Mules vs. Idalou (9-29-2017)
The Mules released all of
their pent-up frustrations loose on the Idalou Wildcats Friday night.
Everything seemed to be stacked against the Mules going into the match. The
game was to be played on grass after a week of heavy rains in Idalou.
Because of the rain, the
Mules had been practicing a run-oriented offense and Friday morning were
informed some key members of the offense might not be able to make the game for
personal reasons.
“Anyone that ever played
football,” said Coach David Wood. “Can relate to how these kids feel. Playing
on natural turf and in the rain and mud is always memorable. Winning the final
non-district contest and setting the tone for the rest of the season is icing
on the cake.”
Those players were able to
make it to Idalou for the night’s contest, and the Mules unleashed a surprising
new look on the Wildcats. The Mules offense scored 33 points, and the Mule
defense held an all-state led offense to a mere three points.
Brady Martinez kicked off for
the Mules with a sky-high kick to the Idalou 35. Ean Hasley raced down the
Wildcat sideline and dropped the return man at the Idalou 37.
Mark Caballero, the highly
touted and all-state tailback, took an opening pitch wide left for 21 yards to
the Mule 42. Mikey Lopez took the tailback head-on and held him to only two
yards on the second play of the game.
Julian Astorga was the next
Mule to nail Caballero for a two-yard gain. Martinez made the first contact on
the tailback, and Corbin Hardwick finished him off after a four-yard run.
Idalou was in four-down territory and attempted to pick up at least two yards
on fourth down.
Hardwick dropped down as the
nose guard and fired off so hard into the center that he drove him back into
the quarterback to stymie the quarterback sneak. Astorga and Moises Vasquez
pinched to the middle to trap the quarterback. Leonel Camarena drove the
quarterback to the turf for a three-yard loss.
The Mules took over on downs
at the Mule 35.
On first down, the left side
of the Mule offensive line double-teamed the defensive tackle. Camarena pulled
and drove the defensive end out of the hole. Ryan Rodriguez blew through the
hole for eight yards.
The slippery field closed the
hole Lozano intended to run through and was forced to dance down the line of
scrimmage until a hole opened, and he gained two yards. Lozano then kept wide
left, slipped one tackle, and picked up four yards to the Mule 49.
Lozano took the snap and
started wide left and drew the defensive end to him. At the last second, Lozano
pitched to Rodriguez. Martinez was blocking downfield to open the way for a six-yard
gain and a first down at the Idalou 41.
A high snap pop off the
fingertips of Lozano in the shotgun formation. But he never took his eyes off
the ball and turned away from the line of scrimmage and caught up to the ball.
Lozano rolled left and kept his eyes downfield and spotted Romeo Reyes working
hard to get open.
R. Reyes snagged the pass at
the Wildcat 32 and ran away for three Idalou defenders for a 22-yard gain.
Lozano kept on back-to-back
plays for two and six yards to advance the Mules to the Idalou 11. Lozano took
the deep snap and started wide left. When the defensive end came to meet him,
he delivered a perfect pitch to Rodriguez.
Yoel Reyes moved the final
Wildcat out of Rodriguez path for an 11-yard touchdown run. Martinez booted the
point after to give the Mules a 7-0 lead with 5:02 remaining in the opening
period.
Following Martinez high
arcing kickoff to the Idalou 17, a block in the back penalty sent the Wildcats
back to the Idalou 16 to start their second drive of the night.
M. Vasquez shed his blocker
to tackle the tailback after a five-yard gain. Lozano came off the edge to drop
the tailback for a one-yard loss. Isaac Mendoza took out the fullback running
interference on third down, and Sergio Solano came from the backside to stop
the tailback for just a two-yard gain. The Wildcats punt rolled dead at the
Mule 45.
Rodriguez blasted up the
middle for three yards. Y. Reyes gained three yards on a screen pass. Lozano
followed two sniffer backs and Rodriguez around the right side. Lozano avoided
two tacklers for 22 steps to the Wildcat 27.
Astorga and Eddie Vasquez
pulled left, and Rodriguez followed them through the Wildcat line. He broke an
arm tackle at the Idalou 15 and cruised to the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown
run. Martinez kick was good and gave the Mules a 14-0 lead with 1:23 left in
the first period.
The Wildcats returned the
Mule kickoff 26 yards to the Idalou 43.
The fullback blasted through
the middle for 12 yards and a first down at the Mule 45. Jacob Kettner started
inside before he recognized the tailback going wide left. Kettner recovered and
made the tackle for just a two-yard gain.
On the final play of the
first quarter, Kettner forced the tailback to change course and run inside
where the Mules swarmed him for a three-yard gain. The fullback opened the second period with a
four-yard gain on third down.
The Wildcats needed a yard on
fourth down, and the quarterback fumbled the exchange from the center and lost
a yard to give the Mules the ball on downs.
A chop block on first down
cost the Mules 15 yards. A motion penalty backed the Mules up to the Mule 17.
Lozano emptied the backfield,
dropped back, and looked left as if to pass. He then pulled down the ball and raced
upfield. Astorga had pulled and blocked the safety to open a path for Lozano to
scoot 83 yards for a touchdown to give the Mules a 20-0 lead with 10:06 left in
the first half.
The two teams battled for the
next nine minutes and 52 seconds before Idalou booted a 38-yard field goal for
the Wildcats’ only score of the night.
The Mule defense shut out the
Wildcats in the second half.
Lozano connected with Y.
Reyes with a six-yard toss to end zone at the 7:53 mark of the third quarter.
Martinez kick was good for a 27-3 lead.
The final Mule tally came on
a one-yard run by Lozano with 5:35 remaining in the game.
The Mules rolled up 450 yards
of total offense with 362 yards being on the ground and 88 yards passing. Mikey
Lozano rushed 21 times for 303 yards and completed six of nine passes for 53
yards and one touchdown.
Ryan Rodriguez carried 13
times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Yoel Reyes caught five passes for 54
yards and one touchdown. Romeo Reyes snagged two passes for 17 yards, and Brady
Martinez caught one pass for 15 yards.
The Mule defense held Idalou
to 186 yards on 43 rushes. The Wildcats threw four incomplete passes, and the
Mules intercepted one.
Isaac Mendoza led the Mules
with 20 tackles and two special team’s tackles. Corbin Hardwick recorded 14
stops, one special team’s tackles, and hurried the quarterback twice. Jacob
Kettner made 11 tackles.
Matt Alarcon and Yoel Reyes
had nine tackles each. Ean Hasley, Zack Atwood, and Jordan Vela made three
special team’s tackles each. Vela intercepted a Wildcat pass.
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