A week ago this past Thursday, September 23, the JV Armadillos were defending their own turf against the Vikings of Lago Vista. The game started out great defensively with Juan Carlos Garcia recovering a fumble for the Armadillos. The offense did not advance the ball and ended up giving it right back also on a fumble. Again, after a couple of plays Juan Carlos Garcia recovered number 2. Our offense was not driving against their defense. A pass was completed for a touchdown, but was brought back by a penalty and Lago Vista got the ball back again. Once again, another run by the Vikings ended up in a fumble and guess who…Juan Carlos Garcia recovered number 3 in the first quarter and 4 total for the game of the century. Finally, the offense moved the ball just enough to reach the two yard line. The ball was handed to Kelan Verette who ran through the left side to score for the Armadillos. The two point conversion was attempted and two calls by the officials resulted in no points. The first quarter ended with the score San Saba 6 – Lago Vista 0.

In the second quarter, our offense still struggled and our defense played great. Eventually the Vikings put together a scoring drive and found the end zone to even up the score. The point after kick was blocked by Moises Vega keeping the score 6-6. This would end up being the halftime score.

The third quarter opened with 3 plays and a punt by the offense. A good punt and a penalty kept the ball deep in Viking territory where our defense kept the other team in check. Eventually, the offense advanced to the 25 yard line, or so. JT Mathis dropped back to pass and Juan Ortega received the ball in the end zone for the second Armadillo score. Moises Vega attempted to kick for another point, but the attempt failed. With San Saba leading 12-6, both defenses held their own way into the fourth quarter. Another Viking turnover gave the Armadillos the ball again on the opponent’s 35 yard line with under four minutes remaining in the game. Our offense was trying to run basic plays to get at least one first down and to run the rest of the time off the clock. As the quarterback turned to toss the ball to the running back, it slipped and rolled out on the ground and Lago Vista recovered on about their own 44 yard line and 3:15 left on the clock. Slowly but surely, the Vikings ran left, ran left, and kept running left. Only a couple of plays to the right and a pass to the right at the goal line with thirty seconds remaining gave the Vikings the six points to tie. An accurate kick on the point after try gave them the lead 13-12 and only seconds left. Long passes were attempted but no catches resulted and time expired. San Saba lost a close one. Our next game is this Thursday, October 7, at Harper at 6:00. We look forward to seeing you.