Eagle Pass Eagles Crush San Antonio Southwest Dragons 42-14 in Non-District Football Game
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2019
The mighty Eagle Pass Eagles rallied for 28 unanswered points in the second half to crush the San Antonio Southwest Dragons 42-14 on Friday, September 6, 2019, in a non-District football game at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Cozel Foster- Veterans Memorial Stadium, improving to 1-1 overall in the season.
The Eagles tallied the first score of the game after a long drive down the Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium turf on a 22 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Fernando Sarabia to wide receiver Dakota Kypuros and the point after attempt by place kicker Erick Ramirez was good to take an early 7-0 lead with 6:42 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The visiting Dragons answered the Eagles touchdown with one of their own on a 52 yard touchdown drive, culminating on a 51 yard touchdown run by running back Jessie Hernandez on a fourth down and 2 yards to go play by busting loose through the Eagles defense into the end zone and the point after attempt by place kicker Oscar Jimenez was good to knot the score at 7-7 a piece with 4:22 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Both the Eagles and Dragons defenses buckled down in the ensuing possession, forcing an exchange of punts.
The Eagles offense under the helm of quarterback Fernando Sarabia took their third possession of the game at their own 35 yard line and began to methodically march down the field when Eagles quarterback Sarabia sustained a shoulder injury with 7:07 minutes remaining in the second quarter, causing Allan Rodriguez to come in as the new Eagles quarterback and guiding the Eagles to the promised land with a four yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Carlos Santos and Erick Ramirez’s extra point was good to take a 14-7 lead with 5:47 minutes left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kick-off, the Dragons fumbled the return and Eagles Henry Browning recovered the football at the Dragons own 34 yard line, giving the Eagles excellent field position with 4:57 minutes left before halftime.
The Eagles offense managed to drive down to the Dragons 12 yard line and attempted a 29 yard field goal, but the stingy Dragons defense blocked Erick Ramirez’s field goal attempt to deny the Eagles three points with 1:30 minutes remaining in the first half of play.
The Dragons took possession at their own 22 yard line after the blocked Eagles field goal attempt and engineered a 78 touchdown drive using their two minute drill offense on a one yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Luna to fullback Jake Friesenhan and place kicker Oscar Jimenez point after attempt sailed through the uprights to tie the game once again at 14-14 a piece with seven seconds left in the second quarter. The game went into halftime tied 14-14.
During halftime, both teams made adjustments based on what they saw in the first half of play.
The Eagles took the second half kick-off at their own 34 yard line and on the second play of the second half Eagles quarterback Allan Rodriguez hit wide receiver Carlos Santos on a catch and run route for a 66 yard touchdown pass, but unfortunately the touchdown was negated by the Eagles first penalty of the game on an illegal substitution. The Eagles were forced to punt.
The Eagles defense buckled down in the second half led by linebackers Saul Perales, Joe Samaniego, and Jacob Salinas, nose tackle Andres Conde, defensive ends Charlie Schuessler and MJ McGehee, and defensive backs Kristian Barcena, Jacob Ruiz, Armando De Los Santos, and Isaac Caballero, shutting out the potent Dragons offense.
On their following possession, the Eagles orchestrated a textbook touchdown drive combining short passes, runs, and quarterback keepers, resulting in a six yard touchdown run by standout running back Jose Hernandez and Erick Ramirez’s extra point was good to extend the Eagles lead to 21-14 with 2:40 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Dragons marched down the field for an apparent 70 yard touchdown drive, but the touchdown was negated by a Dragon penalty for illegal substitution and the Eagles Land Shark Defense held the Dragons from reaching the end zone again as the Eagles offense took over on downs.
The Dragons defense managed to intercept Eagles quarterback Allan Rodriguez on the ensuing possession, giving the Dragons good field position at the Eagles 48 yard line and managed to complete a pass to the Eagles 26 yard line but the hard hitting Eagles defense caused the Dragons wide receiver to fumble the football and Eagles nose tackle Andres Conde pounced on the loose pigskin at the Eagles 26 yard line with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Eagles quarterback Allan Rodriguez busted loose through the Dragons defense on a keeper to tally a sensational 68 yard touchdown run and Erick Ramirez’s point after attempt was good to extend the Eagles lead 28-14 with 9:38 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles Land Shark Defense matured during the game and stopped the explosive Dragons offense on their ensuing possession, forcing them to punt.
The Eagles offense orchestrated a 52 yard touchdown drive on a combination of runs by running backs Jose Hernandez and Isaac Caballero before quarterback Allan Rodriguez hit wide receiver Cgc Ritchie on a 24 yard touchdown strike and Erick Ramirez’s point after attempt was good to widen the Eagles lead 35-14 with 4:15 minutes remaining in the game.
Eagles linebacker Joe Samaniego intercepted a Dragons pass on the ensuing possession and returned it to the Dragons 13 yard line, giving excellent field position to the Eagles.
Eagles Head Coach Tom Gonzalez placed reserve quarterback Domingo Fuentes in the game to give him game experience and Fuentes took right where Allan Rodriguez left off by running the ball to the Dragons six yard line and after a brief scuttle between some players, Eagles running back Isaac Caballero scampered for seven yards for a touchdown and Erick Ramirez extra point was good to give the Eagles a commanding 42-14 lead with only 1:42 minutes remaining in the game.
The Eagles Land Shark Defense closed out the game, denying the Dragons on their final possession to preserve the hard fought 42-14 victory.
The Eagles improve to 1-1 overall in the season with the win and will face next week their cross-town rival, Winn Mavericks, in a non-district game on Friday, September 13, 2019, at 7:30 P.M. at the EPISD Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium in the 14th Anniversary of their rivalry game, affectionately called by local football aficionados as the “Menudo Bowl.”
