Week number 7 was one for the fans last Friday night in El Paso in local high school football circles….. KROD picked the Montwood-El Dorado match-up as the Game Of The Week, but honestly we could have picked the Franklin-Hanks contest, or the Del Valle-Parkland battle as the marquee Game Of The Week, and could have done just as well….. Montwood outlasted El Dorado 21-16 to move into a first place tie in District 1-5A with the Franklin Cougars.. Actually El Dorado controlled the game most of the night grabbing a 14-7 lead for 35 minutes of the contest. And then disaster struck! The Montwood Rams scored two touchdowns in 60 seconds connecting the third quarter to the fourth period hitting paydirt on runs of 5 and 7 yards by RB Domingo Torres. Pass interceptions by Montwood DB’s Justin Herrera and Joseph Ortega set up Torres’ two runs to glory. Domingo also scored Montwood’s first TD on a 44 yard sprint to the end zone. The (4-0-4-2) Rams travel cross town to (4-1-5-2) Coronado this Friday night in what should be a tremendous District 1-5A battle.
Don Brooks’ Coronado Thunderbirds whipped Bel Air 38-7 to improve to a 4-1 mark against the league….. Hanks QB Matt Reyes did just about everything perfectly on offense against Franklin last Friday night at home at Excalibur Stadium. Just about everything, but one play! Reyes, the Junior Knights QB ripped the Franklin defensive secondary for 320 yards and 3 TD’s, up until the last minute of the game. Then disaster struck! Trailing Franklin 36-30, Reyes drove the Knight offensive unit to the Franklin Cougars 1 yard line with just seconds to play in regulation time. Hanks Coach Jeff Cleveland was confident that the Knight’s could run the ball into the end zone from a yard out and called for a QB sneak by Reyes. Apparently, Reyes stuck the ball out trying to score on the goal line, but Franklin DL Allan Torres reached out and stripped him from the football before he could break the plane of the goal line causing a fumble. Torres also had the athletic ability to recover the fumble giving the “Black Swarm” Franklin defense its’ biggest play in the Darren Walker era at the Northwest El Paso County school. Ironically, Coach Walker did not see the game. He was in Houston to be with his young son as he underwent open heart surgery. Thank God the surgery was a success! Football is totally insignificant when a family member is facing a life or death operation. Whether Walker will be on the sideline this Thursday night when Franklin plays host to Bel Air at Thunderbirds Stadium is unknown.
Franklin stayed unbeaten in District 1-5A play with a (4-0-5-1) record going into the game with the struggling Highlanders….. In District 2-4A play, the Parkland Matadors jumped out to a 17-3 lead over Del Valle last Friday night, but lost 34-31 on Homecoming Night at a Matador Stadium.. Why? Del Valle Junior QB Jordan Baeza shredded the Parkland defensive backfield for 364 yards and a 73 yard TD pass, plus two rushing TD’s. He drove the Conquistadors’ into Edgar Salcido’s FG range as the game was deadlocked at 31-31 with just seconds remaining in regulation play. Salcido, who is a member of Del Valle’s State Championship Soccer team, calmly drilled a game winning 26 yard FG to ruin Parkland’s Homecoming Celebration. Earlier in the contest, Salcido split the uprights from 32 yards out.. It was a great comeback victory for Del Valle!.....Front running defending District 1-4A champion Austin clobbered Bowie 49-8 last Friday night at home to improve to a 6-0 overall record and a 3-0 league mark which is good enough for a first place tie with Chapin and Burges. Remarkable, Austin QB Ernest Raya has led the Golden Panthers to a 16-1 record dating back to the 2007 season. Austin probably will make it 17 out of 18 wins this Friday night against Jefferson…..
Last week, I correctly predicted winners in 13 out of 14 games to compile a 51-10 overall record for an 83.7% winning percentage. This week I’ll take Montwood over Coronado, Franklin to whip Bel Air, Hanks to defeat Americas, and Socorro to drop Eastwood. In District 1-4A play, Austin should stop Jefferson, Chapin over Burges, Andress should dump Bowie, and Irvin should beat EPHS. In District 2-4A action, Del Valle should edge Canutillo at home, Riverside should win on the road at Ysleta, Parkland should bounce back at Mt.View, and Horizon should squeak by San Elizario. In District 4-3A play, Pecos will whip Fabens, Clint will defeat Anthony, and Ft.Stockton will top Tornillo. Finally, Cathedral should post win number 5 against the Deming Wildcats. Good luck to all of the teams this week!