Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Mules vs. Shallowater (11-4-2016)

Mules vs. Shallowater (11-4-2016)

The Mules had a lot of pride on the line Friday night when they traveled to Shallowater’s Todd Field. The Mules rallied early and seemed to take the wind out of the Mustangs on the first play of the game. 

Mario “Boo” Flores blasted the ball loose from the Shallowater running back as he approached the line of scrimmage. Javy Perez leaped on the ball for the Mules at the Shallowater 25. 

Beto Diaz kept up the middle for five yards on first down. Dagen Dunham’s route took him five yards downfield and he turned and settled in front of the defenders. Diaz delivered Dunham the ball. Dunham turned and dragged defenders five yards to the Shallowater five-yard line. 

Diaz carried up the middle for a touchdown with just two minutes gone in the first period. Arturo Contreras kicked the point after to give the Mules a 7-0 lead. 

The Mules went on to defeat the Mustangs 42-24. 

Tonight was a great way to end the regular season against a high caliber team,” said Mule coach David Wood. “It was good that we had some different kids rise to the top of the highlight reel. This is a great way to set the stage for the playoffs.” 

Late in the first period, Jason Florez returned a Shallowater punt from the Mule five-yard line to the Mule 20. Florez was tackled by his face mask and the penalty tacked on an additional 15 yards to the Mule 35.

By the end of the first period, the Mules were again knocking on the Mustangs’ door. After a blocking in the back penalty backed the Mules up to their 20-yard line. Florez dashed straight at the defensive back and broke to the outside. 

Diaz launched a pass to the end zone. Florez adjusted his route, he had to look over his inside shoulder and again spot the ball. He snagged the ball eight yards deep in the end zone to give the Mules a 14-0 lead with 11:44 left in the first half. 

It only took the Mustangs two plays to penetrate the Mule 10-yard line. Flores was a yard deep in the Mustang backfield to make the tackle at the Mule five. The Mules jumped offside and the ball was advanced to the Mule two-yard line. 

Shallowater moved before the ball was snapped and the Mustangs were penalized back to the Mustang seven-yard line. Ean Hasley pushed the Mustangs back a yard on second down. 

The Shallowater quarterback lost two more yards on third down and was forced to boot a 23-yard field goal and cut the Mule lead to 14-3 with nine minutes remaining in the first half. 

The ensuing Mule drive started at the Mule 30-yard line. The Mules ran a reverse pass on third down. Diaz handed off to Michael “Mikey” Lozano and he pitched to Flores going back to the left. Flores then pitched the ball back to Diaz deep in the pocket. 

Diaz launched a pass downfield to Jason Flores at the Shallowater 22. Lozano then took the handoff and ran off right tackle into the Mustang secondary. He avoided a tackle at the 10-yard line and was hit from behind at the five-yard line. He powered into the end zone dragging two Mustangs with him. 

Contreras PAT kick gave the Mules a 21-3 lead with eight and a half minutes left in the half. 

Lozano kicked off and the Mustangs returned the ball to the Shallowater 46-yard line. It took the Mustangs three plays to score their only touchdown of the first half. The point-after try was no good and the Mustangs trailed 21-9 with 6:55 to go in the first half. 

The ensuing Mule drive stalled out at the Mule 42 and Diaz punt rolled dead at the Shallowater 10-yard line. 

Shallowater’s quarterback tossed the ball over his intended receiver. Florez leaped high in the air for the interception at the Mustang 22. He outran the Mustangs to the end zone for a defensive touchdown. Contreras added the extra point to increase the Mule lead to 28-9 with three and a half minutes left in the half. 

The Mules made their second goal line stand just before the half ended and forced the Mustangs to settle for a second field goal. The Mules led 28-12 at the half. 

Shallowater kicked off to start the third quarter and the Mules ran the ball out of the end zone and following a penalty started their drive at the eight-yard line. Diaz rolled left on the fourth play of the drive. 

Florez was held at the line of scrimmage but broke away from his defender. Diaz fired Florez a strike near midfield. Florez ran away from his defender for a 72-yard catch and run. Contreras kick gave the Mules a 35-12 lead with 10:53 left in the third quarter. 

Shallowater scored early in the final period on a three-yard run. The two-point conversion failed. 

Lozano scored the Mules final touchdown as he ran out of the backfield. Diaz passed him the ball over the middle. Lozano scooted to the end zone for a 23-yard scoring play to cap a six-play 52-yard drive. Contreras kick was good for a 42-18 Mule lead with just less than eight minutes left in the game. 

The Mustangs scored a final time on a 26-yard pass. The PAT kick was no good. 

The Mules rolled up a total of 425-yards of offense with 71 yards being on the ground and 354 yards through the air.   

Florez caught six passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He also intercepted two passes and returned one for a 22-yard touchdown. Tre Villa made five receptions for 65 yards and Romeo Reyes caught four passes for 61 yards. 

Diaz rushed six times for 28 yards and one touchdown. He completed 24 of 35 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Lozano rushed six times for 32 yards and one touchdown. He also caught three passes for 40 yards and one touchdown. 

Flores and Dagen Dunham led the Mule defense with 12 tackles each. Flores made one tackle for a loss, had a sack, broke up a pass and caused a fumble. Dunham had four tackles for losses, two sacks and had two quarterback hurries. 

Donovan Gutierrez made ten tackles. Isaac Mendoza had eight tackles, one special team tackle, one sack and broke up a pass. Javy Perez recorded seven tackles, four special teams tackles and recovered a fumble. 

Dominik Hasley made seven tackles along with a sack. Jason Florez had six tackles, broke up a pass and made two interceptions. Romeo Reyes also made six tackles. 

The Mules will travel to Denver City Friday night to play the Kermit Yellow Jackets at 7:00 PM CST. The Mules are the home team. The Jackets are the number two team from District 2-3A Division I and have a record of 4-6, 3-1.

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