Welcome back, Part 2
It was good to see #22 Justin Contreras on the field for the Horses for the first time this season. Notwithstanding a kickoff return to open the year, Justin was in uniform against the Wildcats for the first time since that initial fifteen seconds of the 2020 season.
Maybe I should have been a little more specific than just saying “was in uniform” Friday night. Justin was a BAAAAAAD DUDE Friday night!
Offensively, Justin finished the night with seven carries for 116 yards and ran for one touchdown from 63-yards out. He caught two passes for 60 yards including a 53-yard scoring strike a little over halfway through the third quarter.
And that was just on the offensive side of the ball.
Defensively, the San Antonio Express-News awarded him Player of the Week status after Justin returned an interception 46-yards for a touchdown and was credited with not one, but two strip-sacks that were returned for defensive touchdowns by fellow teammates Christian Gerlach and Marcus Rodriguez.
After being the Unanimous District MVP in 2019, it does not look like a healed high ankle sprain is going to limit Justin athletically in any form or shape as district moves along.
Long gone
Friday’s game had many “big play” moments. Seven of the twelve touchdowns were from 32 yards or more while only three were from 7 yards or less.
Those long seven scores came from 46, 63, 65, 60, 32, 53, and 56 yards while the shorter scoring bursts were from 7, 3, and 1 yard out.
This Friday’s game against Hondo could be a scoring fest as well as the Owls have tended to score in bunches this season as well.
Get yourself two boxes of popcorn, some nachos, a Frito pie, a candy bar of your choice, and a couple of diet sodas before you sit down in the stands or in your game room to watch the game.
A big play could be on the very snap you decide to get up otherwise. I do not want you to miss anything while out of your viewing area.
Stat mongers
Devine amassed 406 yards rushing on only 35 attempts for nearly 12 yards average per carry. Buddy Santos led the way with 13 carries for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns followed closely by Justin Contreras who had seven rushes for 116 yards and three touchdowns as well.
Quarterback Brady Hackebeil kept the ball 5 times for 74 yards.
Those three combined for 25 carries, 366 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Their average yards-per-carry was a staggering 14.96.
AAE
Coach Evan Eads’s offensive and defensive position groups had outstanding overall performances Friday night. His linebacking-crew racked up approximately a dozen tackles, forced a fumble, and deflected a pass.
Buddy Santos had a 1/2 tackle and two 1/2 tackles for loss, Devin Ornelas had two assist, four 1/2 tackles, and a forced fumble, and Colin Dishman had three 1/2 tackles and a pass deflection.
“It was our best game of the year as a unit,” Eads stated. “We were lined up correctly and flew around. We have to continue our focus in practice to improve.”
Eads’s offensive slot position added a “new” player this week, which provided a lot of excitement for not only that player, but for all who got to see Justin Contreras perform for the first time since suffering a high ankle sprain on the season’s opening kickoff.
Eads said, “Justin was the most excited athlete for the game Friday, and it showed. His stats speak for themselves, and he is not 100%. He is physical and explosive. It was fun to watch him get after it.”
Two other slot players made the most of their limited ball-carrying opportunities. With only one player per snap able to run the ball, Aiden Zapata and Nate Ramirez impressed Eads by doing some of the dirty work that is often overlooked.
“Aiden and Nate not only ran hard when their number was called, but they had their best night of the year blocking,” finished Eads.
Team stats
First Downs Dev 17 Car 17 Total yards Dev 524 Car 358 Rushing Dev 35-408 (11.66) Car 39-128 (3.28) Passing Dev 3-6-116-1 INT, 2 TD Car 19-34-240-2 INT, 1 TD Fumbles-lost Dev 3-0 Car 5-3 Penalties-yards Dev 11-80 Car 11-74
Individual
Rushing Buddy Santos 13-176 (13.5), Justin Contreras 7-116 (16.6), Brady Hackebeil 5-74 (14.8), Aiden Zapata 2-38 (19.0), Marcus Rodriguez 2-9 (4.5), Nate Ramirez 1-9, Jaiden Burford 4–12 (-3), Hayden DuBose 1–2 Passing Hackebeil 2-5-60-1 TD, J. Burford 1-1-56-1 TD Receiving J. Contreras 2-60-1 TD, Mason Burford 1-56-1 TD.
CAR—Joshua Carrizales 7-yard run (Dominick Hernandez PAT), 0-7, 9:42, 1st.
DEV—Buddy Santos 3-yard run (Jacob Featherly PAT), 7-7, 6:42, 1st.
DEV—Justin Contreras 46-yard interception return (Featherly PAT), 14-7, 5:44, 1st.
DEV—B. Santos 1-yard run (Featherly PAT), 21-7, 2:09, 1st.
DEV—J. Contreras 63-yard run (Featherly PAT), 28-7, 0:12, 1st.
CAR—Evan Castenallos 65-yard pass to Joaquin Lira (PAT failed), 28-13, 0:00, 1st.
CAR—Castenallos 14-yard pass to CJ Zubia (Christian DeLaCruz two-point run), 28-21, 5:49, 2nd.
DEV—B. Santos 60-yard run (Featherly PAT), 35-21, 4:58, 2nd.
DEV—Marcus Rodriguez 32-yard fumble return (Featherly PAT), 42-21, 0:24, 2nd.
DEV—Christian Gerlach 12-yard fumble return (Featherly PAT), 49-21, 10:17, 3rd.
DEV—Brady Hackebeil 53-yard pass to J. Contreras (Featherly PAT), 56-21, 4:25, 3rd.
DEV—Jaiden Burford 56-yard pass to Mason Burford (Featherly PAT), 63-21, 11:07, 4th.
By Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
Warhorse tidbits, stats, and scoring recap
