Eagle Pass Winn Mavericks Fall to Uvalde Coyotes 34-28
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The thundering Eagle Pass C. C. Winn High School Mavericks fell to the Uvalde High School Coyotes 34-28 in a thrilling non-district football game on Friday, September 2, 2022, at The Honey Bowl in Uvalde, Texas.
The Winn Mavericks game versus the Uvalde Coyotes received significant press coverage from local, state, and national news media outlets as it was the Coyotes first home game of the 2022 season following the tragic May 24, 2022 shooting incident at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers. The Coyotes were playing for more than their school, but also for the entire Uvalde community that has undergone through mass trauma as a result of the May 24 incident as well as for the pride and unity of the community. Uvalde was also celebrating this evening the 50th Anniversary of their 1972 football team that won the Texas U.I.L. Class AAA State Championship.
The Coyotes won the pre-game coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, giving the Mavericks the first possession of the game.
The Mavericks started their first possession at their own 36 yard line with Abiel Cardona as quarterback and Jeremiah Robinson as running back. The Mavericks opened the game with thunder and lightning as quarterback Abiel Cardona took the first snap in the game on a designed quarterback keeper and found a crease in the Coyotes defense, racing down The Honey Bowl turf for an electrifying 64 yard touchdown and place kicker Daniel Rodriguez’s point after attempt was good to give the Mavericks an early 7-0 lead with 11:40 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Coyotes first possession started at their own 26 yard line, but the stout Mavericks defense stifled the potent Coyotes offense forcing them to punt.
The Mavericks offense was stuffed by the Coyotes defense on their second possession, forcing a punt that was blocked by a Coyote defender to set up the Coyotes with excellent field position at the Mavericks 20 yard line.
The Coyotes quickly capitalized on the Mavericks turnover and executed a three play 20 yard touchdown drive on an 19 yard aerial strike from quarterback Brodie Carnes to wide receiver Jonathan Jimenez in the end zone and the extra point was good, tying the game at 14-14 in the first quarter.
The Mavericks third possession started at their own 46 yard line and marched down to the Coyotes 20 yard line on a solid ground attack by quarterback Abiel Cardona, running backs Jeremiah Robinson and Arandu Pace, and two pass completions to wide receiver Fernando Vasquez, but the stingy Coyotes defense flexed and bent but forcing the Mavericks to go for a fourth down and 16 yards to go that was unsuccessful on an incomplete pass, taking over on downs at their 20 yard line.
Early in the second quarter, both teams defensive units held the offensive units to exchange possessions. The Mavericks managed to advance from their 45 yard line to the Coyotes 10 yard line, but the Coyotes defense once again managed to take over on downs at their 10 yard line.
The Coyotes offense engineered a 90 yard touchdown drive on their ensuing possession in the second quarter mostly on the ground with a reverse, shuttle pass, and two Maverick penalties, culminating on an eight yard touchdown run by quarterback Chris Rodriguez on a wildcat quarterback keeper and the point after attempt was good to take a 14-7 lead over the Mavericks with 4:06 remaining in the second quarter.
The Mavericks responded with a 60 yard touchdown drive on solid runs by Cardona, Robinson, and Arandu Pace resulting in a one yard scamper into the end zone by quarterback Abiel Cardona and the extra point sailed through the uprights, tying the game once again at 14-14 each with 29 seconds remaining before halftime. The Mavericks defense held the Coyotes on their final first half possession, going tied 14-14 at halftime.
The third quarter was primarily a defensive battle between both teams, except a 55 yard touchdown drive engineered by the Coyotes mostly on the legs and arms of quarterback Brodie Carnes advancing to the Mavericks four yard line, culminating on a four yard wildcat run into the end zone by reserve quarterback Chris Rodriguez and the extra point was good, giving the Coyotes a 21-14 lead over the Mavericks.
The Mavericks responded to the Coyotes score with a 66 yard touchdown drive of their own late in the third quarter and into early fourth quarter on solid runs by Abiel Cardona, Jeremiah Robinson, and Arandu Pace, culminating on five yard touchdown run by Abiel Cardona into the Coyotes end zone and the point after attempt was good, tying again the game with 21-21 each with 10:56 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Not to be outdone, the Coyotes responded to the Mavericks score with another 66 yard touchdown drive through a balanced ground and air attack and assisted by two Maverick penalties, punching the pigskin into the Mavs end zone on a 13 yard touchdown run by running back Jaden Gonzalez and the extra point was good, renewing the Coyotes lead 28-21 over the Mavs with 9:20 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The never say die Mavericks answered the Coyotes last score with a 51 yard touchdown drive led by hard running by Abiel Cardona, Jeremiah Robinson, and a reverse play by wide receiver Juan Gonzalez, culminating with a five yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Abiel Cardona and the extra point was good, once again tying the game at 28-28 each with 5:20 minutes remaining in the game.
The Mavericks defense stifled the explosive Coyotes offense on their ensuing possession, forcing them to punt and receiving excellent field position at the Coyotes 41 yard line after a bad punt with 2:24 minutes remaining in the game and the opportunity to score the potential go-ahead touchdown or field goal with time running out.
On their final possession of the game, the Mavericks offense was stopped by the stout Coyotes defense after a run and two incomplete passes, forcing the Mavs to punt from the Coyotes 44 yard line with 1:27 minutes remaining in the game.
The Coyotes took over at their own 29 yard line with 1:17 minutes remaining in the game and implemented a ground attack against the Mavericks, advancing the football from the 29 yard line to their 41 yard line with 36 seconds remaining in regulation time and facing a second down and 10 yards to go when wide receiver Jonathan Jimenez received the football on an end around sweep to the left that almost had him tackled by the Maverick defenders for a loss but managed to miraculously keep his balance and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage, forcing Jimenez to switch his course to the opposite right side of the field eluding Maverick tacklers and dashed down the right sideline to the Mavericks 10 yard line where he was finally pushed out of bounds with 12 seconds left in the game—giving the Coyotes a first down and goal.
On the ensuing play from the Mavericks 10 yard line, Coyotes quarterback Brodie Carnes threw a high arching pass into the left-side of the end zone corner over the outstretched arms and head of wide receiver Devin Franklin who miraculously caught the football with one hand alone and cradled it into his chest for the would-be winning touchdown of the game, giving the Coyotes a 34-28 lead over the Mavericks with only five seconds remaining in the game. The point after attempt failed so the score stood at 34-28 with the Mavericks getting one final opportunity to score and tie or win the game with only five seconds remaining.
After receiving the kick-off return, the Maverick quarterback was sacked behind the line of scrimmage by the Coyotes defense to end the game, earning the hard fought victory over the Mavericks and jumping in jubilation by the win and praising the devine intervention of 21 Angels from heaven.
For the Mavericks, quarterback Abiel Cardona rushed for 218 yards on 23 carries and passed for 18 yards on two completions out of 11 attempts while scoring three touchdowns, running back Jeremiah Robinson rushed for 100 yards on 26 carries and scored one touchdown, and the Mavericks had a total of 374 yards in the game compared to the Coyotes’ 361 total yards.
The Mavericks will have an open week during the week of September 5-9, 2022, but will return the following week with their first District 13-5A, Division I game against the Laredo Nixon Mustangs on Friday, September 16, 2022 at 7 p.m. at home in a game designated as Parents Night.
Mavericks Head Football Coach Eric Villasenor stated in his Twitter account that he was “proud of our kids! They left it all on the field last night. We will learn from it and move forward to prepare for district play. We will see you in two weeks Maverick Nation.“
The Mavericks fall to 0-2 in the young season, but have gained valuable experience in these two first games that is expected to prepare them for the competitive district schedule ahead. The Uvalde Coyotes improve to 2-0 in the season and the win on September 2 was the school’s 600th football victory.
