CALALLEN — Once again, the Los Fresnos Falcons’ defense came up big when needed.
Raul Lopez scored on a 47-yard touchdown run with 2:33 remaining in the fourth quarter as Los Fresnos regained the lead, and the defense did the rest as the Falcons defeated Del Rio 13-12 in a Class 6A Division I area-round game Friday night at Wildcat Stadium in Calallen.
“They have a lot of heart, and we expected nothing but a knock-down-drag-out game all night, and that’s what we were prepared for,” Los Fresnos coach Clint Finley said. “I’m just really proud of the way our boys competed.”
The Falcons’ defensive unit held Del Rio in check, allowing 194 yards, intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble. They continued to harass Rams quarterback Walt Ashley, who felt the pressure after every snap of the football.
The Los Fresnos offense took advantage of the defense’s play.
After the defense forced a fumble at the Del Rio 25-yard line, the Falcons’ offense used a steady diet of runs and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Pierce Ruiz to grab a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Los Fresnos took the 7-0 lead into the break, but the Del Rio offense warmed up after halftime.
Ashley scored on a 1-yard touchdown run during the third quarter and Cesar Escajeda scored on a 1-yard run on the next possession to give the Rams a 12-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t change much (at halftime). It was more about the execution, what we weren’t doing,” Del Rio coach Frenchey McCrea said.
Ashley completed 7 of 14 passes for 69 yards and ran for 88 yards on 28 carries and one touchdown, but the Falcons’ defense didn’t make anything easy for the junior quarterback.
Down 12-7, the Falcons’ defense did its job late and gave the offense another possession after an interception by Christian Campos.
The offense didn’t waste the opportunity, and Lopez scored on a reverse to give the Falcons the 13-12 lead late in the fourth quarter.
“We had some opportunities squandered with some dropped balls and interceptions,” McCrea said. “I thought we were a little too conservative (on the second-to-last drive). (On the last drive) we went with our throwing quarterback (Steven Salinas). But things just didn’t go our way, in the end we didn’t execute like we needed to.”
Isaac Moreno led the way with 84 yards rushing on 18 carries, Lopez had 75 yards rushing and one touchdown, and Ruiz finished with 22 yards rushing and the other touchdown for the Falcons.
The Los Fresnos (9-3) defense stopped Del Rio (6-5-1) on its the final drive with an interception by Fabian Rodriguez to seal the victory.
After the Rams took the lead, Finley said he didn’t need to tell his defense anything. The players already knew what they needed to do.
“Our defense played great all night long, and that’s what we expected (from Del Rio), a defensive battle,” he said. “(It was) a dang war and (it was) who was going to make the plays when it counted. Luckily it was us.
“I’m proud of my boys, they were wonderful and we’re ready to do it again.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.