Hondo Anvil Herald

Ingram’s 3 late TDs put away Owls

 

By Jeff Berger

Anvil Herald  Publisher

 

     With Friday’s season opener tied at 14 midway through the third quarter, Ingram found another gear. The Warriors hit a pair of deep passes and took advantage of  a turnover on downs to pull away for a 35-14 win over Hondo at Barry Field.

     The Owls will now regroup and head to Bandera this Friday, Sept. 4, for a 7 p.m. game with the Bulldogs.

     It was Hondo’s first loss in a season opener since 2022, and breaks a three-year streak where the Owls opened the year with at least three wins.

     Hondo offense struggled to adjust to Ingram’s defensive front, and the Owls’ secondary had difficulty containing Ingram’s big-play  passing attack.

     “Our effort was good and we played hard,” said Hondo coach Dustin Templin. “But Ingram is a really good team, with lots of returnees, who took advantage of our mistakes. 

     “We need to do a better job with our eyes in the secondary. We had a couple  of busts where their receivers were running all alone. 

     “Their defensive line was quick and we struggled to block them.”

     Ingram had six passes on the night which went for 30 yards or better, including the first snap of the game. Logan Spalding found Josh  Woodruff for 38 yards down to the Hondo 33. But three plays later, Kyron Rodriguez stepped in front of a lob to the endzone and came away with an interception. That was Hondo’s only takeaway of the night. 

     The Owls went three-and-out, then Ingram did the same thanks to tackles for loss by Colton Wiemers and Andrew Tapia. 

Starting at the Hondo 40, Aaryn Leyva, the first freshman – at least in modern times – to get the start at quarterback, guided the Owls downfield.

     Hondo marched 60 yards in 14 plays, with Leyva finding Kyron Rodriguez on a 17-yard touchdown pass, while facing 3rd-and-11.

“That drive was exactly what we were hoping Aaryn could do for us,” Coach Templin said. “Nothing spectacular, but he managed the offense, protected the football and didn’t take any unnecessary risks.”

     The drive took 6:51 off the clock, resulted in five first downs, culminating in a TD pass as time expired in the first quarter. Gabriel Rodriguez added the PAT to give Hondo a 7-0 lead after one period.

     Spalding and the Warriors responded with a six-play scoring drive. Most of it was a 46-yard pass to JJ Stewart, which set up a short TD burst from Will Symm. Max Lane added the first of five PATs to tie the game with 9:36 left in the half.

     After a Hondo punt, Spalding found Stewart deep again, this time for a 58-yard scoring strike and a 14-7 lead.

For the night, Spalding passed for 313 yards and three TDs (all to Stewart) on just 13 completions. Stewart had 195 receiving yards on seven grabs.

     The Warriors had one more possession in the half, which ended with a missed 44-yard field goal attempt. Jayden Motes forced the Warriors into FG mode, with a three-yard tackle for loss on a 3rd-and-2 at the 24.

     Hondo fumbled to open the third quarter, but the Owls’ defense stepped up. Lyston Blanks and Wiemers dropped Kaleb Ward for a loss, and Tapia broke up a third down pass to force a punt. 

     Wiemers shot through to block the punt, and Tapia picked it up, returning it to the Ingram 25.

     Five plays later, all on the ground, the Owls found the endzone, with Leyva scoring on a sneak from the 1. Gabriel Rodriguez’s kick tied the game at 14 with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

     With a 2nd-and-14 from the Ingram 31, Spalding hit another pair of deep shots, hitting Woodruff for 39, then connecting with Stewart for 30 and the touchdown, putting Ingram ahead for good with 5:04 to play in the third.

     After the teams swapped punts, the Owls were about to kick it away again, but after a tackle which would have set up a 4th-and-25, Ingram was flagged for taunting. The  unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Hondo a first down near midfield.

Facing a 4th-and-3 at the Ingram 47, the Owls, still trailing by seven with 10 minutes to play, kept the offense on the field. Ingram held Hondo to just two yards, forcing a loss of downs.

     For the final time of the night, the big ball came into play. On 2nd-and-16, Spalding hit Stewart for 44 yards and a 1st-and-goal. Two plays later, they connected again for a 7-yard TD grab and a two-score lead with 7:17 left.

     The Owls were forced to punt from deep in their own end of the field. Sensing a rush from Ingram, punter Gabriel Rodriguez scrambled, and wound up getting sacked inside the 10. 

     Taking the direct snap, Symm scored from the 7-yard line with 5:31 left, to take the score to 35-14.

     The Owls picked up one first down on a pass from Leyva to Cade Aelvoet, but on 4th-and-3, a short pass to Kaleb Coronado was stopped short of the line to gain.