Eagle Pass Eagles Saddle Laredo Nixon Mustangs 56-21
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
The mighty Eagle Pass High School Eagles saddled the Laredo Nixon High School Mustangs 56-21 in a key District 30-6A football game on Friday, October 8, 2021, at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium in Eagle Pass, Texas, remaining undefeated in district standings at 3-0 and 5-2 overall in the season with three district games left on the schedule before the state playoffs.
The Eagles won the pre-game coin flip and elected to receive the football until the second half.
The Mustangs opened the game with their first possession at their 25 yard line and quickly went to their patented ground attack but the stellar Eagles’ “Landshark” defense stopped them on a fourth and one yard attempt at their own 44 yard line, granting the Eagles’ “War Eagle” offense excellent field position.
Eagles standout running back T. J. Mares scampered for a would-be 44 yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, but an Eagle penalty for holding negated the quick score. On the next play, Eagles standout southpaw quarterback Isaac Stanwick connected with wide receiver Wilfredo Frausto for a pass completion to the Mustangs 38 yard line and a Mustangs pass interference penalty on the next play moved the ball to the Mustangs 23 yard line. On the ensuing play, Stanwick hit standout wide receiver Dakota Kypuros in stride at the goal line between two Mustangs defenders for a quick touchdown and place kicker Alan Losoya’s point after attempt sailed through the middle of the uprights, giving the Eagles an early 7-0 lead with 8:10 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
On the Mustangs’ second possession, Eagles defensive back Robert De La Garza swiped an aerial pass attempt and returned it to the Mustangs 26 yard line, giving excellent field position to the War Eagle offense.
The Eagles capitalized on the turnover and on a fourth down and six yards to go at the Mustangs 21 yard line, quarterback Isaac Stanwick hit wide receiver Kyle Gloria in the end zone for the touchdown and Alan Losoya’s extra point was good, extending the Eagles lead 14-0 with 3:39 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles’ “Land Shark” defense manhandled the Mustangs offensive unit on their next possession, forcing a punt.
The Eagles engineered a 70 yard touchdown drive on their third possession in only three plays, including a 21 yard run by T. J. Mares and another 42 yard run by Stanwick, and culminating on a seven yard scamper into the Mustangs end zone by Mares and Alan Losoya’s point after attempt went through the uprights to extend the Eagles lead 21-0 with 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Mustangs regrouped and orchestrated a 71 yard touchdown drive, culminating on a 64 yard gallop by running back Hernando Ruiz into the Eagles end zone and place kicker Alexis Aldana’s point after attempt was good, narrowing the score to 21-7 with 11:06 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Eagles responded with a 57 yard touchdown drive on their next possession in only five plays as quarterback Isaac Stanwick hit wide receiver Wilfredo Frausto in the Mustangs end zone for a 20 yard strike and Losoya added the point after attempt, extending the Eagles lead 28-7 with 9:09 minutes left in the second quarter.
After the Eagles’ “Land Shark” defense stifled the potent Mustangs ground attack on their next possession, the Eagles’ “War Eagle” offense marched 80 yards down Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium for a touchdown, culminating on an aerial bomb from quarterback Isaac Stanwick to wide receiver Kyle Gloria for a 24 yard score and Alan Losoya kicked the extra point to enlarge the Eagles lead to 35-7 with 2:40 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Both teams exchanged possessions before halftime and went into halftime with the score 35-7 in favor of the Eagles.
The mighty Eagle Band performed at halftime, together with their flag team and the delightful Diamond Dance Team, to an outstanding ovation from Eagle Nation aficionados. The mighty Eagle Band celebrated Parents Night at halftime with parents in tow and celebratory signs decorating the field.
The Eagles opened the second half with an electrifying 62 yard touchdown run from scrimmage by running back T. J. Mares, but the score was wiped off the scoreboard by a holding penalty. On the ensuing play, Eagles quarterback Isaac Stanwick called his own number and brought the loyal Eagle Nation aficionados to their feet with an explosive 72 yard touchdown run into the end zone, eluding several Mustang defenders, and Alan Losoya added the point after attempt to put the game out of reach at 42-7 with 11:01 minutes remaining in the third quarter, stunning the Mustangs.
The never say die Mustangs regrouped and engineered a 91 yard touchdown drive on 16 plays on their first possession of the second half, featuring a two yard dive into the Eagles end zone by running back Hernando Ruiz and the two point conversion attempt failed, making the score 42-13 with 2:13 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles’ “War Eagle” offense answered the Mustangs score with what would have been a 70 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Isaac Stanwick to wide receiver Wilfredo Frausto, but an Eagle penalty for a chop block negated Frausto’s feat. The Eagles regrouped and orchestrated a 70 yard touchdown drive through combined runs and pass completions, culminating on a dazzling 39 yard touchdown sprint into the Mustangs end zone by quarterback Isaac Stanwick after shaking off a Mustang defender in the backfield and Alan Losoya added the point after attempt, extending the Eagles lead 49-13 with one minute left in the third quarter.
Eagles Head Coach Tom Gonzalez elected to rest his starting defensive unit late in the third quarter and enabled the reserve defensive players to gain valuable game experience in preparation for the remaining district and playoff games.
The Mustangs rallied for 71 yard touchdown drive against the Eagles reserve defensive unit in the fourth quarter, resulting on a 17 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Antonio Calderon to wide receiver Alexis Aldana and the two point conversion succeeded, narrowing the score 49-21 with 6:07 minutes left in the game.
The Eagles reserve “War Eagle” offensive unit replied back with a 57 touchdown drive to end the scoring in the game, culminating on a 21 yard scamper into the Mustangs end zone by reserve quarterback Andres Garcia Villarreal and Alan Losoya nailed his eighth extra point of the game with 4:01 minutes remaining.
The Eagles’ “War Eagle” offense tallied 533 yards against the Mustangs, including 259 yards rushing and 274 yards passing. Quarterback Isaac Stanwick led the Eagles with 167 rushing yards on six carries and two touchdowns, followed by T. J. Mares had 70 yards on six carries and one touchdown, Andres Garcia Villarreal had one carry for 21 yards, and Alejandro Segura had one carry for two yards. Passing-wise, Isaac Stanwick completed 12 out of 15 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns and reserve quarterback Andres Garcia Villarreal completed two out of four attempts for 42 yards.
Wide receiver Kyle Gloria caught three passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns, Dakota Kypuros caught three passes for 83 yards and one touchdown, Wilfredo Frausto caught two passes for 42 yards and one touchdown, T. J. Mares had three pass receptions for 58 yards, Sebastian Diaz had one reception for 33 yards, Chris Frausto had one reception for 8 yards, and Alejandro Segura had one reception for 9 yards.
The War Eagle Elite Performer of the game was quarterback Isaac Stanwick, Players of the Week were Dakota Kypuros, Kyle Gloria, T. J.Mares, Alfredo Guevara, and Jack Olivas, and the War Eagle Hustle Award went to Wilfredo Frausto and Derek Ruiz.
The Eagles next week play against the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs (1-1 in District, 2-4 Overall) in another tough district game on Friday, October 15, 2021, at the Laredo United ISD Student Activity Complex in Laredo, Texas.
The Eagles are tied for first place in District 30-6A with Laredo United South Panthers at 3-0, which they meet in two weeks in Eagle Pass during the Eagles Homecoming game on October 22, 2021. The Eagles final game is against Del Rio Rams (1-1 District, 2-4 Overall) on November 6, 2021 at Del Rio, Texas. The Eagles final three district games are against the three top teams in District 30-6A. The Eagles quest to repeat as District 30-6A Champions has to be taken one game at a time.
Go Eagles Baby!
