Two early turnovers turned into 14 quick points for the visiting Mustangs who were coming off a 14-6 loss at the hands of the Eagle Pass Eagles last week.
Unfortunately for both the Eagles and the Mavs, both Aaron Morales and Jaime Vargas, the two starting QB's for both Eagle Pass squads were lost for the season with knee injuries (See a featured article on the two new QB's for both EPHS and Winn now at www.thenewsgramonline.net) and Ricky Flores was called upon to take over the reigns of the Maverick offense.
Neon Deion Alonso continued his tear through 2012 competition as the Super Soph is replacing Winn all-time leading rusher Luvin De Leon, and sporting Luvin's #28 proudly as he turned in yet another 100+ yard rushing performance including a 73-yard TD run early in the second half showcasing his elusiveness and breakaway speed in the open field. Alonso's success this season can be attributed to the fantastic play of his offensive line anchored by big #77, center Kevin Canizales, plus guards Oscar Lara and Cruz Gutierrez and tackles Daniel Ardila and Gabriel Gutierrez.
The two point conversion was no good making the score 14-6.
The ensuing kickoff was pooched by the Mavs ho were trying to take advantage of the element of surprise as well as a stiff wind when Raul Tovar recovered the kickoff giving the Mavericks the ball back at the Nixon 33 yard line.
Shifty Kevin De Luna wound his way through the Green and Gold defense taking the rock to the 14 yard line and Alonso took it into the endzone on a fourth down play to make it Nixon 14, Winn 12. The Mavs went for two again, but a pass intended for Carlos Cerezo fell incomplete.
The Maverick defense managed a good sequence even sacking Nixon quarterback Ralph Perez followed by an outstanding breakup of a Perez pass by Erik Maldonado and Pedro Elizondo which forced the 'Stangs to punt the ball away.
The Mavericks were unable to take the lead and the Mustangs sustained a drive which took time off the clock and despite some quality stops by Maverick defenders Lupe Lopez and big Steven Garcia, the Nixon offense was able to capitalize on a TD pass to Ritchie Rendon to put the Mustangs up 21-12 at the half.
The Mustangs got the ball first in the second half but were thwarted on their first possession against the wind behind stiff defensive play by the Silver & Black Attack's Mark Perez, Emilio De Los Santos and Jose Luis Flores.
The Mavs took over on their own 40 and came back with Chris Cantu under center who showed his running skills and his passing ability as he along with Alonso, moved the Winn "O" down the field which ended in a 28 yard strike to wide receiver Carlos Cerezo to put the Mavericks within 3 at 21-18.
Unfortunately for the Mavs, this would be all the offense they would muster and the Mustangs scored twice more not including a 43 yard field goal to take the victory 38-18.
"It's One of those situations where we were down early, down 14-0 before we ran our fourth offensive play, so we made a comeback and went for two, so instead of being tied 14- all we were down by two and they scored right before the half," stated Maverick Head Coach George Ruiz, "Then we scored in the third quarter with seven to go in the game we were down by six when we mishandled a kickoff after their field goal giving us bad field position and we three and outed."
The Mavericks take on the Hondo Owls on Friday night in Hondo. The Owls are alos coming off a 28-14 loss to the Medina Valley Panthers last week.
Ruiz had this to say about Hondo, "The Owls are a solid football team so we're in for a challenge, but if we play error-free ball, we have a chance of coming back with a victory."
