Hondo Anvil Herald

Resilient Cowboys hang on for 1-point win

 

     La Pryor -- D’Hanis answered the bell twice in the fourth quarter, taking the lead with 2:47 left in the Friday, Oct. 10 game with La Pryor.

    But it was a classic blunder by the Bulldogs that sealed the outcome. After the Cowboys had taken their 27-26 lead on a one-yard, fourth down dive by Joe Ruiz, the Bulldogs broke loose on the kickoff return, with clear sailing to the endzone. Before the returner had crossed the goalline, however, at about the 7-yard line, he held the ball out to taunt the D’Hanis defender giving chase. The resulting 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct erased the touchdown and moved the ball back to the 22-yard line. With LP facing a 3rd-and-6, Cannon Zachry broke into the backfield on consecutive plays, sacking the Bulldog quarterback to end it.

     The Cowboys got the 27-26 win, climbing to 3-3 on the year, and to 1-1 in District 14-2A-II. A huge one is coming up Saturday, Oct. 18, when D’Hanis hosts Sabinal in a 7 p.m. Senior Night contest.

     The teams traded four empty possessions to open the game before D’Hanis broke the ice late in the first quarter. 

     A stop by Zachry on 4th-and-2 at the D’Hanis 30 set up the Cowboys first scoring drive. D’Hanis converted a pair of third downs, and Evan Craft passed twice to Josiah Rodriguez for first downs in LP territory. From the 9, Zachry scored the game’s first TD, with 20 seconds left in the opening period.

     The Bulldogs drove to the D’Hanis 10, but coughed it up when Ruiz got the hit and Juan Banda recovered a fumble for the Cowboys.

     After a fake punt attempt came up short, the Bulldogs got another chance with a short field, scoring in seven plays to tie the score at 6-6 with 4:55 left in the half.
     D’Hanis worked the clock nicely, driving from their 43 to the endzone, picking up five first downs and getting the score on a two-yard run by Ruiz with 18 seconds left in the half. Craft passed to Ryan Zunker for the two-point conversion, putting D’Hanis up 14-6 at the half.

LP opened the second half with a scoring drive, getting a 35-yard run to set up a 1st-and-goal. On fourth down, the Bulldogs scored from the 2, then added a two-pointer to tie the score at 14.

     D’Hanis’ next drive ended with a fumble, but the Cowboy defense responded with a fourth down sack from Kase Braden to end LP’s next possession. 

     The Cowboys drove from their 41 all the way to a 1st-and-goal at the 3, but four straight running plays, including three at the 1-yard line, were turned away, and the Bulldogs took over.

     On first down, LP ran a quarterback sneak to get away from the goalline, but after reaching the 5 – with D’Hanis defenders hanging all over him – the QB handed off to one of his running backs, who took it the remaining 95 yards to the endzone for a 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

     La Pryor attempted an onside kick, which D’Hanis recovered. But the Bulldogs were also assessed a personal foul penalty, which set up the Cowboys at the LP 34. Six plays later, on fourth down at the 16, Craft threw a pass, which a La Pryor defender tipped into the waiting arms of Rodriguez in the endzone. The Bulldogs blocked the PAT attempt, and the score was tied again, this time at 20-20, with 8:21 to play.

     On the Bulldogs’ next possession, they were the beneficiaries of a personal foul penalty, and four plays later, hit a 19-yard scoring pass to go back in front.  The two-point try failed, leaving the Cowboys within six points, with 5:35 left in the game.

Aiden Enriquez returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the LP 41, and the Cowboys got an additional 15 yards from yet another personal foul on the Bulldogs. Craft passed to Zachry for 12 yards on a 4th-and-6, then the two connected again, reaching the 1-yard line. Again, it took three tries, but this time, Ruiz was able to punch it in on fourth down. After a timeout, the Cowboys opted to try the placekick, and Craft knocked it through, with 2:47 left, setting up the late drama.