Mules vs. Friona (10-21-2016)

Mules vs. Friona (10-21-2016)

The Mules were hungry Friday night after a disappointing loss the previous week at the hands of the River Road Wildcats. The Friona Chieftains had almost beaten those same Wildcats but a late game penalty cost the Chiefs the win. 

Friona provided little competition for the Mules. The Mules jumped on the Chiefs early and often to lead 35-0 at the intermission. They added three more touchdowns before the game ended. Friona scored with just two minutes remaining in the game. 

The Mules defeated Friona 54-7. 

Michael Lozano kicked off for the Mules and Friona allowed the ball to roll out of bounds. Lozano kicked off from five yards farther back after the penalty was imposed. He booted the ball to the Friona 18 and the Chiefs returned the ball to the Friona 41. Isaac Mendoza made the tackle for the Mules. 

The Chiefs were successful on first down with a 25-yard pass to the Mule 34. A run up the middle resulted in a two-yard gain. Three illegal procedure penalties backed the Chiefs up to near midfield. Dagen Dunham’s rushed from the outside and sacked the quarterback for a six-yard loss. 

An incomplete pass on third down forced the Chiefs to punt. The snap was low and bounced away from the punter. Dunham and Cesar Olvera met at the punter as he was attempting to pick up the ball. The ball was knocked back to the Friona 37 before it was covered. 

Beto Diaz tossed a screen pass to Yoel Reyes and Dunham was clearing his path. Y. Reyes ran through an arm tackle for a 19 yard gain to the Friona 18. Diaz then threw an 18-yard strike to Jason Florez at the goal line for the Mules’ first score. Arturo Contreras booted his first of six extra points for a 7-0 Mule lead. 

Lozano kicked off to the Friona 13 and the ball skipped by the return man. The Chief raced back and picked up the ball at the one-yard line and returned to the Friona six before being tackled. 

Donovan Gutierrez sacked the quarterback for a two-yard loss on first down. Moises Vasquez and Dominik Hasley made the stop after a two-yard gain on second down. A rare Friona pass was good for a 19-yard gain to the Friona 25. 

The Chiefs gained no ground on first down and Vasquez chased down the running back attempting to get wide for a five-yard loss on second down. Mario “Boo” Flores batted down the Friona third-down pass to force the Chiefs to punt. 

The punt went out of bounds at the Mule 41. 

Florez went in motion on first down and Diaz tossed a screen pass to Flores that was good for 10 yards. Diaz kept on second down for three yards. A defender slipped down as Florez zipped down the field along the Friona sideline. Diaz delivered him the ball at the Chief 15 and he was pushed out of bounds 10 yards from a touchdown. 

Friona jumped off sides on first down. Javy Perez then ran off tackle for a five-yard touchdown to give the Mules a 14-0 lead. 

Friona went three and out after the Mule kickoff. The Chiefs punted to the Mule 46 where the ball was killed. 

The Mules quickly moved down field and scored on a 16-yard run up the middle by Perez on the first play of the second period. The kick was good and the Mules led 21-0 with 11:17 left in the half. 

Friona fumbled the ball on first down and Florez recovered at the Mule 47. 

The Chiefs jumped offside on first down giving the Mules a free play. Diaz threaded a needle and dropped the ball in the hands of Florez as he streaked down field while being triple covered. Florez was tackled at the Friona 25. 

A reverse flea flicker by the Mules saw Florez pitch the ball back to Diaz. Diaz passed to Lozano and he avoided two tackles and then was pulled into the end zone by a Friona defender to put the Mules on top 28-0. 

Brady Martinez recovered a Friona fumble on the Mule four-yard line. 

It only took the Mules three plays to go the 96 yards to pay dirt and consumed 59 seconds off the clock. It was capped off with a 59-yard pass and run to Florez with just under two minutes remaining in the half. The Mules led 35-0 at the intermission.

Friona kicked off to start the second half and the Mules drove 64 yards in eight plays. Diaz connected with R. Reyes for a 17-yard touchdown for a 41-0 Mule lead with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter. 

Florez intercepted a Chieftain pass near midfield. The Mules moved 46 yards on four plays and scored on a five-yard toss from Diaz to Dunham with 4:35 left in the third period. The Mules led 47-0. 

Diaz connected with Villa for a 13-yard touchdown pass and run to cap off a six-play 78-yard drive to put the Mules up 54-0. 

Friona scored with two minutes left in the game on a one-yard quarterback sneak. The extra-point kick ended all scoring. 

Diaz completed 18 of 22 passes for 368 yards and six touchdowns to five receivers. He rushed six times for 25 yards. Diaz completed passes to 10 different receivers. 

Florez led all receivers with four catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Lozano led the Mules in rushing with two carries for 56 yards and he caught two passes for 50 yards and one touchdown.

Villa carried seven times for 48 yards and made three receptions for 41 yards and one touchdown. Perez rushed twice for 25 yards and two touchdowns. He caught one pass for 27 yards. 

Dunham had two receptions for 30 yards and one touchdown. R. Reyes made two catches for 25 yards and one touchdown. Y. Reyes had one catch for 18 yards and Martinez caught one pass for 16 yards. I. Mendoza made one reception for 13 yards and Flores had one catch for 10 yards. 

The Mules never punted and only ran one fourth down play and finished the night with 25 first downs. 

The Mules will host the Littlefield Wildcats Friday night for the 2016 installment of the “War on 84”.