Eagle Pass Eagles Defense Shuts Down Winn Mavericks 24-0 in 14th Annual Football Rivalry Game
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2019
The Eagle Pass High School Eagles self-proclaimed “Land Shark Defense” dominated its cross-town rival Winn High School Mavericks potent offense in the 14th Annual Football Rivalry Game to earn a 24-0 victory on Friday, September 13, 2019 at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium, forcing and pouncing on two Mavericks turnovers in the first-half to set up two short Eagles touchdown drives for a 14-0 half-time lead while adding 10 points in the second-half.
Both teams brought out en masse their loyal aficionados for the 14th Annual meeting between the two Eagle Pass high school football teams and played a highly competitive and entertaining game, estimated attendance at the game was 5,000 people. Maverick County football aficionados affectionately refer to this annual rivalry game as “The Menudo Bowl.”
The Eagles won the coin toss during the pre-game Captains meeting at mid-field with the Referees and elected to defer until the second half.
The visiting Mavericks opened their first possession of the game at their own 30 yard line, but the stout Eagles Land Shark Defense forced them to punt and caused the Mavericks to fumble the football and standout Eagles defensive end Charlie Schuessler pounced on the loose pigskin at the Mavericks 11 yard line to set up the Eagles first possession in excellent field position.
The Eagles self-proclaimed Eagle War Offense led by quarterback Allan Rodriguez and running backs Jose Hernandez, Isaac Caballero, and Saul Peralez wasted little time to capitalize on the Mavericks fumble by engineering an 11 yard touchdown drive, culminating in a one yard plunge into the end zone by running back Isaac Caballero and left-footed place kicker Erick Ramirez booted the point after attempt through the uprights to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead with 8:32 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
In their second possession, the Mavericks started at their own 35 yard line and appeared to be advancing the ball until they ran into once again Eagles defensive end Charlie Schuessler who sacked Mavericks quarterback Ethan Johnston at the Mavericks 23 yard line for a ten yard loss, forcing them to punt again.
The thundering Mavericks Defense led by linebackers Alex Garcia, Jared Roiz, and Michael Farris managed to force the explosive Eagles offense to punt the football on their second possession and giving the Mavericks excellent field position at the Eagles 32 yard line with 3:46 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The potent Mavericks offense led by quarterback Ethan Johnston, running back Ethan Cazares, and wide receivers Ernesto Vasquez, Jose Garza, Matthew De Alba, Michael Olivo, and Armando Yebra, and offensive linemen Jaime Rodriguez, Adrian Munoz, Daniel Ruiz, Miguel Nino, and Juan Guerra advanced to the Eagles own 8 yard line in the red zone when a pair of Mavericks penalties set them back to the Eagles 33 yard line, forcing them to turn over the ball on downs to the Eagles, missing a potential scoring drive.
The Eagles Land Shark Defense led by linebackers Joe Samaniego, Saul Peralez, Jacob Salinas, and Uriel Martinez, defensive end MJ McGehee, Charlie Schuessler, Nathan Aguilera, and Eric Lara, and defensive tackle Andres Conde, Santana Martinez, and Tommy Cantu, and defensive backs Kristian Barcena, David Lopez, Isaac Caballero, and Armando De Los Santos flexed and bent during the game allowing the Mavericks to move the football but never giving up any points.
After exchanging possessions in the second quarter, the Mavericks started a drive at their own 19 yard line and steadily made progress down the field when Eagles defensive back Kristian Barcena snatched an Ethan Johnston’s aerial pass for an interception with 3:50 minutes left in the second-quarter, foiling another Mavericks potential scoring drive.
The Eagles offense anchored by their stout offensive linemen of Martin Rodriguez, Arnoldo Perez, Emmanuel Balderas, Alex Martinez, and Emmanuel Jimenez, and wide receivers Dakota Kypuros, Cgc Ritchie, Carlos Santos, Chris Hiller, and David Lopez quickly capitalized on the Kristian Barcena interception by orchestrating a 68 yard touchdown drive through a combination of short passes and runs, including a 68 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dakota Kypuros that was nullified by an Eagle penalty, a fake punt resulting in a pass completion to running back Saul Peralez and a first down, and eventually a 29 yard scoring strike by quarterback Allan Rodriguez to wide receiver Cgc Ritchie with 13 seconds remaining before halftime while place kicker Erick Ramirez’s point after attempt was good to give the Eagles a strong 14-0 lead at halftime.
At halftime, both teams made adjustments to their respective game plans after reviewing the first-half of play and strategy implemented by their opponent.
In the second-half, the Eagles received the opening kick-off and began their first possession at their own 29 yard line. To their credit, the thundering Mavericks defense led by defensive linemen Axel Rodriguez, Jose Anzurez, Alejandro Ontiveros, and Jose Hinojosa, linebackers Alex Garcia, Jared Roiz, and Michael Farris, and defensive backs Eric Sanchez, Gilbert Vasquez, Argenis Gonzalez, Maximus Contreras, and Andrew Vasquez stifled the potent Eagles offense during most of the game, except for the two drives resulting from turnovers, forcing the Eagles to punt.
The Eagles offense managed to drive 64 yards down the field to the Mavericks 4 yard line, but the Eagles had to settle for a 20 yard field goal attempt after the stingy Mavericks defense held them to a fourth down and goal at the 4 yard line and Eagles place-kicker Erick Ramirez kicked the field goal attempt straight through the goal posts to extend the Eagles lead 17-0 with 5:14 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Mavericks were forced to punt by the Eagles defense and punt returner Kristian Barcena appeared to have returned the punt for a sensational 60 plus yards touchdown return only to be nullified by a chop block penalty. So, the Eagles had to restart their possession at the Mavericks 42 yard line, taking only a few plays to punch the football into the end zone on a one yard dive by running back Jose Hernandez and the point after attempt by Erick Ramirez sailed through the moonlit goal posts to extend the Eagles lead 24-0 over the Mavericks with 1:05 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Both the Mavericks and Eagles exchanged a couple of possessions in the fourth quarter, but each team’s defense stymied the offenses resulting in a final score of 24-0 in favor of the Eagles over the Mavericks, earning their 14th consecutive victory in the Annual Football Rivalry over the Mavericks.
Both teams demonstrated great sportsmanship during the game and exchanged handshakes after the game.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates both the Eagle Pass Eagles and Winn Mavericks on their outstanding performances and sportsmanship demonstrated during the 14th Annual Football Rivalry Game and wishes both teams the best in their respective District games and season. Go Eagles! Go Mavericks!
