Hondo Anvil Herald

Owls hang on for 3 quarters, Randolph wins it late

 

By Jeff Berger

Anvil Herald Publisher

 

     San Antonio -- It just got away. The Hondo Owls answered every Randolph score for the better part of three quarters Friday, Nov. 15, but eventually, the Ro-Hawks had just a little too much firepower.

     Randolph finished the game at Heroes Stadium with a 23-6 burst, pulling away for a 59-39 bi-district win over Hondo.

     The Owls, who became quite adept at putting a patchwork lineup on the field this season, conclude the year at 6-5. Randolph’s win, their 15th in the 19-game series with Hondo, lifts the Ro-Hawks to 9-2, and sends them into an area playoff meeting with the other Hondo (Rio), this Friday, Nov. 22, at Tuloso-Midway. Rio Hondo was a 52-20 bi-district winner over Corpus Christi London.

“It was just a case of the defense not being able to get off the field,” said Hondo coach Dustin Templin. “We’d get in third and fourth down situation on defense, but didn’t get enough stops. The game turned into a track meet, and we didn’t win the track meet.”

Hondo fumbled the ball away on the game’s third play, but the Owl defense held Randolph to a three-and-out. The Owls were also forced to punt, setting up the Ro-Hawks at their 29.

     A 26-yard run by Cody Howard moved the ball to midfield, then after a tackle for loss by Gabriel Sanchez, a pass from quarterback Collin Stucki to Howard went 47 yards to the endzone. Most of the yardage was called back by a holding penalty, but on the next play, Ro-Hawk battering ram Samuel Oakland, an Air Force Academy football commit, went 49 yards on a reverse for a score that counted. The PAT from Finnegan Woodruff made it 7-0 with 6:35 left in the first quarter.

     Hondo answered right back. Kaleb Coronado returned the kickoff 55 yards to the Randolph 15, and Kolten Alvarez kept it into the endzone on the next play. Leonard Cruz’s kick tied it at 7-7, and even though the Owls kept it close for most of the night, it was the only time Randolph didn’t hold the lead.

     On the Ro-Hawks’ second play, Lee McMooain went 59 yards on another reverse. Stucki, the placekick holder, faked the extra point and kept it up the middle for a two-point conversion and a 15-7 lead.

     The Owls got another good kickoff return – this one 34 yards from Devenn Palma – to the Randolph 41. Hondo took nine plays to reach paydirt. Alvarez kept it three times, with completions to Mason Barr and Layton Pope and a pair of runs from Joby Pimentel, to set up a first down at the 3. From there, Alvarez kept it for his second TD of the night. Trying to stay even on the scoreboard, the Owls’ two-point pass attempt was intercepted in the endzone, leaving the score at 15-13, with 1:50 left in the opening quarter.

With reverses working so well for the Ro-Hawks, on the kickoff return, Howard faked a reverse and took it 75 yards for another score and a 22-13 lead. 

     Making sure there was no return, Randolph tried an onside kick, which the Owls covered at the 49. On 3rd-and-9 at the 50, Alvarez found Barr for a 25-yard gain. Two Alvarez runs netted a first down at the 12, then three hard runs by Pimentel set up a 4th-and-3 at the 5. From there, Alvarez kept it again, scoring his third TD of the night. The two-point try failed, leaving the Owls behind 22-19 with 9:36 left in the half.

     Hondo’s defense got a stop, forcing a Randolph punt, but on first down, the Owls fumbled it back, setting up the Ro-Hawks at the Hondo 21.

     Stucki hit Jadin Banks for a TD pass down the middle on the first play, to make it 29-19.

     Hondo punted, and Randolph’s ensuing four-minute drive was stopped on downs, thanks to a pair of tackles for loss by Mason Martinez and Alvarez.

     With 2:06 left, senior quarterback DJ Richter guided the Owls 68 yards in eight plays. Richter found Alvarez for two completions and Kolby Gear for another. On second down at the 30, Richter connected with Barr for 25 yards. The score came on a five-yard pass to Barr with 45 seconds left, as the Owls cut the margin to 29-26 at halftime.

     To open the third quarter, the Ro-Hawks picked up one first down, but a tackle in the backfield by TJ Stanukinos left Randolph with a 3rd-and-10. Stucki found Oakland swinging out of the backfield, and he took it 36 yards for a score, extending their lead back to 10 points.

     Five plays after the kickoff, Barr, returning to his running back position for the first time in seven games, broke free for a 39-yard TD run with seven minutes left in the third. That put Hondo within striking distance at 36-33, but for the final time in the game.

The Hondo kick coverage team created a big break, with Sanchez leading the charge to trap Howard at the 5-yard line. 

     On 3rd-and-3, Randolph pulled off a huge play, drawing the Owls offside for a first down at the 17. Three straight plays resulted in first downs, reaching the Hondo 21. Then on 4th-and-5, Stucki found McMooain on a slant for the touchdown and a 43-33 lead.

Hondo picked up two first downs, both on passes from Richter to Gear, but the Ro-Hawks put the brakes on the drive. A fourth down pass from Richter to Alvarez was caught out of bounds, and Randolph took over.

     On the fourth play, the Ro-Hawks called Oakland’s number again, and he broke free for a 51-yard TD run to put Randolph up by three scores.

     The Owls drove to the house in eight plays. Richter found Alvarez for two first down completions, and Andrew Tapia ran for another.  A leaping catch by Barr at the 2-yard line set up Alvarez’s fourth score of the night with 5:55 left. 

     Hondo, which last beat Randolph a half-century ago in 1975, went for two, but the backward pass attempt blew up, and Randolph lineman Taulepeti Valai returned the loose ball the other way for two points.

     Randolph then spent the next four minutes driving to the Hondo 17. Facing 4th-and-12, Stucki hit McMooain once more over the middle for the TD, closing out the scoring.

     The Owls came through the season pretty banged up.  Thirteen players missed at least one game with an injury, with six of those being season-enders.

     “We had 17 seniors this year,” said Coach Templin, “and by midseason, five were starting. We were starting eight juniors, seven sophomores and a freshman. So we’ll be returning a lot of experience next year.

     “Off-season and summer workouts will be critical, and we’ll start after Thanksgiving.”