Rio Hondo vs Laredo Alexander(5A) [Archive]

Cats Fan

09-19-2008, 12:35 AM

RIO HONDO - Some people called the Rio Hondo Bobcats crazy for agreeing to play a 5A school.
Now those people can call them victorious.
In a back-and-forth affair that was as exciting as they come, the Bobcats came back and held off Laredo Alexander 49-42 at Bobcat Stadium Thursday night.
Rio Hondo (2-1) kept pace with the larger Bulldogs for most of the evening and came through with big plays when it counted.
"They're a very good team," a jubilant Rio Hondo head coach Rocky James said. "But this is a great, great win for us. It proves that it doesn't matter what size or division you're in. It's about how much heart you have."
Alexander came out firing and was successful in their pass-happy attack, which was a concern for James going in.
Bulldog quarterback Jerry Lopez (30-for-47 passing, 413 yards six touchdowns) was on target for the most part. Most of those went to Aldo Hernandez (13 receptions, 219 yards, 2 TDs).
But three interceptions and some mental errors did the Bulldogs in, despite churning out 457 yards.
"They have a heck of a football team," Alexander head coach Joel Lopez said. "I don't know if it was the road or what. The competitiveness was good. This is a good football town. I'm very grateful to Rio Hondo for giving us the opportunity to come over."
The 'Cats were able to get stops when they had to, forcing four turnovers. James was proud of his defense afterward.
"We threw everything we had at them," he said. "We tried blitzing, you name it. So we just went back to basics and dropped in coverage."
Rio Hondo's offense got going after halftime, as the running game was unstoppable.
Bobcat QB Joseph Vela (20-186) and backs Trevor David (15-100) and Jacob Martinez (8-85) each had a hand in the good ground game.
"They really got rolling in the second half," James said.
The Bulldogs struck first to open the game, marching 11 plays and ending with a 20-yard pass from Lopez to Hernandez. Hernandez added the point after for a 7-0 lead.
Not intimidated, the Bobcats came right back.
David dove in from a yard out to tie it with Wilson Caal's PAT at the 1:23 mark in the first.
Alonzo Garza, the Bobcat all-stater from a year ago, showed exactly why he's among the best.
On Alexander's first play of the next drive, Garza batted a pass, caught it himself and raced 27 yards for the go-ahead score. The PAT was missed.
"He's just got a motor that never stops," James said. "He never stops on a play. He was all over the place tonight."
But Alexander came back, getting two second quarter scoring passes from Lopez to Hernandez for two yards and to Sergio Velasquez for five to take a 21-13 halftime edge.
The Bulldogs opened the second half and pushed their lead to 28-13 when Lopez hit Esteban Cruz for a nine-yard strike.
David had another plunge to pull Rio Hondo to 28-20.
Then one of the wackiest plays of the season happened.
On the ensuing kickoff, a 59-yard squib kick was recovered for a Rio Hondo touchdown and ultimately proved the difference. A Bulldogs player watched the ball come to a rest at the one-yard line; not realizing it was a live ball.
An alert Tino Ortega recovered it for a Bobcat TD. Vela punched in a conversion to tie the game and they never looked back.
Vela added scoring scampers of 32 and 54 yards to help put the game out of reach for Rio Hondo as they rolled up 454 yards offensively.
Alexander fought back and kept it close, but the Bobcats held the ball for the final 3:44 to close it out.