Eagle Pass Eagles Outlast San Antonio Taft Raiders 26-24
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
The Eagle Pass High School Eagles traveled to San Antonio, Texas on Friday, September 7, 2024 to battle the perennially tough San Antonio Taft High School Raiders in a non-district football game, outlasting the Raiders 26-24 to earn a hard fought victory at Dub Harris Stadium and improve to 2-0 in the season.
The Taft Raiders won the pre-game coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, kicking off to the Eagles to start the game. The Eagles kickoff return man attempted to pick up the short squib kick on a bounce, but touched the football without recovering it and the Raiders pounced on the pigskin to start the game at the Eagles own 27 yard line.
The Taft Raiders on their first play of scrimmage handed the football to their fleet running back Prometheus Elmore who proceeded to elude several Eagle defenders and marched into the end zone on a 27 yard touchdown run within the first 10 seconds of the game. The point after attempt was good to give the Raiders an early lead 7-0 with 11:50 minutes remaining in the first quarter, stunning the Eagle Nation aficionados.
The Eagles regrouped and refocused on their game plan after quickly falling behind 7-0. The Eagles engineered a long touchdown drive on their first possession with a combination of runs and passes well-executed by quarterback Xavier Barrera, culminating on a 30 yard pass from Barrera to standout wide receiver Jose “Pepe” Hernandez who strolled into the Raiders end zone with 9:41 minutes remaining in the first quarter and place kicker Lazaro Frausto added the point after attempt to tie the game 7-7 early in the first quarter. The Eagles quickly answered the Raiders early touchdown with one of their own.
The Eagles stingy “Land Shark” defense buckled down on the Raiders second possession, forcing them to punt. The Raiders defense similarly stifled the Eagles offense on their second possession, forcing a punt. The Taft Raiders fumbled the football on their third possession of the game and Eagle Land Shark defensive end Anthony Paniagua recovered the fumble, giving the Eagles excellent field position at midfield (50 yard line) with 4:12 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles offensive team orchestrated a patented 50 yard touchdown drive utilizing a well-balanced run and pass attack, including a 28 yard aerial pass from Barrera to Jose “Pepe” Hernandez and followed with a seven yard touchdown pass from Barrera to running back Luis Flores with 1:35 minutes remaining in the first quarter and place kicker Lazaro Frausto drilled the football down the middle of the goalposts, giving the Eagles a 14-7 lead in the game.
On the Taft Raiders following possession, the Eagles Land Shark Defense stopped the Raiders potent offensive machine and forced them to punt.
The Eagles took over at their own 45 yard line and marched down the Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium artificial turf for a 55 yard touchdown drive, culminating on a two yard blast up the middle into the Raiders end zone by running back Luis Flores with 7:29 minutes remaining in the second quarter and Lazaro Frausto’s extra point was good, extending the Eagles lead to 21-7.
On the ensuing Taft Raiders possession, the Eagles Land Shark Defense led by linebacker Christian Demasi and defensive backs Jorge Martinez, Trevor Rodriguez, and Tyler Rodriguez forced a turnover as Jorge Martinez intercepted a pass at the Eagles 30 yard line with 7 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
After the interception, the Eagles drove on a series of combined run and pass plays to the Raiders one yard line for a would-be score, but the Eagles fumbled the pigskin at the Raiders one yard line and the Raiders recovered the football to avert another Eagles score with 4:17 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Once again the mighty Eagles Land Shark Defense rose to the occasion as linebacker Christian Demasi tackled the Raiders quarterback Tucker Vogel behind the goal line on a text book tackle with his arms wrapped around him for an Eagles safety (2 points) with 4:10 minutes remaining in the first half, extending the Eagles lead 23-7. The teams went into the locker rooms at halftime with the Eagles leading 23-7.
Following the safety, the Eagles received the ensuing kickoff and returned it to the Raiders 32 yard line. The Eagles scored a touchdown on a 29 yard pass from quarterback Xavier Barrera to running back Luis Flores with 3:59 minutes left in the second quarter, but an Eagles penalty negated the touchdown pass. On the next series of plays, the Raiders defense intercepted a Barrera pass to end the first half scoring. The teams went into the locker room at halftime with the Eagles leading 23-7. The Eagles safety by Christian Demasi wound up being the difference in the game as it allowed the Eagles to outlast the Raiders 26-24 in the game.
In the second half, the Taft Raiders made offensive adjustments by using quarterback Tucker Vogel more often on running plays with some success. In their first second half possession, the Raiders marched down to the Eagles red zone and kicked a field goal with 5:40 minutes remaining in the third quarter, narrowing the score 23-10. The Eagles defense bent and flexed, but stopped the Raiders potent offense limiting them to only a field goal.
The Raiders defense also made adjustments and held the Eagles on the ensuing possession, forcing them to punt. The Raiders quickly scored on a 49 yard touchdown sprint down the Eagles defense by quarterback Tucker Vogel with 3:42 minutes remaining in the third quarter and the extra point was good, narrowing the Eagles lead 23-17 and momentum in favor of the Raiders.
The Eagles self-proclaimed “War Eagle” offense took the ensuing kickoff at their own 25 yard line and methodically marched down to the Raiders seven yard line, but the Raiders defense stiffened and forced the Eagles to kick a 22 yard field goal by Lazaro Frausto with 11:43 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, extending the Eagles lead 26-17.
The never say die Taft Raiders marched 51 yards for a touchdown midway in the fourth quarter, connecting on a 32 yard pass into the Eagles end zone and the extra point was good, narrowing the score 26-24 in favor of the Eagles with 5:24 minutes remaining in the game.
The Eagles offense led by quarterback Xavier Barrera took the ensuing kickoff at their own 12 yard line and marched down the Cozel Foster-Veterans Memorial Stadium on the legs of Barrera to the Raiders 15 yard line and appeared to have scored on a touchdown pass from Barrera to wideout Jose “Pepe” Hernandez, but the referees called Hernandez out of bounds to negate the touchdown. But the Eagles offense ran out the game clock on this drive to preserve a hard fought victory over a much larger Taft team by the final score of 26-24.
Eagles quarterback Xavier Barrera passed for 180 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 100 yards. Wide receiver Jose “Pepe” Hernandez had a total of 142 receiving yards despite being double-teamed throughout the game.
The Eagles coaches named quarterback Xavier Barrera, wideout Jose “Pepe” Hernandez, running back Luis Flores, and lineman Rolando Rendon as Offensive Players of the Week in the game.
Named Defensive Players of the Week were Eagles linebacker Christian Demasi, linebacker Luis Velasquez, defensive end Anthony Paniagua, and defensive tackle Gael Ulloa.
Receiving Special Teams honors for the game were place kicker Lazaro Frausto, reserve quarterback Alex Ruiz, and linebacker Alex Perez.
The Eagles have an Open week during September 9-14, 2024 and their next game is on Friday, September 20, 2024 at 7 p. m. at home against perennial playoff contender New Braunfels Canyon High School Cougars in a non-district game designated as Parents Night for the players, athletic trainers, and team managers.
