Hondo Anvil Herald

Big plays carry DHS past Guardians

 

By Jeff Berger

Anvil Herald Publisher

 

     The D’Hanis Cowboys evened their season record Saturday, Sept. 7, at Butch Woolls Stadium, outlasting John Paul II in a hard-hitting contest, 32-7.

     The Cowboys (1-1) will now take a needed week off for rest and recuperation, before returning to action for their first road game of the year, Friday, Sept. 20, when they visit New Braunfels Christian.

     The Cowboys piled up 352 yards of offense on Saturday, scoring all four touchdowns on plays of 35 yards or more. And, on their only series with snaps in the red zone, got a 27-yard field goal from Kade Hendry as the first-half clock expired.

     The jaw-dropping numbers, however, came in the penalty yardage. Both teams drew 10 penalties, most of them major. JP2 was penalized 130 yards, and D’Hanis was flagged for 100. The Guardians even had a player ejected for targeting.

     Even with all that, D’Hanis was in control for most of the night. After a JP2 three-and-out, Kade Hendry rushed 42 yards to the endzone on the Cowboys’ second play. Hendry added the extra point for a quick 7-0 D’Hanis lead.

     Following the Guardians’ second punt, the Cowboys drove to the 25-yard line, where the march was stopped on downs.

     The Guardians went to a short passing game and began picking up small chunks of yardage into D’Hanis territory. The drive stalled, and a badly-shanked punt was fielded at the line of scrimmage by Aaron Chapman, who returned it 31 yards to the JP 32-yard line.

     The Cowboys picked up one first down before fumbling, which Guardians’ defensive lineman Cooper Iliff returned 73 yards for a score. The PAT tied the game with 7:47 left in the half.

     It didn’t take long for D’Hanis to answer. On the first play from scrimmage, Cannon Zachry sprinted 75 yards to put the Cowboys back in front. Hendry’s kick made it 14-7. 

     The Guardians drove past midfield, where freshman Brody Bruce recovered a fumble at the D’Hanis 20 with 4:06 left until halftime. D’Hanis used the rest of the clock, driving 13 plays to Hendry’s 27-yard FG, making it 17-7 at the half.

     On the Guardians’ first drive of the second half, they drove to the D’Hanis 9, but the Cowboys got a fourth down stop.

    With the gift of three straight 15-yard penalties, including the ejection, D’Hanis  quickly drove the field, capped by a 37-yard keeper for Chapman, which resulted in the Cowboys’ third TD. After fielding a low snap on the PAT, holder Josiah Rodriguez scrambled to the pylon, diving into the endzone for a two-point conversion and a 25-7 lead.

     The Cowboys added a fourth quarter TD on a one-play drive. Chapman passed to Zachry, who put some moves on the JP2 defense, and took it 61 yards to the house, with 8:54 left to play.