Mules vs. Perryton (9-19-2014)

Mules vs. Perryton (9-19-2014)

The Mules made the very long trip to Perryton Friday afternoon. Even breaking up the trip into more normal distances did not seem to aid the Mules. The trip home may have seemed much farther after losing to the Perryton Rangers, 32-21.

The Mules took the opening kickoff and marched 64 yards in eight plays to put the first points on the board with 7:23 left in the first period.

Josh Lopez pounded up the middle for two yards. Perryton was called for being off sides before Lopez took a pitch 14 yards from Danny Campos. Lopez again pounded the middle for a couple of yards.

A motion penalty set the Mules back to the Mule 46. Campos tossed a pass to Tre Villa at the Perryton 37. Villa scooted to the Ranger 29 for a 17-yard gain. The Mules recovered from a holding penalty with a Campos to Chamel Regalado that was good for 11 yards.

Regalado got open on the next play and he scooted to the Ranger eight yard line and a gain of 15 yards. Lopez bounced off of tackles to just outside the end zone before being brought down. A motion penalty moved the Mules back just outside the five-yard line.

Campos tried to drop the ball in a bucket near the back corner of the end zone. Keagan Gonzales raced to the corner and had to reach back for the ball. He tipped the ball up and was able to dive back and secure the ball for a touchdown before it hit the turf.

Felipe Guerrero booted the point after to give the Mules a 7-0 lead with 7:23 remaining in the opening period.

“I felt like we were the better team going into the game Friday night,” said Mule coach David Wood. “When the game was over, I knew we were the better team, and yet we did not win the game.”

“We lost our focus and I am not sure what happened. But I know we must get our focus back and play like we know how to play to win games. This team has an unbelievable amount of potential and we must unleash that potential and start putting games in the win column.”

The Rangers answered with an eight-play 68-yard drive that was capped by a three-yard toss from Hadley Allred. Dustin Smith broke through the Ranger line and got a hand on point-after-kick to keep the Mules in front 7-6 with 1:48 left in the opening period.

The two teams exchanged punts and the Rangers were able to take advantage of the wind and a short Mule punt. Perryton put together a 42-yard drive and scored on a five-yard run by Kolby Hall. The PAT was no good but the Rangers took a 12-7 lead that they never relinquished.

The Rangers scored a second time in the second period for a 20-7 lead with 1:23 remaining in the first half.

Jason Florez returned the ensuing Perryton kick up the middle to the Ranger 48. The Mules only had 1:18 left in the first half. The Mules use every second of that time.

An incomplete pass started the drive but Campos connected with Regalado for half the distance on second down. Two more incomplete passes ensued before Campos hit Regalado at the goal line with no time left on the clock. Guerrero added the point after and the Mules trailed 20-14 with the second half still left to play.

Perryton drove 70 yards in 15 plays to start the second half and scored on a 13-yard pass from Allred to Hall. The two-point conversion failed but Perryton led 26-14 with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

The Mules mounted a 70-yard drive of their own that ate all but 53 seconds off the clock in the third period. The Mules used 14 plays to score. Campos connected with Regalado for the second time of the night from six-yards out. Guerrero’s kick was good and the Mules trailed 26-21.

The Mules had opportunities in the final quarter but were intercepted once in the end zone and once at the two-yard line.

Campos was 17 of 34 passing for 229 yards. The Mules rushed 22 times for 102 yards. Lopez rushed 14 times for 52 yards and Florez carried once for 32 yards. Regalado made eight receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Gonzales made four catches for 36 yards and one score.

Regalado made 11 tackles and intercepted one pass. Roman Franco also had 11 tackles plus a special teams tackle. Kevin Mendoza made eight stops and one quarterback hurry. Javy Perez had seven tackles, Tony Castillo six and Issac Acosta six.

The Kermit Yellow Jackets visit the Mules for the 2014 Home Coming game Friday night. Festivities will begin at 7:00 PM.