Devine-Pleasanton team stats would have one thinking the game was a lot closer than the 35-12 score indicated. And it was, for a little while anyway, until Pleasanton began pulling away late in the first half.
Overall, Pleasanton outgained Devine by only 11 yards offensively (309-298) but won the dreaded turnover battle 3-1. The Eagles used big plays to put most of their points on the board with four of their scores being from 32-yards out or further, including a 70-yard punt return and a 90-yard pass completion.
Devine had seven more first downs, but Pleasanton scored three times on plays of more than 58 yards and another from 32-yards meaning long drives were not going to be the Eagles method of operation.
Old crew
Pleasanton definitely had the more veteran players on the field with 20 seniors and 12 juniors listed on their Express-News roster. Devine currently has 10 seniors and 10 juniors on its roster.
Devine has many players that have more than a year’s varsity experience, but the Eagles had the advantage of having even more elder statesmen to its credit.
This matchup will look a lot different next season when Devine’s 12 juniors and 10 sophomores have this 2021 season under their belts and they become the more experienced team.
No need to panic
Coming off their first loss of the season is no reason to hit the panic button just yet. Simply put, Devine had an off night and Pleasanton simply took advantage of every miscue the Warhorses afforded them to have.
The Eagles are a really good team with plenty of skill players to make them more than dangerous and the size of their offensive and defensive fronts cannot be overlooked as they were pound for pound much heavier than the our Warhorse counterparts.
Knock on wood, Devine has a favorable opponent on its homecoming this schedule. Any frustrations from the Pleasanton loss that may still be lingering at kickoff time Friday night will, in my opinion, quickly dissipate as the Warhorses look to get on another offensive roll heading into district play on October 8 at Carrizo Springs.
Team stats
Total yards Dev 298, Ple 309 First downs Dev 18, Ple 11 Rushing Dev 46-217-4.72 Ple 16-111-6.94 Passing Dev 7-21-81-0TD-3INT, Ple 11-13-198-3TD-0INT Punting Dev 2-68-34 Ple 1-24 Fumbles-lost Dev 1-0 Ple 3-2 Penalties Dev 9-66 Ple 7-75.
Warhorse stats
Rushing Xavier Contreras 11-53-4.8, Ethan Santos 11-53-4.8-1TD, Brady Hackebeil 9-50-5.6 Gabriel Esquibel 5-25-5.0, Nate Ramirez 7-22-3.1, Marcus Rodriguez 1-8-1TD, Hayden DuBose 2-6-3.0 Passing Hackebeil 7-21-0TD-3INT Receiving
Score by quarter
Dev 6-0-0-6=12
Ple 7-14-0-14=35
Scoring summary
DEV–Ethan Santos 8-yard run (PAT failed), 6-0, 8:42, 1st.
PLE–Jayden Palacios 2-yard pass from Sean Ramos (Jose Angel-Perez PAT), 6-7 5:26, 1st.
PLE–Diego Luna 32-yard pass from Ramos (Angel-Perez PAT), 6-14, 6:54, 2nd.
PLE–Luna 70-yard punt return (Angel-Perez PAT), 6-21, 4:25, 2nd.
DEV–Marcus Rodriguez 8-yard run (two-point conversion run failed), 12-21, 11:55, 4th.
PLE–Ramos 58-yard run (Angel-Perez PAT), 12-28, 11:44, 4th.
PLE–Juan Lopez 90-yard pass from Ramos (Angel-Perez PAT), 12-35, 6:21, 4th.
By Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
Warhorse tidbits, stats, & scoring summary
