EAGLE PASS EAGLES FOOTBALL GRIDIRON NEWS Eagle Pass Eagles edged in squeaker by Medina Valley Panthers 22 to 20 By: Conrado Perez, Jr. – Eagle Pass Sp
EAGLE PASS EAGLES FOOTBALL GRIDIRON NEWS
Eagle Pass Eagles edged in squeaker by
Medina Valley Panthers 22 to 20
By: Conrado Perez, Jr. – Eagle Pass Sports Central
“Your best and only source for local sports news in Eagle Pass”
The long awaited and much anticipated official kickoff to the 2016 Texas High School football season kicked off on Friday, August 26, 2016 when the mighty Eagle Pass Eagles under the direction of head football coach Tom Gonzalez inaugurated their 97th all-time gridiron opener by entertaining the Medina Valley Panthers in a 7:30 PM non-district matchup at the Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The home standing Eagle Pass Eagles received the game’s opening kick and began to mount what looked like a promising scoring drive that started at the EaglePass 39 yard line utilizing their patented running game which saw the Eagles twice convert on fourth down matriculating down the field to the Medina Valley 21 yard line where the Eagles were forced to turn the ball over on downs.
It took the visiting Panthers just two plays from scrimmage to put the first points up on the board. On first down backup quarterback Brian Dowd pitched the pigskin to wing back Cayton Chang around right end and Chang galloped 65 yards all the way down to the Eagles 14 yard line. On the very next play Dowd dropped back in the pocket and connected with slot receiver Tristian Stivors in the end zone for the first score of the night with 7:09 showing on the first quarter clock. Ethan Hassinger converted the point after to give the Panthers the early 7 to 0 lead over the Eagles.
On the next Panthers offensive series the Eagles defensive unit forced the Panthers to pnt but disaster struck as the Eagles punt return man coughed up the pigskin deep in Eagle Pass territory with the Panthers recovering the errant pigskin at the Eagle Pass 15 yd. line. The vastly improved Eagles defense held their ground and forced the Panthers to settle for a 39 yard field which was converted by Ethan Hassinger with 1:52 remaining in th opening period giving the Panthers a 10 to lead over the Eagles.
After an exchange of punts the Eagles took over at the Medina Valley 46 yard line where they mounted a short scoring drive capped off with a 3 yard keeper by Eagles quarterback Ricky Medina with 7:52 showing on the second quarter clock. The point after attempt failed leaving the score at 10 to 6 in favor of the Medina Valley Panthers.
Late in the first half the Eagles stingy defense gave the Eagles offense an excellent opportunity to put some more points on the scoreboard with the Panthers being forced to punt but the Eagles talented pass rushing specialist defensive end Caleb Garcia broke through the blockers and blocked the Panthers punt with the Eagles taking possession at the Panthers 36 yard line but unfortunately the Eagles could not capitalize on the opportunity and had to turn the ball over on downs with the Medina Valley Panthers the running off the few remaining seconds on the clock to take a slim 10 to 6 lead over the Eagles into their halftime locker room.
The second half of this contest also started out with disaster as the Eagles attempting to punt saw th snap from center sailed way high of the punter’s which Jose Riojas alertly recovered but was brought down at the Eagle Pass 21 yard line. The Panthers truck quickly as Brian Dowd connected with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Cayton Chang with 5:16 left in the third period. The PAT Kick sailed wide left but the Panthers had now extended their lead to 16 to 6.
The Eagles defense once again came through when they forced the Panthers to punt from their own 42 yard line but the snap from center also sailed way over their punter’s head which the punter recovered and then through and intentional grounding pas with a personal foul also tacked on the play giving the Eagles offense excellent field possession at the Medina Valley 5 yard line. After a couple of short losses on running plays, Eagles quarterback Ricky Medina called his own number and plowed his way in pay dirt from 9 yards out with1:11 left in the third quarter. Jose Riojas tacked on the point after to narrow the Eagles deficit to 16 to 13.
In the fourth and final period the Medina Valley Panthers mounted a short 32 yard scoring drive capped off with a 17 yard scamper into the end zone by tail back Adrian Sustaita with 5:37 left in the game. the Panther’s two point conversion attempt failed but they had bow taken a 22 to 13 lead over the Eagles.
Supported by the partisan Eagles faithful in attendance the Eagles offense countered with a 90 yard scoring drive that culminated with Ricky Medina connecting with wide receiver Ricky Reyes who hauled in the short pass and made some nifty moves to get away from the Panthers secondary and raced 54 yards into the end zone with 5:37 left in the game. Jose Riojas split the uprights with the points after to make the score 22 to 20 in favor of the Medina Valley Panthers.
With time winding down in this contest, the Eagles had one more final chance to perhaps pull off a great comeback but their final drive came to an unfortunate halt as the Panthers” safety eliminated all hope of a comeback as he intercepted the Eagles pass attempt at the Medina Valley 28 yard line with the Panthers offense then proceeding to run off the last seconds off the scoreboard to escape with the narrow 22 to 20 victory over a truly valiant Eagles squad.
OFFICIAL TEAM STATS:
EAGLES OPPONENT
First Downs 10 7
Att./ Yds. Rushing 38/122 35/148
Yards Passing 126 90
Total Yards 248 238
Pass att./comp./int’s 5/17/2 7/16/1
Return Yards 28 00
Punts /Avg. 3/30.0 4/43.5
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 1/0
Penalties/Yards 5/40 5/55
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATS:
PASSING:
#4 Ricky Medina 4 comp. 14 att. 1 int. 197 yds. 1TD
#10 Ricardo Luna 1 comp. 3 att. 1 int. 19 yds.
RUSHING:
#4 Ricky Medina 15 att. 76 yds. 2TD’s
#7 Marck Venegas 18 att. 74 yds.
#9 Jose Riojas 3 att. -29 yds.
#10 Ricardo Luna 2 att. 1 yd.
RECEIVING:
#3 Brian Palacios 1 re. 33 yds.
#9 Jose Riojas 2 rec. 33 yds.
#13 Ricky Reyes 1 rec. 54 yds. 1TD
#14 Isaac Perales 1 rec. 6 yds.
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