Eagle Pass Eagles Romp Winn Mavericks 49-7 in 16th Rivalry Meeting
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The mighty Eagle Pass Eagles continued its dominance over cross-town rival Eagle Pass Winn Mavericks romping to victory 49-7 in their 16th Rivalry Meeting on Friday, August 26, 2022, at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Eagles standout running back Thomas J. Mares tallied five touchdowns in the game, including four rushing and one pass receiving, to guide the Eagles win over the Mavericks in a non-district game. Mares scored on runs of 10 yards, 15 yards, two yards, and five yards while tallying one touchdown on a pass reception of 20 yards.
Eagles standout lefty quarterback Isaac Stanwick rushed for one touchdown of two yards and tossed one touchdown pass for 20yards to running back Thomas J. Mares and reserve quarterback Andres Garcia tossed one touchdown pass of five yards to wide receiver Jose Hernandez late in the fourth quarter. Eagles place kicker Oliver Velez was perfect 7 for 7 on the point after attempts in the game.
Mavericks running back Arandu Pace scored the lone touchdown on a six yard run and the point after attempt was good to narrow the score 14-7 midway through the second quarter.
A sell-out crowd of 8,500 attended the 16th Rivalry Meeting between the Eagles and Mavericks. The Mavericks won the coin toss and elected to receive the football.
The Mavericks started their first possession at their own 20 yard line. Mavericks standout running back Jeremiah Robinson ran hard against the stingy Eagles “Land Shark Defense,” but a penalty and an incomplete pass caused the Mavericks to go for a first down on a fourth and three yards at their own 36 yard line, which they were unsuccessful converting and handing the Eagles their first possession deep into Mavericks territory at the 36 yard line.
The Eagles quickly capitalized on their good field position and marched down the Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium turf for a quick six on a 10 yard run by tailback Thomas J. Mares and the point after attempt by place kicker Oliver Velez was good with 6:11 minutes remaining in the first quarter, giving the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.
The Mavericks opened their second possession at their own 25 yard line and orchestrated a drive marching to the Eagles 15 yard line, but an Eagles defense hard hit on Mavericks quarterback Abdiel Cardona on a pass attempt caused a fumble in the backfield that was recovered by the Eagles defense.
The Eagles second possession started at their 21 yard line and proceeded to drive down the field on a combination of runs and short passes, culminating on a 15 yard scamper into the end zone by running back Thomas J. Mares and Oliver Velez’s extra point sailed through the uprights, extending the Eagles lead 14-0 with 11:48 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Mavericks regrouped and orchestrated a 75 yard touchdown drive on their third possession with a combination of runs and a few short passes, culminating on a six yard run by Mavericks running back Arandu Pace leaping over Eagle defenders into the end zone and the point after attempt was good with 4:51 minutes left in the second quarter, narrowing the score 14-7 in favor of the Eagles.
The Eagles quickly responded to the Mavericks score by engineering a touchdown drive resulting on a 15 yard touchdown run by running back Thomas J. Mares and the point after attempt by place kicker Oliver Velez was good, increasing the Eagles lead 21-7 with 3:40 minutes remaining in the second quarter. The teams defensive units managed to stop the offenses on the following two possessions to go into halftime with a 21-7 score in favor of the Eagles.
The Eagles received the second half kickoff and orchestrated a 69 yard touchdown drive via the ground and air, culminating on a short two yard dive into the end zone by tailback Thomas J. Mares and the extra point by Oliver Velez was good, enlarging the Eagles lead 28-7 with 9:40 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles stout “Land Shark Defense” stymied the Mavericks offense on their first second-half possession, forcing them to punt after driving to the Eagles 41 yard line.
The Eagles engineered a 59 yard touchdown drive on their next possession resulting in a 20 yard touchdown pass from standout quarterback Isaac Stanwick to Thomas J. Mares and Oliver Velez extra point was good, increasing the Eagles lead to 35-7 with 1:48 minutes left in the third quarter.
Despite the hard running of Mavericks running back Jeremiah Robinson, the Eagles defense flexed and managed to stop Robinson and the Mavericks from punching the football into the end zone for the remainder of the game.
The Eagles added two scores in the fourth quarter on another five yard run by Thomas J. Mares and a five yard pass reception from reserve quarterback Andres Garcia to wide receiver Jose Hernandez and Oliver Velez went perfect 7 for 7 on the point after attempts to close out the scoring 49-7 after four quarters of play in the 16th Rivalry Meeting between the Eagles and Mavericks.
Both teams displayed valiant effort and excellent sportsmanship throughout the game.
The Eagles had a total of 425 offensive yards in the game, including 209 rushing yards on 24 carries and 216 passing yards on 16 completions out of 18 pass attempts. Running back Thomas J. Mares had 115 yards rushing on 13 carries with four touchdowns plus 26 yards receiving on two receptions and one touchdown. Quarterback Isaac Stanwick passed for 212 yards on 15 completions out of 17 attempts with one touchdown pass and one interception, as well as 43 rushing yards on six carries and one touchdown. Wide receivers Sebastian Diaz had seven receptions for 128 yards, Kyle Gloria had three receptions for 35 yards, Wilfredo Frausto had 23 yards on two receptions, and Jose Hernandez had four yards on two receptions and one touchdown reception.
The Mavericks had a total of 199 offensive yards, including 137 rushing yards and 62 passing yards in the game. Running back Jeremiah Robinson rushed for 126 yards and quarterback Abdiel Cardona had 62 passing yards in the game.
The Eagles next face the Boerne Champion Chargers on Friday, September 2, 2022 at 7 p.m. at home while the Mavericks travel to Uvalde to take on the Coyotes on September 2 at 7 p.m. The Boerne Chargers defeated Laredo United South Panthers 27-22 while the Uvalde Coyotes edged the Carrizo Springs Wildcats 21-13 this week.
