BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Sharyland High senior Adrian Solis stood inside the Rattlers’ 15-yard line, awaiting a punt from Somerset’s Jose Tovar. The Rattlers trailed by two points and anticipated they’d be pinned near their end zone, minimizing their chance at a game-winning score with 2:20 remaining in the game.
Tovar launched the kick and the ball bounced toward Solis, who backed up to the left hash mark side of the 7-yard line. There, Solis committed one of the cardinal sins as a returner: picking up a bouncing ball inside the 10-yard line.
“At the time that he touched it, I thought, ‘What are you doing?’ Sharyland High coach Ron Adame said.
“When he (Solis) picked it up, I was panicking a little bit, but I remembered who picked up the ball,” Sharyland High senior wide receiver Gabriel Tamez said. “When Adrian picked up that ball, there was a reason he picked it up. He saw something.”
With ball in hand, Solis ran down the sideline, but then he, indeed, did see something. He found running room by reversing the field. Seventy-six yards later, Solis’ return put the Rattlers at Somerset’s 17-yard line.
On the next play, quarterback Edgar Longoria connected with Tamez on what became Sharyland High’s game-winning score. The Rattlers’ flair for the dramatic continued in their 27-21 win over the Somerset Bulldogs in a Class 5A Division II Bi-District game Saturday night at Richard Thompson Stadium.
Sharyland High will play Brenham in the area round at 1 p.m. Friday at Cabaniss Stadium in Corpus Christi.
“It was the wrong decision, but I looked at the clock and thought, ‘I didn’t work my whole senior year for it to end like this,’” Solis said. “I said, ‘Screw it,’ and tried to get whatever I could. If I didn’t call it, we were going to end up on our own 25 anyway. I wanted to see if I could get past the 25.”
“I always kid with Adrian (Solis) that he’s got 95-yard legs,” Adame said. “We knew that he has that kind of ability. Was it the smartest thing to do at that point? Initially, no, but the end result proved otherwise. We’re fortunate that we have 11 (Solis’ jersey number) on our sideline for the Sharyland Rattlers.”
Sharyland High (8-3) led 13-7 at halftime, but Somerset controlled the third quarter on the ground. Bulldogs running back Hunter Hernandez ran for his second and third rushing touchdowns to put Somerset up 21-13 entering the final period. Hernandez finished the evening with 237 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Hernandez would be carried off the field with a leg injury in the fourth quarter that did not allow him to return.
“Hunter plays hard all the time,” Somerset coach Sonny Detmer said. “He’s a slick runner, isn’t he? He gets out of stuff and then he breaks it. I hope he’s not hurt bad because he had a real good game tonight.”
Longoria found Hector Zavala on a 16-yard score to pull the Rattlers within two and Adame wanted to attempt a two-point conversion. Longoria lofted a pass toward the back of the end zone where Zavala made the catch.
One referee ruled the conversion was good and the game would be tied at 21, but another official ruled Zavala went out of bounds and came back in play to haul in the pass. The conversion was nullified and the Bulldogs (7-4) held onto a two-point lead.
Tamez’s decisive touchdown grab came on a play-call becoming popular at the college and NFL levels.
“It was a run-pass option play,” Tamez said. “Edgar (Longoria) had an option to keep the ball, but he saw me open and he gave it to me. I’m thankful that I was able to make a play.”
Somerset’s game in Mission marked the homecoming of Detmer, the former Mission High coach who led the Eagles to their best season in 1990 with a trip to the state semifinal at the Houston Astrodome.
Detmer last coached in the Valley when his Bulldogs faced Mission Veterans and one of his former Eagle assistants, David Gilpin, to commence the 2011 season. Detmer’s tenure with the Eagles ended in 1997.
“Mission was great for me,” Detmer said, fighting back tears. “I guess it’s only fitting for me to be back here. We played a great game. We were in great shape, and then the kid (Solis) made a great play on a punt. Our team put a great effort into it. That was Somerset football all the way. It would have been a real good win for us.”
“He (Detmer) had a lot of praise for us and that means a lot coming from a living legend,” Adame said. “Some of our young men may not realize who he is or the contribution that he’s made to not just the Valley, but coaching in Texas in general. It’s certainly something that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life to coach against someone of such high prestige as him.”