Eagle Pass Winn Mavericks Lassoed by Medina Valley Panthers 44-14 in District 13-5A, Division I Football Game
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The thundering Eagle Pass Winn Mavericks hosted the Medina Valley Panthers in a key District 13-5A, Division I football game on Friday, September 30, 2022 at the Eagle Pass Independent School District Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium in Eagle Pass, Texas, resulting in the Panthers lassoing the Mavericks 44-14 to earn the win.
The Winn Mavericks won the pre-game coin flip and elected to receive the football.
The Mavericks first possession of the game started at their own 30 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, the stingy Panthers defense stopped Maverick running back Jeremiah Robinson for a one yard loss. On the second play of the game, Mavericks fullback Tadeo Rivera busted open on a sweep right through the Panthers defense to race for a 71 yard touchdown run into the end zone and place kicker Andres Rodriguez’s point after attempt sailed through the uprights to give the Mavericks an early 7-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Mavericks wrecking crew defense held the potent Panthers offense on their first possession, forcing a punt.
The Mavericks offense second possession started at their five yard line, but the Panthers defense intercepted an errant pass from quarterback Abiel Cardona at the Mavericks 34 yard line.
With excellent field position, the Panthers quickly capitalized on the Mavericks turnover and punched the pigskin into the end zone on a 34 yard touchdown run by Panther running back Anthony Guerrero and the extra point was good to tie the game at 7-7 each early in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Mavericks started at their 35 yard line, but a bad snap caused the Mavericks to fumble the pigskin and the Panthers pounced on it, recovering the ball at the Mavericks 35 yard line.
The Mavericks defense held the explosive Panthers offense, forcing a punt. The Mavericks next possession started at their 27 yard line, but the Panthers defense stifled the Mavericks offense, forcing them to punt.
The Panthers engineered a 66 yard touchdown drive on their next possession, culminating on a 31 yard pass from quarterback Xavier Gonzalez to wide receiver Carter Hewitt into the Mavericks end zone and the extra point was good to take a 14-7 lead over the Mavericks with 10:05 minutes minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Panthers never relinquished their lead once getting the 14-7 score.
On the Mavericks next possession, a bad snap on a punt attempt forced the Mavericks punter to fall on the pigskin in the end zone for a safety, extending the Panthers lead to 16-7 in the second quarter and possession of the ball.
The Panthers orchestrated a short 29 yard touchdown drive following the safety and quickly capitalized on their excellent field position with a one yard touchdown run by running back Anthony Guerrero and the point after attempt was good to increase their lead 23-7 with 4:22 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Panthers defense kept the Mavericks off the scoreboard for the remaining first half while the offense tallied another touchdown late in the second quarter to take a 30-7 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Panthers added two touchdowns on a five yard gallop by running back Anthony Guerrero in the third quarter and a 26 yard dash by running back Antone Pierce in the fourth quarter to take a commanding 44-7 lead late in the fourth quarter.
The never say die Mavericks engineered a final touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter culminating on a one yard dive into the Panthers end zone by running back Jeremiah Robinson and the point after attempt was good to make it 44-14 with 18 seconds remaining in the game.
The Mavericks fall to 0-3 in the highly competitive District 13-5A, Division I standings and 0-5 overall in the season. The Mavericks will regroup and prepare for another key District football game next week against the South San Antonio Bobcats.
