Apaches blank Eagles, 26-0

LULING -Both the Gonzales Apaches and Luling Eagles had adversity and good news following their game on Friday night.

For the Eagles, the bad news was they got blanked for the second week in a row in the 26-0 Apache win. The good news is they improved from their first game and showed heart in the face of a tough situation,


“I cannot be prouder that our kids did not quit one time,” said Eagles boss Mike Waldie. “We played with our hearts and played hard. We are just three weeks into a program and are not executing well.”


For the Apaches, they were not crisp and focused throughout the entire game but the better news is they have already improved from last year.


“We had a one-win campaign last year and with this win (putting GHS at 2-0), we have already passed last year,” Apache head coach Ricky Lock said.


The Gonzales defense held Luling to under 175 total yards and just seven first downs.


“The positive for us was our defense,” Lock said. “It was outstanding. Another thing we did well was run the football up and down the field. We
just could not get it into the end zone.


The Eagles had a couple of scoring chances but were denied by GHS.

“We played a great team tonight,” Waldie said. “We had the ball at their 35-yard line but did not get it done.”


He said it was not because his team did not have heart.


“Heart and effort are things you cannot coach,” Waldie said. “We can fix bad throws and mixed blocks, and there is a sense of urgency as we are 0-2.”


He said Luling will have more offensive production as the players learn to run the system.


“The new offense will click eventually. Tonight, we drove the ball and stalled or made the pass. The defense was better although we are not where we want to be,”  Waldie said. “If I had to grade us we made a D minus in Zero Week and now we get a C.”


Luling got some yards through the air as Braxton Allen hit 8-of-17 for 99 yards. He led the Eagles’ ground game with 21 yards on seven carries.

Gonzales’ run game fired on all cylinders with Mark Hastings playing the role of the running workhorse with 193 yards and a score while Kedrick Cray, who had burned Corpus Cristi Miller with 161 receiving yards, ran the ball five times for 75 yards and scored on a 53-yard run. Quarterback Evan Owens had 54 yards on the ground and was limited to three completed passes for just 43 yards.


Lock said despite a couple of interceptions and a pass to the end zone that likely should have resulted in a touchdown, the Apaches continue to get better.


“We have some guys that are still learning how to compete in the heat of the battle and we need to be tested,” he said. “This game was a good test because Luling is a rival and you can throw out the record books when the game starts.”


Both teams’ opening drives ended with interceptions.

The Apaches turned their pick into a quick 48-yard dash. Owens went to Cray for an 8-yard pass on first down to the 40 followed by three carries for 19 yards by Hastings. Evans moved GHS to the 7 on a couple of draw plays and optioned to Hastings for the 10-yard score and the 7-0 lead.


After forcing the Eagles to punt for the first of seven times, the Apaches struck again and from further out. A false start moved the Tribe back to their own 30. Cory Espinosa carried on an end-around  for 8, followed by a blistering run by Hastings to past midfield. A 15-yard run by Evans was cancelled out on a holding call that had little effect overall as Hastings had a 30-yard run to the 7 of the Eagles. Espinosa scored from the 6 two plays later for a 14-0 lead.


Near the end of the half, the home team nearly scored.  Allen hit Vince Garcia for 13 to the GHS 37 and two plays later, Allen went long to Abraham Palomo who made the catch after an Apache defender tipped the ball. He was forced out around the 5 as the halftime buzzer sounded.

The Eagles did not threaten to score again until late in the fourth quarter
when they drove inside the Apache 26. A deflected pass was nabbed by the Apaches’
Zack Lopez at the 25 and he took it the distance for a 26-0 lead.


Earlier in the quarter, Cray took over as quarterback in the wildcat
formation and ran several quarterback draw plays. He then lined up as a
regular tailback and scored on a 53-yard run behind solid blocks from
teammates including a downfield block in the LHS secondary by Donald
Cartwright.

Lock coached the 2007 Apaches in Luling and won that game 24-6.


“We were slated to be a good team and we come here and they gave us all we
could handle,” he said, “I think their team this year is better.”

GHS will return hone to face Austin Lanier while the Eagles will take on
Woodsboro.

Gonzales 26, Luling 0
Gonzales    14    0    0    12—26
Luling        0    0    0    0—0
Scoring summary
GON -- Mark Hastings 10 run (Ivan Guerrero kick)
GON -- Cory Espinosa 6  run (Ivan Guerrero kick)
GON -- Kedrick Cray 53  run (kick failed)
GON -- Zach Lopez 74  interception return (kick failed)

Team Stats
            Gon        Luling
First downs        24        7
Rushes/Yds        48-329    23-66
Passes        3-13-0        8-20-2
Passing yards    54        93
Punts-Avg        1-40    7-28
Fumbles/Lost    2/1    2/0
Penalties-yards    9-70    3-15

Individual Leaders
RUSHING: Gonzales Mark Hastings 25-193, Kedrick Cray 5-75, Evan Owens, 9-54, Zack Lopez 4-15, Cory Espinosa 2-14, Landon Lock 1-7, team 2-(-18). Luling: Braxton Allen 7-21, Cody Walleck 4-18, Billy Medford 8-14, James Davis 1-5, team 1-(-1).
PASSING: Gonzales Owens 3-13-2 43. Luling:
Allen 8-17-2 99, Dillon Farber 1-4 3.
RECEIVING: Gonzales: Jon Anthony Casares 1-27, Cray 1-8, Blake Moore 1-8. Luling:Medford 3-8, Vince Garcia 2-47, Abraham Palomo 1-37, Walleck 1-5, Davis 1-3, Marc Magallenz 1-2.