Hondo Anvil Herald

Murphy’s Comeback

Down by 22, Owls pull off epic rally 

 

By Jeff Berger

Anvil Herald Publisher

 

     Carrizo Springs -- The Hondo Owls could not have painted themselves into more of an inescapable corner. Everything that could have gone wrong for the Owls on Friday night, did.

     At various points during the game at Frank Carter Stadium, Hondo...

     • lost a fumble, almost in the red zone, setting up Carrizo Springs’ first touchdown;

     • suffered a pick-six;

     • snapped the ball over the punter’s head, resulting in a safety;

     • were unable to recover any of the Wildcats’ first 10 fumbles of the night;

     • had a punt blocked inside their own 20;

     • rushed for minus-11 yards on the night, the second lowest ground game total in school history.

     • found themselves trailing, 22-0, in the second quarter.

     The Owls, by the way, won.

    Staging the biggest comeback in school history (or at least since 1980), Hondo scored the game’s final 28 points, including two touchdowns inside the two-minute timeout of the fourth quarter, for a highly-improbable 28-22 win over the Wildcats.

     The victory evens the Owls’ District 14-3A-I record at 1-1, and lifts the team’s season record to 2-3.

     The Oct. 2 open date on the calendar couldn’t come at a better time.

     While Hondo didn’t order any of its game equipment from the ACME Corporation, Head Coach Dustin Templin had a hard time believing the snake-bit night his team was stumbling through.

     “I don’t know that any more could have gone wrong for us. Murphy’s Law in action,” he said. “The ball never bounced our way, except for the one time when we absolutely had to have it.”

     His reference was to the onside kick the Owls recovered with 100 seconds left to play, setting up the go-ahead touchdown one minute later.

     “But our kids showed true Hondo fight. They never gave up, even when things were at their lowest. And for a young team like we have, that is a great reflection on their character.”

     The Wildcats relied almost exclusively on their ground game, and after starting the contest by being pinned inside their own 10, ate up more than half of the first quarter by driving into Hondo territory before penalties led to a punt.

     After an exchange of two more punts, the Owls found themselves at their own 44, but a sack and a fumble return for the Wildcats set them up at the Hondo 23. Seven plays later, all on the ground, Payton Mata fought his way into the endzone from a yard out, then added the two-point run for an 8-0 Wildcat lead with 9:15 left in the half. 

     Two plays after the kickoff, the Wildcats’ Lorenzo Juarez stepped in front of a Hondo screen pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

     The Owls went three-and-out, and facing a punting situation from their own 28, the snap sailed high over the head of Gabriel Rodriguez who could only manage to cover the ball in the endzone for a safety, and a 16-0 deficit with 7:02 to play.

     Setting up at the Hondo 47 after the free kick, CS drove nine plays to the endzone, with Anthony Cerna scoring from four yards out.  The two-point try was stopped, but with 2:43 still to play until halftime, the Wildcats had put together a 22-point quarter.

     That 2:43 was important, as the Owls put together their first successful drive of the night. Quarterback Chris DeLuna, out since before the start of summer workouts, and seeing his first action of the season, found Tres Villa for 11 yards and a first down at the Wildcat 48. A pass interference penalty gave the Owls another first down, and with Bryson Howard back at the helm, went deep to find Villa open inside the 10-yard line, resulting in a 39-yard touchdown. Rodriguez added the first of his two extra points, to cut the Carrizo lead to 22-7 heading into the half.

     Three possessions ended with three punts to start the second half, before the Owls got their first real break of the game. A low snap on a Carrizo punt attempt, sent the punter to a knee, and he was ruled down at the 14-yard line. 

     A sack and a penalty put the Owls in reverse, but on 3rd-and-21, Howard found a wide-open Kaleb Coronado open over the middle for a 25-yard TD, bringing the margin to 22-14 with 52 seconds left in the third.

     Midway through the fourth quarter, a fourth down pass breakup by  Kyron Rodriguez gave the Owls possession, but the drive went backwards, with a wild snap and a sack leading to a punt.

     The Wildcats blocked it, recovering at the Hondo 11, but three plays generated nothing, and a fourth down stop by Kaedin Garcia gave the ball back to the Owls with 3:45 to play.

     Facing 3rd-and-11, Howard passed to Villa over the middle for 28 yards. An 11-yard toss to Kyron Rodriguez moved the ball into Wildcat territory. Facing another third down, Howard found Cade Aelvoet up the home sideline for a 40-yard catch-and-run, bringing Hondo within 22-20 with 1:43 to play. The two-point try failed, however, forcing the Owls to attempt an onside kick.

     Gabriel Rodriguez’s kick ricocheted off two Wildcat defenders, bouncing off the helmet of the second one, where Joby Pimentel went high in the air to pull down the recovery at the Hondo 49.

     Two incompletions and a false start forced the Owls into a 3rd-and-15, but Howard found Kyron Rodriguez for 10 yards. On 4th-and-5, the Wildcats jumped offside, giving Hondo a first down at the 41.

     Howard found Aelvoet twice, once for eight yards, then for 26 more to the 7-yard line. On the next snap, Pimentel, with his first rushing attempt of the night, powered his way into the endzone. Howard passed to Colton Wiemers for the two-point conversion and a 28-22 lead with 40 seconds to play.

     Starting at their owls 28 after the kickoff return, CS quarterback Levi Gonzalez went over the middle on first down, and there to intercept was Hondo middle linebacker Andrew Tapia to seal the game.