Eagle Pass Eagles Fall to PSJA North Raiders 56-28 in Area Football Championship
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
The mighty Eagle Pass High School Eagles fell to the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo (PSJA) North High School Raiders 56-28 in the second round of the state postseason playoffs, known as Area Championship, on Friday, November 19, 2021, at Shirley Stadium in Laredo, Texas, concluding a successful 2021 football season with a Bi-District Championship and as District 30-6A Runner-Up (2nd Place).
The Eagles won the pre-game coin toss and chose to defer to the second half.
The PSJA North Raiders started their first possession at the 22 yard line and opened with a pounding ground game against the Eagles “Land Shark” defense, marching 78 yards on seven plays for a touchdown drive as running back Jason Montes scampered for six yards into the Eagles end zone and the point after attempt sailed through the uprights to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead with 9:07 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
As the Eagles Kick-Off Return Team awaited the Raiders ensuing kickoff, the Raiders pulled a surprised on-side kick and successfully recovered the pigskin at the Eagles 47 yard line-stunning the Eagles and their loyal Eagle Nation aficionados.
The Raiders quickly capitalized on the turnover and in four rushes scored on a seven yard run by running back Jason Montes and the point after attempt sailed wide left and was no good, extending the Raiders lead 13-0 with 8:15 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Falling behind 13-0 early in the first quarter, the Eagles started their first possession of the game at the 36 yard line and came out passing against the stout Raiders defense, advancing to the Raiders 48 yard line after five plays but fizzled forcing a punt.
The Raiders took the football at their own 11 yard line and continued their ground assault against the Eagles “Land Shark” defense, pounding the pigskin into the Eagles end zone on the eighth play of the drive as running back Jack Lugo broke for a 19 yard run for the score and the point after attempt was good, extending the Raiders lead 21-0 with 3:20 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles regrouped and engineered an 11 plays, 63 yard touchdown drive utilizing a balanced ground and air attack, culminating on a fourth down and 10 yards to go at the Raiders 13 yard line and standout Eagles running back T. J. Mares breaking through the stingy Raiders defense for a 13 yards score and the point after attempt by Alejandro Segura was good, narrowing the score 20-7 in favor of the Raiders with six seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles Land Shark defense stifled the potent Raiders offense to go three and punt on their fourth possession early in the second quarter.
On their third possession, the explosive Eagles “War Eagle” offense orchestrated a balanced ground and air attack led by standout quarterback Isaac Stanwick and running back T. J. Mares, culminating on a five plays, 49 yards touchdown drive against the Raiders defense as Stanwick tossed a perfect over the shoulder aerial strike to standout wide receiver Dakota Kypuros in the end zone and Alejandro Segura’s extra point was good, narrowing the score 20-14 with 8:58 minutes remaining in the second quarter-making it a game as the Eagles rallied back.
On the ensuing Raiders possession, the stout Eagles Land Shark defense led by linebackers Eddie Sepulveda, Victor Chavez, and Jesse James Martinez, defensive linemen Erick Lara, Nathan Aguilera, Izhar Mauricio, and Javier Santos, and defensive backs Diego Garcia, Fernando Zavala, Robert De La Garza, Aidan Lopez, and Dakota Kypuros stifled the Raiders potent offense limiting them to five plays and a punt, giving the Eagles excellent field position at their own 46 yard line with 6:06 minutes remaining in the second quarter and an opportunity to take the lead in the game with a score.
With the potential game tying or leading drive at stake, the explosive Eagles “War Eagle” offense were stifled by the large Raiders defensive linemen forcing them to go three plays and punt on the most critical possession of the game that might have potentially changed the momentum of the contest for the Eagles. Instead, the Raiders seized the momentum at this juncture just as the Eagles seemed to be rallying from a 20 points deficit in the first quarter.
The Raiders went back to their vaunting ground attack to pound the Eagles defense with eight consecutive rushes on an 80 yard touchdown drive, culminating on a three yard dive into the end zone by running back Jason Montes and the two points conversion attempt was good, extending the Raiders lead 28-14 with 1:22 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Eagles ensuing possession before halftime starting at their own 30 yard line resulted in the Raiders intercepting a pass attempt and returning it to the Eagles 23 yard line with less than a minute of play.
The Raiders capitalized on the key turnover and quickly punched the pigskin into the Eagles end zone on a three plays touchdown drive, resulting on a 16 yards aerial strike to wide receiver Arturo Zamora and the point after attempt was good, enlarging the Raiders lead 35-14 with 10 seconds before halftime. The teams went into halftime with the Raiders leading 35-14.
During halftime, the Eagles brain trust led by Head Coach Tom Gonzalez made adjustments for the second half of the game.
In the third quarter, the Eagles received the opening kickoff and engineered an 98 yards touchdown drive on 11 plays utilizing a balanced ground and air attack, culminating on a 29 yards pass completion from quarterback Isaac Stanwick to wide receiver Sebastian Diaz and Alejandro Segura’s extra point kick was good, narrowing the score 35-21 in favor of the Raiders with 6:41 minutes in the second quarter.
The Raiders responded with a quick seven plays, 66 yards touchdown drive pounding the Eagles defense with a ground attack, resulting on a five yard touchdown run by running back Jason Montes and the extra point was good, extending once again the Raiders lead 42-21 with 3:46 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The never say die Eagles valiantly battled the much larger Raiders and orchestrated an impressive 14 plays, 89 yards touchdown drive on their ensuing possession combining an air and ground attack, culminating with quarterback Isaac Stanwick hurdling into the Raiders end zone for three yards and Alejandro Segura booted the extra point, narrowing the score 42-28 with 10:59 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders tallied two additional touchdowns late in the game while their defense stifled the potent Eagles “War Eagle” offense to earn the hard fought Area Championship by the final score of 56-28 despite the Eagles courageous efforts in the game.
The Eagles finish their 2021 football season with an overall 8-4 record, a District 30-6A Runner-Up, and a Bi-District Championship over the San Antonio Marshall Rams 54-51 in Eagle Pass on November 12, 2021.
For 15 Eagles senior players, the Area Championship game was their last as Eagles. Congratulations to these 15 seniors and best wishes to them in their future endeavors.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates the Eagles players, coaches, and staff on a successful season and for representing our community with outstanding sportsmanship.
