Eagle Pass Eagles Rally 21 Unanswered Points in Second Half to Defeat Boerne Champion Chargers 35-27
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The mighty Eagle Pass High School Eagles rallied for 21 unanswered points in the second half to come from behind to defeat perennial powerhouse Boerne Champion High School Chargers 35-27 in a thrilling non-district football game on Friday, September 2, 2022, at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium in Eagle Pass, Texas.
A Texas high school varsity football game regulation time of play is 48 minutes, but momentum in a game can change precipitously as was the case in the Eagles versus Boerne Champion Chargers game on September 2. Momentum and turnovers in a game determine the fate of who wins and who loses the game. Often, a game is a tale of two halves, but what counts is who wins at the end of the game.
The visiting Boerne Champion Chargers won the opening coin flip and deferred to receiving the football in the second half, giving the Eagles the first possession of the game.
The Eagles started their first possession at their own four yard line after the kickoff bounced between Eagle return men and was finally picked up by Thomas J. Mares at the four yard line as he was immediately tackled by Charger defenders. After an Eagles first down, the Chargers defense settled down and stifled the talented Eagles offense on the next series, forcing a punt deep in their territory.
The Chargers first possession started at the Eagles 43 yard line and engineered a touchdown drive combining runs and passes, culminating on a six yard touchdown pass and the point after attempt sailed through the uprights, taking an early 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Eagles started at their own 15 yard line and began with a run and a pass when on the third play of the series an Eagles wide receiver caught a pass from quarterback Isaac Stanwick but fumbled the football upon a hard hit from a Charger defensive back that another Charger defender pounced on the football for the recovery at the Eagles 29 yard line early in the first quarter.
The Chargers quickly capitalized on the Eagles turnover and scored on a two yard run into the end zone by quarterback Jordan Ballin and the extra point was good, taking an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter with the home crowd stunned.
The Eagles offense finally orchestrated a patented long touchdown drive on their third possession, combining the running of Thomas J. Mares and passing of Isaac Stanwick. Stanwick broke loose on a 29 yard run to the Chargers 30 yard line and followed it up with a 32 yard aerial strike to wide receiver Kyle Gloria to the Chargers three yard line. After a one yard loss on a run, the Eagles tallied their first touchdown of the game on a four yard pass from Stanwick to Kyle Gloria and Oliver Velez point after attempt was good, narrowing the score 14-7 in favor of the Chargers with 4:49 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
With the first quarter of play winding down, the Chargers fumbled the ensuing kick return with the Eagles recovering the pigskin at the Chargers 36 yard line. The Eagles quickly went to the air on their next possession when Charger defensive back Evan Kuhl intercepted an Isaac Stanwick pass attempt and began to return it until Eagle running back Thomas J. Mares stood him up on the tackle and stripped the football away from Kuhl, returning it for an 41 yard Eagles touchdown and stunning the Chargers fans. Eagle place kicker Oliver Velez point after attempt was good, tying the game 14-14 with a few minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The stout Eagles’ Land Shark defense finally forced the potent Chargers offense to punt on their following possession.
The Eagles started their fourth possession at their own 19 yard line, continuing to mix the ground game with the passing. Quarterback Isaac Stanwick completed a swing pass to Thomas J. Mares for 24 yards and followed it with a four yard run himself. On the third play, Stanwick dropped back to pass, but the Chargers defenders flushed him out of the pocket causing him to scramble and throwing a 54 yard touchdown strike to a wide open Kyle Gloria who slipped behind the defenders—but the touchdown pass was nullified on an Eagles penalty on the play. The Chargers defense forced the Eagles to punt on this possession after the touchdown pass was nullified with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter.
The Chargers offense orchestrated a quick three play 82 yard touchdown drive on their following possession, culminating with a 75 yard aerial bomb from quarterback Jordan Ballin to wide receiver Evan Bates streaking down the middle of the defense and the extra point was good, retaking the lead 21-14 with only 23 second left in the first quarter.
The Eagles offense marched down the field from their own 22 yard line on the following possession to the Chargers nine yard line after a 46 yard pass from Isaac Stanwick to wide receiver Jose Hernandez, but Chargers defensive back Tony Graves swiped an Issac Stanwick pass in the end zone to deny the Eagles the tying score.
The Chargers capitalized on the Eagles turnover on the ensuing possession, engineering a perfect 80 yard touchdown drive mostly through the airwaves, culminating on a 37 yard strike from Jordan Ballin to wide receiver Griffin Jones with 7:14 minutes remaining in the second quarter, but the Chargers place kicker missed the extra point to keep the score at 27-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, disaster struck the Eagles as the kickoff return man fumbled the football with the Chargers recovering it at the Eagles 23 yard line. The Chargers marched to the Eagles six yard line, but quarterback Jordan Ballin was injured, forcing reserve quarterback Brook Browning to enter the game. The Chargers fumbled the football on a low snap from center with the Eagles pouncing on the loose pigskin at the Eagles eight yard line, denying the Chargers a scoring opportunity.
The Eagles offense marched 82 yards from their own eight yard line to the Chargers 10 yard line on the following possession, but the Chargers defense held the potent Eagles offense from scoring as the Eagles fourth down and goal failed on an incomplete pass from Stanwick to wide receiver Wilfredo Frausto, who was held by the Charger defender but the referees did not call the penalty.
The Eagles’ Land Shark defense held the Chargers on their final first-half possession as the Chargers took a 27-14 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Eagles’ Land Shark defense took over the momentum of the game by stifling the explosive quick strike passing attack of the Chargers. The Chargers received the second-half kick-off, but the Eagles’ defense forced them to punt.
The Eagles engineered a patented 92 yard touchdown drive in 13 plays with a balanced attack of ground game and passing on their first second-half possession, culminating on a one yard dive into the end zone by running back Thomas J. Mares and place kicker Oliver Velez point after attempt was good, narrowing the score to 27-21 in favor of the Chargers in the third-quarter.
The Eagles’ defensive linemen played with greater intensity and pressured Chargers quarterback Jordan Ballin to several incomplete pass attempts on the next possession, forcing a punt.
The Eagles moved the ball from their own 34 yard line to the Chargers 40 yard line, but a holding penalty pushed the Eagles back to their own 49 yard line. Eagles quarterback Isaac Stanwick suffered a leg injury during this series before the Eagles punted on a fourth and 20 yards. Eagles reserve quarterback Andres Garcia came in the game after Stanwick’s injury.
In the early fourth quarter, the Chargers offense sputtered as the Eagles’ Land Shark defense stepped up the heat on quarterback Jordan Ballin and the defensive backs tightly covered the Chargers wide receivers on their pass routes, forcing the Chargers to go turnover the ball on downs to the Eagles.
The Eagles offense capitalized on the momentum generated by its defense and executed a touchdown drive on the following possession, resulting on a three yard run into the promised land by running back Thomas J. Mares and the point after attempt by Oliver Velez sailed through the middle of the goalposts to give the Eagles their first lead in the game, 28-27, with 9:33 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to the delight of the Eagles’ aficionados.
Trailing for the first time in the game, the Chargers offense took to the air waves to try to regain the lead from the Eagles on their next possession. The Chargers marched from their own 16 yard line to the Eagles 44 yard line through several pass completions, but on a second down and nine yards to go play Eagle defensive back Diego Garcia leaped high into the air to snatch a Jordan Ballin pass for an interception at the Eagles 16 yard line to stifle the Chargers scoring threat.
The Eagles offense needing to control the game clock went to a ground game utilizing running back Thomas J. Mares with several solid carries marching to the Eagles 49 yard line, but Mares got injured and had to momentarily leave the game. Facing a critical third down and two yards at the Eagles 49 yard line, reserve quarterback Andres Garcia stepped back for a pass and was flushed out of the pocket and decided to run for the first down himself when the middle of the field parted open like Moses’ Red Sea, racing 51 yards through the Chargers defense into the end zone and Oliver Velez extra point was good, extending the Eagles lead to 35-27 with 2:37 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter—stunning the Chargers.
The never say die Chargers sought to get a quick score and a two point conversion to tie and force the game into overtime, taking to the airwaves once again as there was plenty of time left for a quick score. The Eagles’ Land Shark defense now with momentum on their side applied maximum pressure on Charger quarterback Jordan Ballin who marched his team from their own 25 yard line to the Eagles 44 yard line with 2:15 minutes remaining in the game. On a second down and five yards to go, Eagle defensive back Armando Lechler stepped in front of the intended Charger wide receiver to swipe an interception against Charger quarterback Jordan Ballin to give the Eagles possession of the ball at their own 10 yard line with 1:46 minutes remaining in the game.
The Eagles offense with the return of running back Thomas J. Mares in the game was able to gain a first down to their own 33 yard line and run out the game clock to earn a hard fought come from behind victory over the talented Chargers by the final score of 35-27, improving to 2-0 overall in the season.
The Eagles’ Land Shark defense shut out the explosive Chargers pass happy offense during the entire second half while the offense capitalized on the defense momentum by scoring 21 unanswered points for the victory.
After the game, both teams exchanged handshakes and joined in the middle of the field for a prayer.
