By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
SAN ANTONIO — The Hanna Golden Eagles looked destined to keep their magical season going, as they had the Northside Brandeis Broncos against the ropes for more than three quarters.
Then, the magic ran out.
Broncos quarterback Jordan Battles got hot during the second half, and Hanna saw a 19-point lead melt away in a 33-32 loss in their Class 6A Division II regional playoff game Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
After scoring just seven first-half points against the Hanna defense, Brandeis scored on all four of its second-half possessions, including the go-ahead touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Battles to Brandon Pake to make it 33-32 with 3:52 to play.
“We knew (Battles) was a great athlete,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “Even though he’s a sophomore, he’s a very game kid. We had their number the first half offensively and defensively. The kids started making plays, we’re missing tackles that we weren’t in the first half. Ultimately, we should’ve made plays and could’ve done a better job coaching, I’m sure. I can’t complain about these kids.”
Hanna ends its season with a 10-2 record, and Brandeis moves on the state quarterfinals to face Austin Westlake.
Hanna led 26-9 early in the third quarter before Battles went off, rushing for touchdowns of 36 and 4 yards, and passing for two more on throws of 33 and 9 yards during the second half. In all, Battles rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns, and was 10 of 17 through the air for 183 yards and three more touchdowns on the day.
“We didn’t execute like we did in the first and second quarter,” Hanna linebacker Jose Cruz said. “We weren’t tackling right or doing everything we can … (Brandeis) took us out of our game.”
Hanna had a chance to go down the field and win the game, and drove to the Brandeis 29 before an incompletion and a 12-yard sack of Victor Campos on a third-and-7 knocked Hanna out of field goal range.
“We slacked off, and that’s on me, I’ll take all the blame for that,” Campos said. “I should’ve kept them up. We had mental mistakes, and we were caught up in the moment.”
After scoring on two of three of its second-half drives on a 15-yard Aaron Frausto run and a 16-yard keeper by Campos to make it 32-20 with 11 minutes to play, Hanna stalled on its final two possessions.
“The crowd played a lot into it,” Frausto said. “There was lack of communication here and there, and some false starts that set us back on offense. Things went wrong here and there, and the (Brandeis) offense picked up on the other side. Our offense didn’t execute in the fourth quarter.”
Added Guess, “Anytime you have that lead, you have to hang on to it. I don’t know if it was us being in this round for the first time ever and feeling the nervousness and excitement of the fourth quarter. We haven’t been there before, but it’s football and these guys came to play. I can’t say enough about their effort.”
Hanna’s offense started the game with a 47-yard drive to seize momentum on a 1-yard Cesar Mancias touchdown run to make it 7-0, but blunders kept the Eagles from pulling away.
After the initial score, Hanna fumbled on its next two possessions. The first came from Roman Garay one play after Brandeis gave up the ball on downs, leading to a Battles touchdown pass to Christian Medina on a 44-yard wheel route to tie it at 7.
The next fumble came from Campos at the Broncos’ 2.
Hanna’s defense held up, and the offense tacked on a 10-yard scoring run by Mancias and a 7-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling Campos to Ernesto Mendoza to make it 20-7 with seconds to go in the half, but it was the start of several points being left off the board.
Hanna botched an extra point on the score before the half, leading to two failed two-point conversion attempts, which cost the Eagles three potential points.
“They were the right calls to make,” Guess said of the conversions. “I’m not going to go back and second-guess any calls. We just have to make plays when we are supposed to make plays, and we didn’t. Those turnovers in the first half kept us from getting two scores on the board real quick and getting a real big halftime lead.”
Campos had a big day in the loss, throwing for 286 yards and one touchdown on 18 of 31 passing, and adding a rushing score.
Frausto had a big day receiving as he caught eight passes for 117 yards, and he rushed for 63 yards and one score.
Mancias rushed 18 times for 71 yards and two touchdowns.