BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
MISSION — Sharyland High’s matchup against Laredo Nixon was expected to be a close game between two clubs who make their living running it down their opponents’ throats. After all, these two teams entered Friday within one game of each other in the District 31-5A chase — Sharyland in second place, Nixon in third.
Only one of those teams lived up to the expectation. Nixon’s slot-t offensive formation confused the Sharyland defense, and the Mustangs capitalized time and again. Nixon tailback Emil Oliva ran for 157 yards and accounted for four of the team’s five rushing touchdowns in the Mustangs’ 49-14 trouncing of the Rattlers on Friday night at Richard Thompson Stadium.
“(The slot-t) is designed on tight splits and misdirection,” Sharyland High coach Ron Adame said. “They did a good job of executing it tonight. Facing a team like that is tough, because we don’t have anyone else on our schedule that runs that, but that’s no excuse. We just played a better Nixon team, plain and simple.”
The less-than-an-hour first half at Richard Thompson Stadium was a stark contrast to Sharyland High’s previous game in Week 8, a 56-49 victory over Sharyland Pioneer that lasted nearly three and a half hours.
After a Sharyland punt that was downed at the Nixon 1-yard line, the Mustangs orchestrated a 99-yard drive in 4 minutes, 43 seconds that was capped by Oliva’s first score of the game with 2:43 to go in the opening quarter. Nixon was leading 14-0 in the second quarter when a touchdown run by Sharyland running back/wide receiver Blake Klein sent the Mustangs into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
Nixon (6-2) galloped out of the locker room to score 28 points in the third quarter, which effectively demoralized Sharyland for the remainder of the game.
“We told the boys that if we got a stop coming out of halftime, then we could tie it or go down by two scores,” Adame said. “Sure enough, Nixon scored on their second or third play from scrimmage. We were playing catch-up against their three running backs. They all bring something special to the table.”
Nixon’s three running backs — the athletic Oliva, big bruiser Chris Casas and speedster Esteban Guerra — helped the team rack up 348 rushing yards on an even 6.0 yards per carry.
The Rattlers’ (6-2) normally dependable rushing offense, which averaged 220 yards per game through seven games, could only muster 128 yards against the Mustangs. Friday’s game was one of the rare nights Sharyland had more passing yards (138) than rushing.
“We couldn’t keep the ball moving,” Sharyland High quarterback Edgar Longoria said. “They were taking away sweeps from us. There were also mistakes I made. I told my teammates that. I don’t like people sugarcoating things, so I wanted to be straight with them. My mistakes helped their defense out.”
Nixon’s win forces a tie for second place in District 31-5A with both teams sporting 5-1 records. The loss makes Sharyland’s game against undefeated Mission Veterans next week more pressure-packed than before.
“We’ve got to put this game behind us,” Adame said. “Every game is a challenge. The last time we got blown out like this (62-0 loss to Weslaco East in Week 1), we responded by winning six straight. We’re looking to do the same thing.”