Eagle Pass Winn Mavericks Stampede Uvalde Coyotes 21-20
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2018
The thundering Eagle Pass Winn High School Mavericks stampeded the Uvalde High School Coyotes 21-20 in a thrilling non-district football game that went down to the final possession on Friday, September 7, 2018, at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium in Eagle Pass, Texas, improving to 2-0 overall in the 2018 Season.
The stampeding Mavericks defense limited the potent Coyotes offense to 20 points in the entire game, including defending a Coyotes’ two-point conversion attempt after scoring a touchdown with 29 seconds remaining in the game to seal the victory for the Mavericks.
The Mavericks won the pre-game coin toss and immediately chose to receive the opening kickoff and football.
The Mavericks started their first possession of the game at their 30 yard line. The Mavericks thunder and lightning offense composed of quarterback Ethan Johnston, running backs Marc Cardenas and Fernando Zapata, wide receivers Jaredo Roiz, Raul Solis, Jose Blanco, and Ernesto Vazquez, and offensive linemen Daniel Ruiz, Adrian Munoz, Juan Guerra, Cesar Valdez, and Jaime Rodriguez went to work before the stingy Coyotes defense. On fourth and a few yards to go, the Mavericks attempted a fake punt by punter Emmanuel Oviedo but the Coyotes defense stopped Oviedo before the first down marker with 9 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Coyotes took over the football at the Mavericks 40 yard line and marched down to the Mavs 21 yard line as the stifling Mavericks defense stopped the drive on 4th and 5 yards to go by pressuring Coyotes quarterback Donovan Davila throw an incomplete pass. The Mavericks stampeding defense composed of defensive linemen Alexis Ontiveros, Jose Hinojosa, and Ricardo Morales, linebackers Alex Chris Garcia and Patricio Hernandez, and defensive backs Domingo Duran, Azael Rodriguez, Hector Nunez, German Velasquez, and Gilberto Vasquez limited the Coyotes offense to only 14 points throughout the game while the Coyotes defense scored one touchdown on a pass interception.
The Mavericks took their second possession at their own 21 yard line and marched to the Mavs 47 yard line facing a fourth down and six yards when the Coyotes defense applied pressure on Mavs signal caller Ethan Johnston who threw a pass interception and Coyotes linebacker Andrew Thompson returned it for a 50 yard touchdown to give the Coyotes a 6-0 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter and Coyote placekicker Mathew Davila added the point after attempt to make it 7-0 in favor of the Coyotes.
Stunned by the Coyotes pass interception returned for a touchdown, the Mavericks thunder and lightning offense went back to work on their third possession starting at the Coyotes 48 yard line after a great kickoff return with 3:07 minutes left in the first quarter. The Mavericks offense steadily drove to the Coyotes one yard line with a combination of rushing and short passes as the first quarter expired. The Mavericks tallied their first touchdown on a one yard dive into the Coyotes end zone by running back Marc Cardenas with 10:59 minutes remaining in the second quarter and Mavs wide receiver scored a two point conversion on a direct snap to him from the center, catching the Coyotes by surprise and giving the Mavericks an 8-7 lead in the second period.
After exchanging possessions in the second quarter, the Coyotes scored a touchdown on an 80 yard drive, culminating on a 39 yard touchdown pass reception from quarterback Donovan Davila to wide receiver D’Andre Carroll with 6:26 minutes remaining in the second stanza and Coyote placekicker Mathew Davila added the extra point to give the Coyotes a 14-8 lead over the Mavericks.
The teams exchanged possessions with their team defenses stifling the offenses from scoring during the second quarter, except the Coyotes managed to drive to the Mavericks two yard line with 55 seconds left before halftime and were threatening to score another touchdown when the stampeding Mavs defense recovered a Coyote fumble at the Mavs one yard line to deny the Coyotes from scoring. Mavs defense lineman Jose Hinojosa pounced on the football for the fumble recovery.
The Mavericks ran out the clock and the Coyotes took a 14-8 lead at Halftime. The thundering Maverick Marching Band and the Silver Line Dance Team performed at halftime and entertained the Maverick Nation aficionados in attendance.
In the third quarter, the stampeding Mavericks defense stopped a Coyotes drive from their 30 yard line deep into the Mavs red zone with two standout quarterback sacks by linebackers Alex Chris Garcia and Ricardo Morales against Coyotes quarterback Donovan Davila, taking over on downs.
The Mavericks thunder and lightning offense took over at their won 37 yard line and orchestrated a patented 63 yards touchdown drive, culminating on a one yard sneak into the Coyotes end zone by quarterback Ethan Johnston with 1:29 minutes remaining in the third quarter and Mavs placekicker Ernesto Fuentes added the extra point to give the Mavericks a 15-14 lead over the Coyotes..
The stampeding Mavericks defense through linebacker Alex Chris Garcia recovered a Coyotes fumble at the Coyotes 21 yard line and engineered a 21 yard touchdown drive, resulting in a six yard TD pass from quarterback Ethan Johnston to wide receiver Jose Blanco with 11:11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter but the point after attempt was no good as the Mavs extended their lead 21-14 over the Coyotes.
After the Mavericks defense held the potent Coyotes offense on their next possession, the Mavericks marched down to the Coyotes five yard line knocking on the end zone for another potential score but the Coyotes defense limited the Mavs to a 27 yard field goal attempt by placekicker Ernesto Fuentes but it sailed left of the goal post with 3:31 minutes left in the game.
The Coyotes took over at their own 20 yard line and executed the two minute drill to perfection for an 80 yard touchdown drive, culminating on a nine yard TD pass from quarterback Donovan Davila to wide receiver Marcus De La Cruz with 29 seconds remaining in the game with the score 21-20 in favor of the Mavericks and the Coyotes opted for a two point conversion to win the game instead of a one point kick to tie the game and send it over to sudden death over time. The Coyotes two point conversion pass attempt from quarterback Donovan Davila to standout wide receiver D’Andre Carroll, who was double-teamed by the Mavs secondary, sailed over his head and end zone to preserve the Mavericks hard fought lead. 21-20 with 20 seconds remaining and a Coyotes on-side kickoff attempt.
The Coyotes on-side kickoff attempt bounced over the heads of the Mavericks sure hands kickoff return team, but went out of bounds before anyone could touch the football to give the Mavericks possession, which they ran out the clock to earn their second victory of the 2018 season.
The Mavericks thrilling 21-20 win over the Coyotes had all the Maverick Nation aficionados standing on their feet and counting the seconds off the clock while cheering the Mavs on to victory
The Mavericks face next week their cross-town rival Eagle Pass High School Eagles, who also won over San Antonio Southwest High School Dragons 16-14 to go 2-0, in the game of the year for the City Championship on Friday, September 14, 2018. This annual City Championship game will be the 13th Anniversary between the Mavericks and the Eagles. The game promises to be a great game as both the Mavericks and the Eagles have identical 2-0 records coming into the game. Texas High School Football Friday Night Lights does not get any better than the annual Winn Mavericks versus Eagle Pass Eagles game. Be there.
