Eagle Pass Winn Mavericks Fall to Victoria West Warriors 49-13 in Area Football Championship, Finish as Bi-District Champions
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
The thundering Eagle Pass C. C. Winn High School Mavericks fell to the Victoria West High School Warriors in the 2020 University Interscholastic League (U.I.L.) 5A, Division I Area Football Championship held on Thursday, December 17, 2020 at Comalander Stadium in San Antonio, Texas, finishing the season with an overall 5-3 record and as Bi-District Champions.
The Mavericks won the coin toss and elected to receive the football to open the game.
The Mavericks started their first possession at their 30 yard line and probed the massive Warriors defensive line with three plays, but were forced to punt.
The Warriors received the punt and started their first possession in great field position after a shanked punt at the Mavericks 45 yard line. The Warriors ran a hurry up offense with five consecutive pass plays against the stout Mavericks defense and on the fifth play struck pay dirt with a 17 yard touchdown pass completion from quarterback Blake Buzzell to wide receiver Dion Green and the point after attempt was good to take an early 7-0 lead with 8:45 minutes in the first quarter.
On their second possession, the Mavericks commenced at their 23 yard line and standout quarterback Jose Padilla tried two keepers and a hand-off to running back Abdiel Cardona into the Warriors defense, but the Mavericks were forced to punt.
The Warriors started their second possession at their 35 yard line and engineered a 65 yard touchdown drive, culminating with a 29 yard run into the end zone by running back Chase Patek and the extra point was good to extend the lead to 14-0 with 3:57 minutes in the first quarter.
The Mavericks started their third possession at their 18 yard line and advanced to the 32 yard line, but the stout Warriors defense forced a punt once again.
On their third possession, the Warriors opted to keep the football on the ground on a series of runs by running back Chase Patek, including a 44 yard romp into the Mavericks defensive secondary, resulting in a seven yard scamper into the end zone and the point after attempt was perfect to extend the lead to 21-0 with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
On their fourth possession, the Mavericks started at their 25 yard line and completed a pass, a run, and then threw an incomplete pass before punting to the Warriors to start the second quarter.
The Warriors combined a balanced run and pass offense on their fourth possession and orchestrated a 71 yard touchdown drive, culminating with an 11 yard aerial strike from quarterback Blake Buzzell to wide receiver Latrell Barfield and the extra point sailed through the uprights to extend the lead to 28-0 with 8:37 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Mavericks continued testing the Warriors defense in their fifth possession with a pair of quarterback keepers by Jose Padilla but a pass interception by defensive back Samuel Brito returned the football to the Warriors 48 yard line.
The Mavericks defense led by linebackers Noe Castillon, Lee Roy Alvarez, JP Ramos, and Jeremiah Robinson stifled the Warriors high octane offense on their fifth possession, forcing a punt.
The Mavericks commenced their sixth possession at their 14 yard line and ran a pair of quarterback keepers by Jose Padilla and a pass completion from Padilla to wide receiver Joe Garza before being forced to punt by the stingy Warriors defense.
On their fifth possession, the Warriors continued with the hurry up offense and a pass happy scheme to tally a fifth touchdown on a 15 yard completion from quarterback Blake Buzzell to wide receiver DeAndre Fillmore and the extra point was good to extend the lead to 35-0 with 51 seconds remaining before halftime.
The Mavericks seventh possession started at their own 24 yard line and advanced to the 41 yard line as time expired in the first half. The Warriors took a commanding 35-0 lead over the Mavericks into halftime.
To open the second half, the Warriors started at their 36 yard line and only took three plays to score a sixth touchdown on a 55 yard aerial bomb from quarterback Blake Buzzell to wide receiver Dion Green and the point after attempt was good, extending the Warriors lead 42-0 with 11:07 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Mavericks commenced at their 33 yard line and came out passing with two completions from quarterback Jose Padilla to wide receivers Michael Olivo and Abdiel Cardona, but on the third pass attempt Warriors defensive back Samuel Brito intercepted the pass and returned it for a pick six and the extra point was good, extending the Warriors lead to 49-0 with 8:33 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Both teams’ defenses controlled the remainder of the third quarter and exchanged two possessions a piece, including a pass interception by Mavericks standout defensive back Jose Aguilar at the Warriors 48 yard line to end the third quarter.
The Mavericks offense opened the fourth quarter after the Jose Aguilar interception with a series of quarterback keepers by Jose Padilla, culminating with a three yard dive into the Warriors end zone by Padilla and the point after attempt by place kicker Emanuel Oviedo was blocked to tally the first points and narrowing the score 49-6 with 6:49 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks defense led by defensive linemen Angel Rosales, Rey Flores, Domingo Fuentes, Juan Estrada, Victor Alonzo and Alejandro Alferes forced a fumble on the Warriors ensuing possession as Mavericks defensive back Kevin Gonzalez scooped up the loose pigskin at the Mavericks 26 yard line.
The Mavericks offense combined quarterback keepers and pass completions to advance to the Warriors 41 yard line, but Warriors defensive back Orlando Alvarez swiped a Jose Padilla aerial near the goal line to stop the Mavericks drive.
The Mavericks defense returned the favor on the Warriors by recovering a fumble at the Warriors 26 yard line by defensive lineman Domingo Fuentes, gaining great field position late in the fourth quarter.
The never say die Mavericks offense, anchored by offensive linemen Jimmy Joe Lopez, Jose Reyes, Jose Anzures, Alejandro Oviedo, and Raul Riza, took to the air and scored on a touchdown pass from quarterback Jose Padilla to wide receiver Jose Aguilar and place kicker Emanuel Oviedo’s extra point was perfect to narrow the score 49-13 with 42 seconds remaining in the game.
The Warriors ran out the clock to earn the hard-fought Area Championship 49-13 over the Mavericks.
The Mavericks played courageously and valiantly throughout the game, representing the school and the community with extraordinary pride, sportsmanship, and character. A total of 27 Mavericks’ seniors played their final football game on this evening in San Antonio, Texas, bringing honor to their school and community.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates the Winn Mavericks on advancing into the second round of the state playoffs and winning the 2020 Bi-District Championship against the San Antonio Lanier Voks the previous week.
Roll Mavericks Roll!
