Mules vs. Idalou (9-23-2016)
The Mules and Idalou Wildcats both came into the game Friday
night with records of 2-2. The Mule defense had been in question this
past week after the Mules had lost on the road to the Childress
Bobcats.
“It felt like a shutout tonight,”
said Mule coach David Wood. “We gave up no touchdowns to a very good
Idalou team. Our defense was very aggressive and was able to handle the
very big front line of Idalou.”
“Our offense was also aggressive and demonstrated a lot of
determination during the game. We controlled the line of scrimmage on
both sides of the ball. I was proud of our team and it was my first win
over Idalou since I becoming a head coach.”
The Mules improved to a record of 3-2 in non-district with a 31-9 win over the Idalou Wildcats.
The Mules won the opening toss and declined to the second half.
Arturo Contreras kicked off to the Idalou 23. Mario “Boo” Flores slipped
a block and made the tackle at the Idalou 35.
A pitch to Idalou’s tailback, Mark Caballero, around the right side
broke free. Dagen Dunham chased him down and stripped him of the ball.
The Mules recovered at the Mule 44.
Diaz scrambled left for five yards and a first down. He later
scrambled right and then back left with his eyes downfield. He tossed to
Yoel Reyes on the run. Y. Reyes broke a tackle and dove for the first
down.
Diaz spotted a hole in the Idalou defense on the left side and
scooted 12 yards. The Mules inserted the “Heavy Package” and Diaz
followed his blockers for six yards to the Idalou 17.
Javy Perez took a pitch wide left and Jason Florez threw a block to
set him free for a 17-yard touchdown run. The PAT was no good and the
Mules led 6-0 with just under nine minutes left in the first period.
Contreras kicked off to the Idalou end zone and the Wildcats started on their 25-yard line.
A holding penalty on the Wildcats and a sack by Donavan Gutierrez
that cost Idalou 13 more yards forced the Wildcats to punt. The punt
rolled out of bounds at the Mule 35.
The Mules went three and out. Diaz punted to the Idalou 27. Florez
and Carlos Meza raced down field to make the tackle at the Idalou 28.
The Mule defense reciprocated and forced the Wildcats to punt. The ball was allowed to roll dead on the Mule 25.
Diaz rolled right and tossed to Isaac Mendoza for seven yards. The
Mules then ran the double-reverse flea flicker with the final pitch
going back to Diaz. He fired a strike to Perez at the Mule 45. Perez
spun away from a tackler for three more yards.
Diaz kept twice for runs of five and 10 yards. An Idalou defender
pushed Yoel Reyes out of the way to make the interception and a flag
came out. Idalou was penalize 15 yards to the Wildcat 22.
A one-yard gain by the Mules ended the first period. The Mules made
two yards on a wide-receiver screen to Y. Reyes. Diaz then tossed to
Florez at the Idalou one-yard line and Florez stepped across the line to
give the Mules a 12-0 lead.
Romeo Reyes made the tackle, after Contreras kicked off to the Wildcat 25, at the Idalou 38.
Dunham broke into the Idalou backfield to sack the quarterback for a
six-yard loss. A screen pass to Caballero produced the longest play of
the night for the Wildcats, 54 yards, to the Mule 14. Caballero then
bulldozed his way to the Mule three-yard line.
A holding penalty cost Idalou 10 yards. Gutierrez made the stop
after a four-yard gain. The Idalou quarterback was scrambling on third
down and was forced to fumble. The Wildcats recovered at the Mule 13.
Idalou spotted the ball on the Mule 20 and Landon Reeves booted a 30-yard field goal to cut the Mule lead to 12-3.
Following the Idalou kickoff, I. Mendoza returned to the Mule 28. A
swing pass to Michael Lozano went wide left for 35 yards to the Idalou
23. Diaz then went up the middle for four yards.
A lineman down field penalty pushed the Mules back to the Mule 24.
Diaz dropped back and threw to Florez racing down the Mule sideline.
Florez came back to make the catch at the Idalou eight-yard line.
He and avoided one tackler then broke two tackles at the one-yard
line to score. The two-point conversion failed but the Mules led 18-3
with seven minutes left in the first half.
Reeves kicked his second field goal of the night near the end of
the first half. The kick was from 39 yards out to cut the Mule lead to
18-6 at the intermission.
It only took the Mules five plays to start the second half with their fourth touchdown.
I. Mendoza returned the opening kick of the second half 27 yards to
the Mule 29. Diaz kept off left tackle for 21 yards. He then kept left
for five more yards to the midfield.
Diaz tossed to Dunham running a slant over the middle. Dunham
rumbled for 20 yards to the Idalou 30. Diaz looked left, pump faked and
then made the throw back to his right to “Boo” Flores for a 15-yard
gain.
Diaz connected with a swing pass to Villa running wide left out of
the backfield. Villa angled to the pylon on the left side of the end
zone and dove in for a 15-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good but the
Mules had increased their lead to 24-6 with 10
minutes left in the third period.
But the Mules were not through in the third quarter. Florez picked
off a Wildcat pass at the Mule goal line and returned to the Mule five.
Eight plays later Diaz found “Boo” Flores from 21-yards out with four
minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Reeves booted his final field goal from 39-yards out with two-minutes left in the game.
The Mules passed for 237 yards and rushed for 250 yards for a total
of 487 yards of offense. The Mule defense held Idalou to 86 yards
passing and 127 yards rushing for a total of 223 yards.
Diaz completed 20 of 23 passing attempts for 237 yards, four
touchdowns and he rushed 16 times for 78 yards. Perez carried five times
for 63 yards and one touchdown. Florez caught eight passes for 82 yards
and scored two touchdowns.
Villa rushed five times for 23 yards and he caught three passes for
25 yards and one touchdown. “Boo” Flores made two receptions for 36
yards and one touchdown.
The Mules will take a week off to heal bumps and bruises and shift
gears for district play. The Mules will host the Slaton Tigers
October 7 at 7:30 PM.
