21st.
The Eagles play Laredo United Longhorns next week on Friday, October 27, 2017, at 7:30 P.M. at home during 2017 Homecoming Festivites. Following the Laredo United Longhorns, the Eagles have two more District 29-6A football games, one against the San Antonio Southwest Dragons on November 2, 2017 at 7:30 P.M. at home and the final game of the regular season on November 10, 2017, at 7:30 P.M. at Del Rio, Texas. Every remaining game are important and like a playoff game. The Eagles will need to stay focused and continue preparing for their next three games if they are to win the District 29-6A Championship or qualify for the state playoffs as one of the top four teams in District 29-6A.
Go Eagles Go!
