Hondo Anvil Herald

Junction rolls over DHS

 

     Junction -- Showing that they’ve still got a little bit of punch, the Junction Eagles built a big first-half lead Friday, Oct. 9,  on the way to a 53-20 win over D’Hanis.

     It was the first loss of the season for the Cowboys (6-1 season, 2-1 in District 14-2A-II), who will go on the road to Harper this Friday, Oct. 16, for a 7 p.m. district contest.

     Coming off back-to-back trips to the state quarterfinals, the Eagles needed only two plays to get on the board and then went on to score five times in the first half.

     After a quick 19-yard scoring run on the game’s second play gave Junction a 6-0 lead, the Cowboys needed only two plays to tie the score. Evan Craft found Kase Braden behind the Eagles’ coverage for a 56-yard touchdown, making it 6-6 with 57 seconds gone in the game.

     The Eagles added two more TDs in the first quarter on drives of 56 and 72 yards, on either side of the first interception of the year thrown by Craft. 

     D’Hanis drove to the Eagle 15, but was stopped on downs. Turnovers on the next two plays, including a fumble recovery for Joe Ruiz and a second Junction interception, led to another Eagle scoring drive of 78 yards, which was capped by a 48-yard pass for a 28-6 lead with 6:35 left in the first half.

     The Cowboys put together a 63-yard touchdown drive in 11 plays, with Ruiz scoring from the 1-yard line with 1:18   left in the half.

     There was still enough time for the Eagles to add another TD before the break, hitting a long pass in the final minute to make the score, 34-12.

     In the third quarter, Junction increased its lead on a 15-yard run, before the Cowboys answered with another Craft-to-Braden pass of 41 yards. A pass to Josiah Rodriguez cut the Eagles’ lead in half to 40-20, with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

Junction scored on the next play, a 56-yard run, then added another one-play drive of 42 yards following a D’Hanis punt, to bring the score to its final margin with 2:47 left in the third.