Hondo Anvil Herald

Owls hang on to preserve shutout

 

By Jeff Berger

Anvil Herald Publisher

 

     Natalia -- Hondo’s offense put together its second consecutive 300-yard rushing night, and the defense came up with three second-half red zone stops to register a 42-0 shutout over Natalia in District 14-3A-I action Friday, Oct. 23.

     The Owls’ win on Friday clinches a spot in the playoffs with two games left to play, as the team climbs to 3-1 in district, 5-3 overall. It was also Hondo’s first varsity football game ever against Natalia, and marked the Owls’ first shutout since a win at Poteet in the final week of the 2023 regular season.

     This week, things really get down to business as Hondo hosts Devine for Senior Night at Barry Field. While the Owls and Warhorses are annual foes, who will be meeting for the 107th time this Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m., this is the first time it has been a district game since 2021. The Warhorses are 7-1 on the season, and are tied atop the league standings with Jourdanton at 5-0.

“It was good to see us get our second 300-yard rushing game in a row,” said Hondo Coach Dustin Templin. “The line is far from perfect, but we’ve come a long way from just a few weeks ago. The backs are doing a much better job, and (QB) Bryson (Howard) is improving every day in the passing game.”

     On the Owls’ first possession of the game, Jayden Motes gained 10 yards on the first play, but consecutive false starts put Hondo behind the chains. Facing 3rd-and-13, Howard found Kyron Rodriguez slanting across the middle. The junior receiver went 58 yards untouched for the Owls’ first score. Gabriel Rodriguez came in to connect on the first of six straight extra points, and Hondo owned a 7-0 lead with less than three minutes gone. 

     A special teams stop by Nolan Graff pinned the Mustangs inside the 20 to start their first possession, and they stayed there, forced to punt it away in three plays.

     Starting at the Natalia 48, the Owls kept it exclusively on the ground. Four straight runs by Motes moved the ball to a 4th-and-1 at the 25, before Howard sneaked ahead for the conversion. Four plays later, Andrew Tapia burst through the line for 11 yards and Hondo’s second touchdown and a 14-0 lead  with 2:42 left in the first.

     Natalia’s Ricardo De La O returned the ensuing kickoff almost to midfield, but Hondo’s defense stopped them from moving any further. Lyston Blanks had a tackle for loss and Colby Evans broke up a third down pass.

     After the punt, Aaryn Leyva checked in at QB and kept it for 32 yards on the first play. A 10-yard Tapia run kept the drive moving inside the 20, but a false start penalty backed the Owls up, and a 38-yard field goal attempt by Gabriel Rodriguez was wide left.

     The Mustangs picked up their initial first down on a 12-yard pass from Mason Giera to Eduardo Lopez, but defensive stops by Evans and Peter Luna again led to a punt.

     Starting at their 38, the Owls went 11 plays, taking nearly six minutes off the clock. Hondo converted a 3rd-and-12 on a 16-yard draw by Motes, who then added a 24-yard run down to the 10-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal from the 5, Howard found Tapia circling out of the backfield for a TD pass with 1:45 left in the half.

     Offsetting penalties on the kickoff forced a rekick, which worked to the Owls’ favor. The returner stepped out of bounds at the 9, and even earning one first down, the Mustangs, thanks to a few clock stoppages, were soon in punt formation. When the snap skipped away from punter Jayce Villa, Blanks was forcing the Natalia protector backwards. The punt hit the blocker in the backside, and Colton Wiemers picked it up at the 3, forcing his way into the endzone for Hondo’s first special teams TD of the season and a 28-0 lead at the half.

The teams traded punts to  open the second half, and Natalia responded with a bang. Giera found Jordan Castro open deep. The receiver then weaved his way 77 yards to the Hondo 3, before Kyron Rodriguez brought him down. The defensive pursuit saved the shutout, as the Hondo defense, with the help of one false start penalty, kept the Mustangs out of the endzone.

     The Owls’ only three-and-out of the night led to a punt from inside its own 10. Starting at midfield, Natalia strung together three first downs, and reached the Hondo 4. A wild snap cost the Mustangs 13 yards, and they were unable to recover, with Hondo’s Kaleb Coronado breaking up a fourth down pass.

     From the Owls’ 14, Leyva went around right end, taking it 86 yards to the endzone as the third quarter ended, only to have the entire run wiped out by a holding penalty. Hondo drove it anyway. Howard passed to Cade Aelvoet for 26 yards, Leyva had another run for 43 to the Natalia 15, and Howard passed to Tres Villa at the 1, setting up Tapia’s third TD of the night, midway through the fourth.

     After the Mustangs were stopped on downs near midfield, Hondo junior Ryan Reyes broke free for a 43-yard TD run and a 42-0 lead with just over three minutes to play. 

     Natalia put together one last drive, converting one fourth down on the ground, and another courtesy of two Hondo offside penalties.    With time for one last play, a 10-yard fade to the endzone  was caught, but ruled just out of bounds.

     “The defense ran to the football well,” Coach Templin said. “We had a few missed assignments, but stepped up when we needed to. And the blocked punt for TD was huge.”

     Motes rushed for 127 yards, while Leyva had 80 on just three carries. Howard passed for 109, on 8-of-12 attempts.