JV Mules vs. Snyder (9-7-2017)

JV Mules vs. Snyder (9-7-2017)

The JV Mules dropped their home opener Thursday evening to the Class 4A Snyder Tigers 16-6. The Mules put up a battle but struggled to put the ball in the end zone.

Snyder set the tone early when the Tigers’ quarterback raced 67 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the first play of the game. The Tigers led 8-0 with only 20 seconds gone off the clock.

The Mules could not escape the shadow of their own goal post and were forced to punt. Jimmy Villa punted 38 yards to the Tiger 25. Andrew Castorena and Joes Quintana made the stop of first down. The Mules continued to clog up the running lanes and forced Snyder to turn the ball over on downs near mid field.

The Mules were backed up on three straight plays. The deep snap for the punt sailed into the end zone for a safety. The Tigers led 10-0 with one minute left in the first period.

Snyder made a first down at the Mule 22 as the second period got underway. Steven Atwood held the Tigers to just two yards on third down and needing a yard at the Mule 14. Jose Quintana and Bryan Ginez teamed up for the stop of fourth down one-yard deep in the Tiger backfield. The Mules took over on downs at the Mule 13.

Turnovers plagued both teams until the first half. The Mules fumbled once and were intercepted once. Nick Dominguez picked off a Snyder pass as the first half ended.

An unnecessary roughness penalty on the interception by Dominguez was assessed on the second half kickoff. Hector Arres returned the ball to mid field.

Jimmy Villa connected with Jose Cardenas at the Snyder 40, and he danced his way to the Tiger 29. A roughing the passer penalty advanced the Mules 15 yards and the Tigers jumped off sides for five more yards.

Villa scrambled for three yards. He then tossed to Arres for six yards to the Snyder nine-yard line. Villa’s next pass was to Fabian Valdez in the end zone. The ball just cleared the leaping defender's hands and dropped into Valdez for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and the Mules trailed 10-6 with 7:33 remaining in the third period.

Following the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers fumbled at the Snyder 34, and Jose Cardenas recovered. The Mules failed to convert the turnover into points.

Snyder began to pound the ball up the field and scored one more touchdown with 2:23 left in the game.

Jimmy Villa completed 11 of 18 passes for 133 yards for one touchdown and was intercepted twice. He rushed eight times for 16 yards. Hector Arres rushed three times for 22 yards and caught one pass for five yards. Adrian Bustillos made two receptions for 23 yards, and Jose Cardenas caught three passes for 44 yards. Fabian Valdez had two receptions for 47 yards and one touchdown.

Rigo Mendoza and Hector Arres led the Mule defense with 11 tackles each. Kynton Haseloff had eight tackles, and Jose Quintana recorded seven stops. Jose Cardenas made five tackles, forced and recovered a fumble. Nick Dominguez had four tackles and broke up a pass.

The Mules will travel to Brownfield Thursday to attempt to get back on the winning track against the Cubs.