Eagle Pass Eagles Trounce Corpus Christi Moody Trojans 40-6
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
The mighty Eagle Pass High School Eagles trounced the Corpus Christi Moody High School Trojans 40-6 in a non-district football game held on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at the Jourdanton Independent School District Football Stadium in Jourdanton, Texas, improving to 2-1 overall in the season.
The Eagles traveled to the neutral site of Jourdanton, Texas to tackle the Corpus Christi Moody Trojans as the visiting team. The Trojans won the pre-game coin flip and elected to defer the football until the second half, allowing the Eagles to start the game on offense.
The Eagles engineered a 63 yard touchdown drive to kick off the game, culminating in a four yard pass into the end zone by quarterback Xavier Barrera to wide receiver Sebastian Velasquez with 9:22 minutes remaining in the first quarter and place kicker Lazaro Frausto point after attempt sailed through the uprights to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead over the Trojans.
The Trojans patented ground game marched from their own 13 yard line to their 47 yard line on their first possession while consuming most of the first quarter clock, but an Eagle quarterback sack of Dylan Prado pushed the Trojans back to their 25 yard line and forced a fourth and 25 yards to go for first down, causing the Trojans to punt. The Trojans long snapper snapped the football over the head of the punter, while the Eagles pounced on the loose football at the Trojans own five yard line.
The Eagles second possession ensued at the Trojans five yard line following the bad snap and quickly capitalized on the Trojans miscue as running back Jorge Sierra scampered for a one yard touchdown run with 11:30 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Eagles kicker Lazaro Frausto extra point was good, extending the Eagles lead 14-0.
The Trojans orchestrated a 61 yard touchdown drive on their second possession utilizing their patented ground game with workhorse running back Adrian Luna, Jr. carrying the load, but Trojan quarterback Dylan Prado punched the pigskin into the Eagles end zone on a one yard dive with 1:29 minutes remaining in the second quarter and the extra point sailed wide, narrowing the score 14-6 in favor of the Eagles.
The Eagles third possession started with promise at their own 38 yard line, marching to the Trojans 27 yard line as time expired in the first half, taking a 14-6 lead into half time.
The Eagles brain trust huddled during half time with the players and made changes on defense to handle the Trojans patented ground game that consumed most of the first half clock.
The Trojans received the second half kick off at their 18 yard line after muffing the football. The Trojans immediately returned to bruising running back Adrian Luna, Jr. handing him the football. Eagles defensive end Diego Rodriguez busted through the Trojans offensive line on third down and sacked quarterback Dylan Prado for a loss to force a fourth and long down, forcing the Trojans to punt.
The Eagles punt returner caught the football on a line drive punt and quickly returned it to the Trojans 25 yard line, giving the Eagles excellent field position. The Eagles combined short passes and runs to score on a three yard dash into the Trojans end zone by running back Jorge Sierra for his second touchdown of the game with 7:58 minutes remaining in the third quarter and place kicker Lazaro Frausto nailed the extra point to extend the Eagles lead 21-6 early in the third quarter.
The Trojans tried to regroup on their next possession at their own 33 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Eagles defensive end Diego Rodriguez stunted and broke loose for a quarterback sack of Dylan Prado at the Trojan 19 yard line. The Eagles Land Shark Defense stifled the Trojans offense, forcing them to punt.
Eagles punt returner Jose “Pepe” Hernandez fielded a line drive punt at his own 30 yard line and dashed and weaved through the Trojans punting team while the Eagles punt return team blocked a clear path for him to the Trojans promised land for a sensational 70 yard punt return touchdown with 6:16 minutes remaining in the third quarter, expanding the Eagles lead to 27-6 as the extra point failed on a bad snap. The punt return touchdown by Jose Hernandez changed the momentum of the game with the Eagles now in full control of the Trojans.
The Trojans next possession commenced at their own 19 yard line, but the stingy Eagles’ Land Shark Defense forced a Trojans fumble and Eagle defensive back Danny Martinez recovered the pigskin at the Trojans 10 yard line in the third quarter.
The Eagles’ War Eagle Offense quickly capitalized on the fumble recovery and tallied another touchdown on a four yard quarterback keeper by Xavier Barrera and the extra point failed on another bad snap, extending the Eagles lead 33-6 in the third quarter.
The Eagles’ Land Shark Defense manhandled the Trojans ground game on their next possession, forcing them to punt.
The Eagles started at midfield (50 yard line) and only took two passes from quarterback Xavier Barrera to wide receiver Sebastian Velasquez, one for 27 yards and the second for 26 yards in the end zone, to score what would be their last touchdown of the game with three seconds remaining in the third quarter. Eagles place kicker Lazaro Frausto point after attempt was good, extending the Eagles lead 40-6.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles played many reserve players to give them varsity game time experience as the season is long and hard, including quarterback Alex Perez. In the fourth stanza, the Eagles blocked a Trojan punt, recovered two Trojan fumbles, and dominated the Trojans on both offense and defense to earn the hard fought victory 40-6.
The Eagles next game is against the Edinburg North High School Cougars in another non-district game on Friday, September 15, 2023, at 7 P.M. at the Alice Independent School District Football Stadium in Alice, Texas. Go Eagles!
