Mules vs. River Road (10-9-2015)

Mules vs. River Road (10-9-2015)

It only took the Mules one minute and 31 seconds to serve notice on the River Road Wildcats that they were in for a long night. Danny Campos did not take his foot off the accelerator of the Mules NASCAR offense during the first quarter.

When the first period ended the Mules were on top 31-0. Campos went to the sidelines to stay with almost five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Beto Diaz caught a touchdown pass from Campos with 5:25 remaining in the third period.

Diaz took the helm after that and connected with Evan Paez with a four-yard TD pass. Bryce Mauricio booted the extra point for a 59-0 Mule win.

“I could not ask any more from our kids tonight,” said Mule coach David Wood. The defense pitched a shutout, Danny (Campos) threw seven touchdown pass to six different receivers and we got Beto (Diaz) back.”

The Mules started their first drive on the Mule 42. Josh Lopez went wide left behind the blocking of wide receivers for 11 yards. Campos bounced off a tackle to convert on fourth down.

Lopez shot through a tunnel constructed by the interior of the Mule line and cut left. He was finally dragged down at the two-yard line after a 31-yard run. Lopez blasted into the end zone to put the Mules on top to stay with 10:29 remaining in the first period.

Paez made the tackle on the ensuing kickoff return at the River Road 27. The Wildcats picked up a first down but could only make two more yards before punting out of bounds at the Mule 19.

Paez went up the middle for six yards on first down. A penalty backed the Mules up on second down. Tre Villa got the penalty back on a 14-yard wide-receiver screen. Paez added 15 more yards on two plays.

Campos tossed to Jason Florez on second down. Cameron Hardwick and Jaxon Lee were down field blocking on the screen pass. Florez was pulled down inside the Wildcat five by the facemask. Florez gain plus the two-yard penalty resulted in a 54-yard gain.

Campos hit Aaryn Ross in the front corner of the end zone with a two-yard TD toss. The Mules were up 12-0 with 7:28 left in the opening period.

An interference call aided the Wildcats second drive to the Mule 33. Dagen Dunham got his big mitt on the Wildcat pass and the ball fluttered to the turf. Paez blew up the screen pass on second down by slipping his blocker for a four-yard loss. Tony Vasquez got a hand in front of the intended receiver on fourth down to knock the ball away in the end zone.

The Mules took over on downs at the Mule 30. Tre Villa was the inside receiver on the left side. His first steps were to the outside as if to block on a screen pass but instead cut up field and sped by the safety.

Villa was 36-yards down field at the Wildcat 42 when Campos bomb arrived. Villa beat the defense to the end zone with a five-yard cushion. The 70-yard TD put the Mules up 18-0 with 4:07 still on the clock in the first period.

River Road returned the ensuing Mule kickoff to the Wildcat 42. Donavan Gutierrez made the stop on first down after a one-yard gain. Mario Flores leaped high in the air to high point the ball for the interception at the Wildcat 47 and returned to the 39.

Campos was forced to scramble on first down and slid on the turf for a five-yard gain.  Bryce Mauricio received the screen pass from Campos and raced 34 yards to the end zone behind the blocking of Hardwick and Florez. The Mules led 24-0 with 2:48 remaining in the opening frame.

The Mules were not finished with the opening quarter. The Mule defense shut down the Wildcats at midfield and forced River Road to punt with just over a minute left in the first period.

The Mules started at their 34 and Campos scrambled away from the pressure and tossed to Villa for a seven-yard gain. On second down Campos dropped straight back and dropped the ball in Florez hands 33 yards down field at the Wildcat 25.

Florez was pulled down at the Wildcat two-yard line. Campos then fired a bullet to Tony Castillo in the front corner of the end zone. The defender attempted to jump the route but Castillo already had the ball secure in his hands. Mauricio booted the point after for a 31-0 lead with 53 seconds still remaining in the first quarter.

Campos hit Ross with a seven-yard pass in the second period to cap off an 87-yard nine-play drive for the Mules that consumed almost two minutes off the clock. The Mules led 38-0.

Campos was back in the game after the half and hit Flores with a 22-yard TD pass. Mauricio’s kick was good for a 45-0 lead. A bit over three minutes later Campos tossed to Diaz for a 32-yard score. Mauricio made it 52-0 with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Campos left the game after that but returned to execute Coach Wood’s favorite play, the Victory Knee. He had completed 28 of 39 attempts for 500 yards and seven TDs with no interceptions.

The Mules amassed 747 yards of offense on the night. Lopez led all rushers with 10 carries for 94 yards and one touchdown. He also caught three passes for 80 yards.

Diaz ran seven times for 39 yards, had two catches for 46 yards and one TD. He also completed six of seven passes for 54 yards and threw for a TD. Paez made six carries for 37 yards and two receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown. 

Florez led the receivers with seven catches for 162 yards and one TD. Villa made five receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. Mauricio caught three passes for 55 yards, scored a touchdown and kicked five extra points.

Ross made four catches for 31 yards and two touchdowns. Castillo had one catch for a two-yard TD.

This was the second shutout for the Mule defense in as many games, They held the Wildcats to a total of 229 yards with 74 being on the ground and 155 through the air.

Boo Flores led the defense with 11 tackles with two being on special teams, broke up one pass and intercepted another. Pepe Mendoza made 10 tackles with three on special teams, had two tackles for losses and he broke up two passes.

Ross had seven tackles with one being on special teams. Gutierrez made seven tackles with one being on special teams and broke up a pass. Dunham had six tackles, two quarterback hurries and blocked a pass. Kevin Mendoza made six tackles and had one quarterback hurry. Vasquez had three tackles and intercepted a pass.

The Mules will make the short road trip north on Highway 214 to battle the Friona Chieftains Friday. The Mules are 1-0 in District 2-3A and the Chieftains are recovering from a disappointing 13-12 loss to the Dimmitt Bobcats.