2012 Del Rio High School Football Playoffs

ramsdel rio news-herald | friday, november 16, 2012

2012footballplayoffs

2 – 2012 RAMS FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS Friday, November 16, 2012

By Brian ArgabrightDel Rio News-Herald

The first one ended a 15-year drought.The fourth one set a new re-

cord for the city.Now, Del Rio High School

makes its fifth consecutive trip to the football postseason and extends the longest streak in the city’s history and with a strong nucleus returning next year, the streak shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.Since the Rams’ return to

District 29-5A in 2008, the playoffs have been a regular occurance for Del Rio.In 2008, Del Rio opened its

playoff schedule against the Mission Sharyland Rattlers.Playing in D.W. Rutledge

Stadium in Converse, and bat-tling one of the coldest games

in Rams history, Del Rio fell behind early and couldn’t re-cover, falling 35-18 and ex-tending a drought for wins in the playoffs to 43 years.In 2009, Del Rio returned to

the postseason and drew the Donna Redskins at Laredo’s Student Activity Complex.With a bevy of experience

on both sides of the ball, the Rams dominated the Redskins to the tune of a 31-7 victory and captured the first playoff win in Rams history. All pre-vious wins were as the Del Rio Wildcats.Del Rio continued its win-

ning ways the next week, stopping the Edinburg Bob-cats 22-12 at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio and reaching the Region IV-5A, Div. I

Photo by Brian Argabright, File | Del Rio News-Herald

Del Rio Rams quarterback Jorge Fernandez hands the ball off to running back Gudelio Garza while fullback Oscar Sanchez moves out to block during the Rams’ first practice in August.

Drive for fiveRams extend record for consecutive playoff trips

See PLAYOFFS | Page 3

2012 RAMS FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS – 3Friday, November 16, 2012

PLAYOFFS | Page 2

Semifinals for the first time in school history.Awaiting the Rams was a trip

to the Alamodome in San An-tonio and a match-up against the 13-0 San Antonio Clark Cougars.Del Rio had no answer for

Clark’s triple option offense and saw its historic playoff run come to an end, 35-14.In 2010, Del Rio matched

the previous best streak of playoff appearances by quali-fying for the postseason three consecutive years.Once again the Rams were

scheduled to face the Mis-sion Sharyland Rattlers, but this time it would be at He-roes Stadium San Antonio.The Rattlers struck early and

often and the Rams bowed out of the playoffs, 34-7.In 2011, Del Rio set a new

city record by making its fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs.Awaiting the Rams, once

again, were the Donna Red-skins.Playing at Shirley Field in

Laredo, a field at which the Rams had already won a pair of games that season, Del Rio ran past the overmatched Redskins and rolled to a 34-7 victory to move to the Area round for the second time in three years.The Area game pitted the

Rams against the top team

in the valley - the 11-0 state-ranked Harlingen Cardinals.With both the home and vis-

itors sides at San Antonio’s Comalander Stadium packed with fans, the two teams trad-ed touchdowns and highlight reel-worthy plays for four quarters before Harlingen pulled out a 37-34 win over the Rams.While the loss ended Del

Rio’s season in the second round of the playoffs, it sparked a renewed determi-nation to return to the post-season and pick up where the 2011 team ended.This season Del Rio was

picked by several experts to contend for a district cham-pionship.Armed with an experienced

backfield and a defense loaded with heavy hitters, Del Rio won its first district championship since 1993 and claimed the district’s No. 1 seed in the Division II brackett.Their reward was a Bi-Dis-

trict playoff game against the Edinburg Economedes Jag-uars Saturday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. at Lehnhoff Stadium in Schertz.Will Del Rio reach the Area

round for the first time in back-to-back seasons or will the Jaguars pull off an upset?We’ll know the answer to

that Saturday night.

Photo by Brian Argabright, file | Del Rio News-Herald

The first captains of the season for the Rams, which opened their season Aug. 31 in Kerrville against the Tivy Antlers, were, from left, Jorge Fernandez, Claudio Arizpe, Gus Sandoval and Reymundo Gonzalez.


Del Rio Rams defensive back Claudio Arizpe (2) leaps and blocks a field goal attempt by the Carlsbad Cavemen during the first half of a game played Sept. 7 in Carlsbad, N.M. Arizpe, a senior, was a pre-season pick for District 29-5A Defensive Player of the Year.


Drought busters

2012 Rams claim first district title since 1993


Sometimes the experts know what they’re talking about.When the preseason high

school football previews hit the stands this summer the Del Rio Rams found them-selves in uncharted waters.For the first time since Steve

Hoffman assumed the reins as head coach the team was picked to finish first in Dis-trict 29-5A.Del Rio hadn’t won a district

title since 1993 under then-head coach Dave EvansThe Rams came close twice.In 2009 Del Rio finished its

district schedule with only one loss, but that loss to San Antonio Southwest meant the team would finish as the dis-trict runners-up.In 2011 Del Rio again lost

only one district game, this time to Laredo Alexander, and again the Rams had to settle for second place in the district.This year, with only seven

teams in the district and a bevy of experienced play-ers on offense, defense and special teams, the odds were heavily in Del Rio’s favor to end a district championship drought that began during President Bill Clinton’s first term in the oval office.Like every good story, the

road to a championship be-gan with that first step onto

the football field.

Aug. 31, 2012Kerrville Tivy 41, Del Rio

14So Del Rio’s first steps

weren’t its best, but you have to crawl before you can walk.Despite returning its quar-

terback, tailback and fullback and half the offensive line, Del Rio’s offense struggled to move the ball against the Kerrville Tivy Antlers.The Rams totaled only 153

yards of offense. Gudelio Garza, who’d rushed for more than 1,500 yards the season prior, was held to 85 yards and one touchdown.Meanwhile the Rams de-

fense, long a symbol of Del Rio’s toughness and tenacity, looked helpless against the precision of Tivy’s offense and quarterback Parks Mc-Neil.McNeil accounted for 270

yards of offense and six touchdowns by himself as the Antlers handed the Rams a 41-14 loss.

Sept. 7, 2012Carlsbad, N.M. 16, Del Rio

10The Rams made the first out

of state trip in Del Rio’s his-tory when they ventured into New Mexico to take on the Carlsbad Cavemen.With a hostile crowd both

See SEASON | Page 8


The Del Rio Rams make their way out their inflatable helmet tunnel prior to the second half of the team’s Sept. 14 game against the San Antonio Brackenridge Eagles. It was the Rams’ first home game of the season and the first game played on the new synthetic playing surface installed this year at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.


Photo by Mike Hanson | Contributed

Del Rio Rams first as-sistant coach Frenchey McCrea leads the Rams in a pre-game ceremony designed to motivate the team and get them ready for the upcoming game. The ceremony, which is usually held in the Rams end zone just prior to the team warming up, has become a tradition for the team and its fans.

2012 Rams Playoff Roster1 Emilio Villarreal, WR, JR2 Claudio Arizpe, WR/DB, SR3 Lucas Carroll, WR, SR5 Patricio Garza, WR/DB, SOPH6 George Torres, QB, SR7 Gustavo Sandoval, TE/LB, JR8 Andy Quiñonez, LB, SOPH9 Arturo Sanchez, DB, JR10 Michael Ponce, QB, SOPH12 Jakeb Del Toro, LB, JR13 Stephen Salinas, QB, FRESH14 Jorge Fernandez, QB, SR16 Reese Perry, QB, SR17 Mark Esquivel, K, SR18 Clay Creamer, WR, SR19 Walt Ashley, QB, FRESH20 Adam Austin, LB, SR22 Gudelio Garza, RB, SR23 Tyler Bradshaw, WR/DB, JR24 Duke Ballou, RB/LB, SOPH25 Oscar Sanchez, RB, SR

28 Aldo Chapa, WR, SOPH31 Tacho Coronado, LB, SR32 Max Lomas, DE, SR33 Keighton Dickson, LB, SR34 Raymundo Gonzalez, LB, SR35 Isaac Villarreal, RB, JR40 Rick Rivera Jr., LB, SOPH43 Lalo Esquivel, RB, JR44 Webb Ashley, DB, SOPH45 Brian Rivera, LB, JR47 Joey Jimenez, LB, SR49 Josh Moss, RB, SR50 Diego Cadena, OL, SR51 David Lee Torres, OL, SR52 Eloy Cardenas, LB, SR53 Adrian Valdez, OL, SR54 David Meza, OL, SR55 Ismael Hernandez, OL, JR56 Chris Barrera, OL/TE, SR58 Robert Valdez, OL, JR60 Cesar Arizpe, DT, JR

61 Lupe Alcala, DT, SR62 Aaron Herrera, OL, SR65 Juan Perez, LB, SOPH66 Nick Zavala, DE, SR68 Bryan Spielman, OT, SOPH69 Mark Valdez, RB, SOPH70 Abel Marquez, OL, SR71 Chris Lozano, DB, JR72 Peter Ramos, DL, SR74 Joseph Garcia OL, JR75 Kris Floyd, OL, SR77 Chris Frank, DL, SOPH78 Paul Mesta, OL, SR79 Jose Garcia, LB, SOPH80 Edgar Garcia, DE, SOPH81 Gilberto Arizpe, DE, SR85 Lazaro Quintero, WR, SOPH86 Alex Garcia, DB, JR87 Ben Hartman, TE/DE, JR88 Chris Garcia, DB, JR90 Miguel Verastigui, DT, SR94 Braxton Bradley, WR, SOPH


Photo by Brian Argabright | Del Rio News-Herald

Members of the Del Rio Rams football team are joined by the Del Rio High School’s mascot as they celebrate their first District 29-5A football championship in 19 years. Del Rio clinched the district title with a 49-0 win over the Eagle Pass High Eagles Nov. 2 in Eagle Pass.

facing them and behind them, the Rams evened the odds by jumping out to a 10-0 lead.Carlsbad countered with 16

unanswered points in the sec-ond quarter to take a 16-10 lead into halftime.Del Rio’s offense contin-

ued to struggle as the Rams totaled 163 yards of offense. Garza was held to his lowest output of the season, 53 yards, but he did manage his second rushing touchdown of the sea-son.Without the offense able to

provide the equalizer, Del Rio made the long trip back home with a pair of unwelcome pas-sengers - a 16-10 loss and an 0-2 start to the season.

Sept. 14, 2012Del Rio 28, Schertz Clem-

ens 14Maybe all the Rams needed

was a little home cooking.Playing in front of the home

crowd for the first time this season, and playing on the brand new synthetic playing surface, Del Rio picked up its first win of the season with a 28-14 win over the Schertz Clemens Buffaloes.This game meant a lot to

Hoffman as Clemens was his

last stop before accepting the Del Rio job. He served as the Buffaloes defensive coordina-tor.Garza finally got the Rams

offense on track, rushing 25 times for 240 yards and four touchdowns.The defense came alive as

well, picking Clemens off twice and shutting the Buffa-loes out in the second half.

Sept. 21, 2012Del Rio 61, San Antonio

Brackenridge 28In the Rams’ final tune-up

before the district schedule began, Del Rio was expected to have its hands full with San Antonio Brackenridge quar-terback Ramon Richards.Speedy and elusive, Richards

was already being compared to Washington Redskins quar-terback Robert Griffin III.Richards was held in check,

scoring twice and being held to less than 90 yards rushing as the Rams pounded the Ea-gles from the outset.Del Rio scored its 61 points

in three quarters before letting the reserves take care of the rest of the game.Garza followed up his first

200 yard game of the season with his second, this time

a 272-yard effort. He also scored six times to up his sea-son total to 12.

Sept. 28, 2012Del Rio 28, Eagle Pass C.C.

Winn 0The Eagle Pass C.C. Winn

Mavericks were determined to not let Garza run all over them.Too bad they forgot about

Jorge Fernandez.With Garza bottled up for

only 70 yards an no scores, Fernandez picked up the slack by rushing for a pair of scores and throwing for a third.Lalo Esquivel also scored his

first touchdown of the year.The defense recorded its first

shutout of the season as they held Winn to less than 200 yards of total offense.

Oct. 6, 2012Del Rio 34, Laredo Alexan-

der 12A poor start nearly sank the

Rams’ chances against the Bulldogs.Alexander ran back the

opening kickoff for a touch-down and then returned a Rams fumble 90 yards for a touchdown to grab a quick 12-0 lead.However that was the extent

of Alexander’s scoring as Del Rio countered with 34 unan-swered points to move to 2-0 in district play.Fernandez threw for a score

and rushed for another. Garza returned to his old form, rush-ing for 154 yards and three touchdowns.The Rams defense kept the

Bulldogs offense out of the end zone and held the usually high-powered Bulldogs to just 210 yards of total offense - well below their season av-erage.

Oct. 12, 2012Del Rio 35, Laredo United

South 21The Rams returned home and

faced a Laredo United South

SEASON | Page 5


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Photo by Brian Argabright, file | Del RIo News-Herald

Del Rio Rams linebacker Jakeb del Toro (12) celebrates the recovery a fumble against the San Antonio Brackenridge Eagles Sept. 21 at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium. Also pictured is Tyler Bradshaw.

DISTRICT | Page 8


weapon in quarterback Isaac Cabello.The speedy Cabello gouged

the Rams defense for 178 yards rushing and three touchdowns.Unfortunately for the Pan-

thers, South’s defense wasn’t as up for the task of stopping Del Rio.Garza rushed for 206 yards

and four touchdowns and Fer-nandez threw a touchdown to Claudio Arizpe as Del Rio broke open a 14-14 tie and stayed perfect at home, 35-21.

Oct. 20, 2012Del Rio 45, Laredo LBJ 12Another game, another four

touchdown showing by Gar-za.The pint-sized powerhouse

known as “G-Lo” by team-mates, coaches and fans, rushed for 169 yards and four touchdowns as Del Rio overpowered the Laredo LBJ Wolves to earn a playoff berth and stay on track for the dis-trict championship.Fernandez threw another

touchdown and backup Reese Perry came in for one series to toss a score to Tyler Brad-shaw.LBJ was only able to score

after the Rams pulled their first string defense.

Oct. 26, 2012Del Rio 36, Laredo United

26Before the season began this

game was seen by many as the one that would determine this year’s district champion.Then United’s start quar-

terback Alec Salas got hurt, Eagle Pass High upset the Longhorns, and now United was playing to keep its dis-trict title hopes alive.Del Rio didn’t take control

of the game until the fourth quarter as the Rams played from behind for most of the contest.Longhorns backup Derek

Esparza hurt the Rams with his arm and his legs, but the United defense couldn’t hold

the Rams back for very long.The two teams combined for

more than 1,000 yards of total offense, but it was a defen-sive play - an interception by Bradshaw late - that set up the final score that put the Long-horns away.Garza nearly reached the

300-yard mark as he rushed for 292 yards and four touch-downs.His final touchdown, a 43-

yard jaunt that saw him run through, around and away from United defenders, came with 43 seconds left in the game.

Nov. 2, 2012Del Rio 49, Eagle Pass

High 0Eagle Pass talked a good

game leading up to the annual meeting against the Rams, but it was Del Rio that let their actions speak loudest.The Rams jumped out to a

21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back as Del Rio secured its first district cham-pionship in 19 years with a 49-0 win over the Eagles in their own stadium.An Eagle Pass team hasn’t

scored against Del Rio since the 2010 season.Garza entered the game

needing 191 yards to break the Rams single-season rush-ing record set in 11 games in 1993.He did that and more as he

rushed for 198 yards in three quarters of play. He also scored five more touchdowns to push his season total to 32.Garza had already set the

single season scoring record earlier in the year, but his five touchdowns gave him 192 points for the season.Del Rio’s defense made sure

that none of the offensive show of strength was wasted as the Rams held Eagle Pass to only two plays of 10 yards or more, a total of eight first downs with two of those com-ing via penalties against Del Rio, and a total of 91 yards of offense.


Del Rio Rams fullback Lalo Esquivel (43) and guard Robert Valdez (58) prepare to charge into Laredo Alexander’s defensive line and make some space for running back Gudelio Garza.



Del Rio Rams quarterback Jorge Fernandez (14) and center Aaron Herrera (62) work on snapping the ball prior to the start of Del Rio’s game against the Laredo LBJ Wolves.

Rams look to tame Economedes Jaguars


An unfamiliar foe awaits Del Rio in the first round of the 2012 football playoffs.In Del Rio’s last four trips to

the playoffs they’ve opened up against either Mission Sharyland or Donna.This year, competing in Class

5A, Division II, the Rams will open up the playoffs against the Edinburg Economedes Jaguars.This will be the first time

these two teams face off against one another.The teams also don’t have

any common opponents this season, so it’s not easy to judge how either team will perform when they meet each other Saturday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. at Lehnhoff Stadium in Schertz.One thing is for sure, and

that’s the Jaguars love to run.Despite finishing fourth in

District 30-5A, the Jaguars

See PREVIEW | Page 11

only lost three games by a touchdown or less. Their other loss was a 21-point shellack-ing at the hands of Donna, who finished second in the district.So the Jaguars enter Satur-

day’s Bi-District game with an overall record of 6-4 and a district record of 4-4. They’ve also lost two of their last three games and only qualified for the playoffs by beating La Joya Palmview and having Donna beat La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.There is one thing to remem-

ber when talking about the Jaguars - they haven’t been around very long.Economedes’ football pro-

gram has only been in exis-tence for 11 years. In that span they’ve qualified for the play-offs twice, first in 2004.This season the Jaguars

weren’t expected to do much. Most experts had them pro-jected to finish well outside of the playoffs, usually in sixth or seventh place.It’s easy to understand why.

Last season the Jaguars didn’t win a single game.However that was then and

this is now, and this is a tough and dangerous Economedes team.The Jaguars average 33

points per game and have bro-ken the 30-point barrier six times including twice during losses.Economedes does most of its

damage on the ground.The Jaguars like to run the

ball, and they do it with great success behind an offensive line that returned four starters.A trio of backs including

Tony Izaguirre, Rey Ramos and Bubba Villarreal have combined for more than 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns this season and help fuel the Jag-uars’ ground attack.In their last game against

La Joya Palmview, Izaguirre had 127 yards and two touch-downs, Ramos had 152 yards and one touchdown, and Vil-larreal had 190 yards and two

touchdowns.The Jaguars do have a bit of

a problem on defense, though.Economedes allows an av-

erage of 25 points per game. Twice they surrendered more than 50 points in a contest.Del Rio enters Saturday’s

game as the favorite for a va-riety of reasons.First of all, the Rams are an

experienced playoff team.This is the Rams’ fifth con-

secutive playoff appearance and they’re looking to reach the Area round for the third time four years.Secondly, the Rams are

stacked with returning all-dis-trict performers on both sides of the ball.Leading the way on offense

is senior running back Gude-lio Garza.Known by the simple nick-

name of “G-Lo”, Garza re-wrote the Del Rio record books this year by rushing for more than 1,700 yards and scoring 32 touchdowns.He runs behind an experi-

enced offensive line that in-cludes center Aaron Herrera, guards Robert Valdez and Adrian Valdez and tackles Jo-seph Garcia and Paul Mesta. The line also gets a boost from Kris Floyd as he’s spent time at tackle during the season.Garza has also gotten lots

of help from his fullbacks in-cluding Lalo Esquivel, Oscar Sanchez and Isaac Villarreal.Del Rio’s wide receivers

have also shown they can be game changers this season whether it’s Lucas Carroll, Gus Sandoval, Tyler Brad-shaw or Claudio Arizpe.If Del Rio has a weakness it’s

at quarterback, but even that is misleading.Senior Reese Perry is fill-

ing in for the injured Jorge Fernandez. And while Perry doesn’t have the number of starts that Fernandez does, he has been the No. 2 quarter-back the past two seasons and ran much of the offense dur


See DEFENSE | Page 12

PREVIEW | Page 10


Del Rio Rams head coach Steve Hoffman, flanked by Cesar Arizpe (60) and Nick Zavala (66), gives the Rams salute following Del Rio’s win over Laredo Alexander. Hoffman has been Del Rio’s head coach the past six years and has taken the Rams to the playoffs the past five years. In 2009 he became the first Rams coach to earn a playoff win and he’s guided Del Rio to the Area round of the playoffs in two of the past three years.


DEFENSE | Page 11


Del Rio Rams running back Gudelio Garza breaks away for a big gain against the Eagle Pass High Eagles. This year Garza set a Del Rio High School record for yards rushing, touchdowns and points scored in a season.

ing Del Rio’s 7-on-7 seasons these past two summers.Del Rio’s offense averages

34 points per contest and has scored 35 points or more in its last four games.Del Rio is also on an eight-

game winning streak.Defensively, the Big Blue

Wrecking Crew has certainly lived up to its name.While the unit hasn’t had as

many sacks as in years past, they’ve continued to be one of the toughest defenses in the region.The Rams allow 17 points

per game, but in the second half they tend to wear teams down and cut opponents’ out-put by half.Del Rio’s defense is led by

seniors Claudio Arizpe and Raymundo Gonzalez.Arizpe leads the defensive

backs, which also includes Tyler Bradshaw, Gus Sando-val and Patricio Garza.Gonzalez is a returning first

team linebacker and is joined at the position by Brian Ri-vera and Jakeb Del Toro. The group has also gotten plenty of work from Rick Rivera Jr. and Andy Quiñonez.Del Rio’s defensive line be-

gan the year raw and inexper-enced, but it has blossomed into a frightful squad that includes Nick Zavala, Ben Hartman, Edgar Garcia and Gilberto Arizpe.The Rams also excel on spe-

cial teams thanks to the leg of senior Mark Esquivel.Esquivel is the Rams’ triple

threat on special teams. He’s the kickoff specialist, handles all place kicking duties and serves as the team’s punter.If the Rams get off to a hot

start on Saturday, and if they can control Economedes’ run-ning attack, expect Del Rio to make a deep run into this year’s playoffs and finish the season with double digits in the win column.

2012 Del Rio High School Football Playoffs

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