Eagle Pass Eagles Fall to San Antonio Harlan Hawks 27-20 in Bi-District Championship
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
The Eagle Pass High School Eagles fell in a close, hard fought Bi-District Football Championship game against the San Antonio Harlan High School Hawks 27-20 under windy and steady rain conditions on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at Dub Farris Athletic Complex in San Antonio, Texas, finishing 7-4 overall in the season.
The Eagles received the opening kickoff and started their first possession of the game at their own 16 yard line. The Hawks quick defense stifled the Eagles offense, forcing a punt into a gusty wind.
The Hawks punt returner fielded the football at about the Eagles 48 yard line and returned it to the Eagles 16 yard line, giving the Hawks excellent field position.
The Eagles “Land Shark” defense stuffed the Hawks in the red zone, forcing the Hawks to kick a 29 yards field goal for the game’s first score, giving the Hawks an early 3-0 lead with 9:25 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles own “War Eagle” offensive machine engineered the first touchdown of the game with a 75 yards drive on their next possession resulting in a sensational 75 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andres Garcia to wide receiver Jose Hernandez, stunning the Hawks aficionados and team, and Lazaro Frausto extra point was good, giving the Eagles a 7-3 lead over the Hawks midway in the first quarter.
On their next possession, the Eagles “Land Shark” defense managed to limit the Hawks to another field goal, this one for 26 yards, narrowing the score 7-6 in favor of the Eagles with 3:34 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
After forcing the Eagles to punt on their next possession, the Hawks quickly registered their first touchdown on a 64 yards drive, culminating in a dazzling 64 yard touchdown run by tailback Octavian Ford who busted loose on the right sideline and then cut to the middle of the field to elude several would-be Eagles tacklers into the end zone and the point after attempt was good to give the Hawks their first lead of the game 13-7, which they never relinquished.
The Hawks defense caged the potent Eagles aerial attack on the next possession and forced the Eagles to punt. The Eagles defense returned the favor on the Hawks offense on their next possession, forcing the Hawks to punt.
In the second quarter, the Hawks orchestrated an 80 yards touchdown drive culminating on a 69 yards run and the extra point was good, extending the Hawks lead 20-7 with 8:01 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Eagles stingy defense recovered the first turnover of the game on an interception by cornerback Christian Gonzalez of an errant Hawks pass attempt, giving the Eagles excellent field position at their own 47 yard line with 2:13 minutes left in the second quarter, scoring on a 19 yards field goal by Lazaro Frausto to narrow the score 20-10 in favor of the Hawks at halftime.
The loyal Eagle Nation aficionados braved the cold and windy rain elements with rain ponchos and umbrellas during the game, cheering the Eagles.
In the third quarter, the Hawks received the second-half opening kickoff and engineered a 67 yards touchdown drive on a dazzling 49 yard gallop into the Eagles end zone by the Hawks tailback and the extra point was good, expanding the Hawks lead 27-13.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles rally to tie or take the lead in the game fell just short after scoring a 30 yards field goal by Lazaro Frausto to narrow the score 27-13 in favor of the Hawks with 10:58 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles managed to put together a 55 yards touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, culminating on a two yard pass from quarterback Andres Garcia to wide receiver Sebastian Velasquez and the extra point was good, making it 27-20 in favor of the Hawks.
The Hawks used their ground attack to run out the clock, defeating the Eagles 27-20 in a rock’em and sock’em Bi-District Championship game. The Eagles had their share of opportunities to score during the game, but the lightning quick Hawks defense made key defensive stops against the Eagles. In a championship game, the final results come down to execution. The Hawks managed to execute one or two plays greater than the Eagles.
The Eagles fought courageously and valiantly against the District 29-6A Champion Hawks, but the steady rain and gusting winds hampered the Eagles aerial attack from tying or taking the lead in the game. The Eagles fell 27-20 to the Hawks, but not before representing their school and community with great sportsmanship and pride.
The Eagles walked-off Dub Harris Athletic Complex with their heads high, knowing they came extremely close to upsetting the undefeated Hawks (10-0).
Congratulations to the Eagles on an outstanding game and overall season.
Go Eagles Baby!
