Using a ground game not seen in years, The San Saba Armadillos ran past the Ozona Lions last Friday night at Rogan Field. The Armadillos amassed 495 yards on the ground, the 2nd most in school history behind the 552 yard effort against Burnet in 1968. The Lions had 174 yards total offense.San Saba won the toss and elected to take the football. Ozona kicked off and the Dillos started at the 25 yard line. Two long runs by Allan Hale of 19 and 20 moved the ball to the Lion 31. Zack Davis broke free and scored on the 31-yard run. Rodney Ortiz added the PAT and San Saba had the early 7-0 lead.A penalty on the ensuing kickoff pushed the ball back to the 14 where Ozona started their first possession of the game. Three incomplete passes later, the Lions had to punt. Alejandro Mendez punted the ball to the Lion 42.The Armadillos ran the ball 8 times with quarterback Ryan Pannell getting the final run from 1 yard away for the score. Ortiz was good again and the scoreboard read 14-0.Ozona drove down the field to the San Saba 12 before turning the ball over on downs. On the Dillos next drive, Coach Pannell showed a new wrinkle in the offense, a “shovel pass” from Pannell to Luke Cox similar to a middle screen. The pass was good for 12 yards. Zack Davis finished the drive with a nice 51-yard run for his second touchdown of the quarter. The PAT sailed over the holder and Rodney Ortiz fell on the ball leaving the score at 20-0. San Saba had 193 yards rushing in the quarter.The Lions started the second quarter at the 32 yard line but punted after gaining one first down. The punt from Mendez rolled dead at the Armadillo 27.San Saba continued running the ball. Using six running plays and another “shovel pass,” The Armadillos covered the 73 yards. Tackle Wil Sloan reported as an eligible receiver and lined up as an extra blocker in the backfield. Sloan got the handoff and scored from 4 yards to make the score 26-0. The pass attempt try for 2-points failed.The Armadillo defense stopped the Lion offense again and the 50-yard punt from Mendez was returned to the San Saba 28.San Saba ran the ball down the field to the 11 yard line when Ryan Pannell connected with Isaac Jimenez for the scoring pass. Rodney Ortiz was good on the PAT and the score was 33-0 with 1:23 left in the first half.Ozona ran out the clock leaving the score 33-0 in favor of the Armadillos.Ozona began the second half with the ball but punted after gaining a first down. San Saba got the ball at the Dillo 43.Allan Hale got 2 rushes for 14 yards before Ryan Pannell ran a quarterback keeper around the left side and avoided tackles for a 43-yard touchdown. Rodney Ortiz kicked the PAT and the score was 40-0 with 8:03 to go on the 3rd quarter.The Lions started their best drive of the game so far. Ozona used 14 plays, mixing runs and passes to move down the field. The drive ended, however, when Luke Cox intercepted a pass from Alejandro Mendez at the 14. Cox was tackled at the Dillo 12 with 0:29.8 showing on the clock.San Saba used 8 plays to go 88 yards. Pannell got his 3rd score of the game on a good 15-yard run. Ortiz added the PAT and the lead was 47-0. Ozona finally got on the scoreboard with a 7-play, 67 yard drive. The highlight of the drive was a 51-yard pass from Mendez to Luis Soto. Mark Gallardo capped the drive with a 5-yard run for the touchdown. Gallardo added the conversion to make the score 47-7.The Lions tried and onside kick but San Saba recovered the ball at the Lion 48. Kelan Verette took over at quarterback and led the team to the Lion 13 before Ortiz came on to try a 30-yard field goal. The kick went wide to the left.The Lions ran the remaining 1:24 from the clock and San Saba had the 47-7 win. The win along with a Junction loss to Coleman left those 2 schools in a tie for 3rd in district play.The Armadillos had a balanced running game as 11 different players carried the ball. Zack Davis led them with 142 yards on 7 carries and 2 scores. Allan Hale added 109 yards on 11 tries, Sean Argote chipped in 84 yards. Ryan Pannell had 75 yards and 3 scores. Kelan Verette got 52 yards in the game. The biggest applause went to Wil Sloan on his 4-yard scoring run. Pannell completed 4 of 5 passes for 35 yards.The defense was effective in stopping the Lion rushing game and knocked down several passes. Leading the defense was Luke Cox with his interception. Adding to the effort were, Sloan, Pannell, Davis, Verette, Argote, Russell Lowe, Isaac Jimenez, Tanner Weyerts, Alex Cervantes, Juan Ortega, Jarrett Mathis Celestino Aguirre and Nathan Amstead.This week has 2 very important games in the district. Coleman travels to Sonora to determine who wins the district and the first round bye with the loser getting second. San Saba travels to Junction to determine who gets the final playoff berth. The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between Dilley and Stockdale in the bi-district round. Those two teams are tied for second in district 14. The loser falls into a 3-way for 3rd along with Nixon-Smiley and the winner of the game between Karnes City and Three Rivers. That will determine who the loser of the Coleman-Sonora game plays in bi-district. Come out to Junction and support these players as they try to make the playoffs for the 3rd straight year. Kickoff is set for 7:30.Using a ground game not seen in years, The San Saba Armadillos ran past the Ozona Lions last Friday night at Rogan Field. The Armadillos amassed 495 yards on the ground, the 2nd most in school history behind the 552 yard effort against Burnet in 1968. The Lions had 174 yards total offense.San Saba won the toss and elected to take the football. Ozona kicked off and the Dillos started at the 25 yard line. Two long runs by Allan Hale of 19 and 20 moved the ball to the Lion 31. Zack Davis broke free and scored on the 31-yard run. Rodney Ortiz added the PAT and San Saba had the early 7-0 lead.A penalty on the ensuing kickoff pushed the ball back to the 14 where Ozona started their first possession of the game. Three incomplete passes later, the Lions had to punt. Alejandro Mendez punted the ball to the Lion 42.The Armadillos ran the ball 8 times with quarterback Ryan Pannell getting the final run from 1 yard away for the score. Ortiz was good again and the scoreboard read 14-0.Ozona drove down the field to the San Saba 12 before turning the ball over on downs. On the Dillos next drive, Coach Pannell showed a new wrinkle in the offense, a “shovel pass” from Pannell to Luke Cox similar to a middle screen. The pass was good for 12 yards. Zack Davis finished the drive with a nice 51-yard run for his second touchdown of the quarter. The PAT sailed over the holder and Rodney Ortiz fell on the ball leaving the score at 20-0. San Saba had 193 yards rushing in the quarter.The Lions started the second quarter at the 32 yard line but punted after gaining one first down. The punt from Mendez rolled dead at the Armadillo 27.San Saba continued running the ball. Using six running plays and another “shovel pass,” The Armadillos covered the 73 yards. Tackle Wil Sloan reported as an eligible receiver and lined up as an extra blocker in the backfield. Sloan got the handoff and scored from 4 yards to make the score 26-0. The pass attempt try for 2-points failed.The Armadillo defense stopped the Lion offense again and the 50-yard punt from Mendez was returned to the San Saba 28.San Saba ran the ball down the field to the 11 yard line when Ryan Pannell connected with Isaac Jimenez for the scoring pass. Rodney Ortiz was good on the PAT and the score was 33-0 with 1:23 left in the first half.Ozona ran out the clock leaving the score 33-0 in favor of the Armadillos.Ozona began the second half with the ball but punted after gaining a first down. San Saba got the ball at the Dillo 43.Allan Hale got 2 rushes for 14 yards before Ryan Pannell ran a quarterback keeper around the left side and avoided tackles for a 43-yard touchdown. Rodney Ortiz kicked the PAT and the score was 40-0 with 8:03 to go on the 3rd quarter.The Lions started their best drive of the game so far. Ozona used 14 plays, mixing runs and passes to move down the field. The drive ended, however, when Luke Cox intercepted a pass from Alejandro Mendez at the 14. Cox was tackled at the Dillo 12 with 0:29.8 showing on the clock.San Saba used 8 plays to go 88 yards. Pannell got his 3rd score of the game on a good 15-yard run. Ortiz added the PAT and the lead was 47-0. Ozona finally got on the scoreboard with a 7-play, 67 yard drive. The highlight of the drive was a 51-yard pass from Mendez to Luis Soto. Mark Gallardo capped the drive with a 5-yard run for the touchdown. Gallardo added the conversion to make the score 47-7.The Lions tried and onside kick but San Saba recovered the ball at the Lion 48. Kelan Verette took over at quarterback and led the team to the Lion 13 before Ortiz came on to try a 30-yard field goal. The kick went wide to the left.The Lions ran the remaining 1:24 from the clock and San Saba had the 47-7 win. The win along with a Junction loss to Coleman left those 2 schools in a tie for 3rd in district play.The Armadillos had a balanced running game as 11 different players carried the ball. Zack Davis led them with 142 yards on 7 carries and 2 scores. Allan Hale added 109 yards on 11 tries, Sean Argote chipped in 84 yards. Ryan Pannell had 75 yards and 3 scores. Kelan Verette got 52 yards in the game. The biggest applause went to Wil Sloan on his 4-yard scoring run. Pannell completed 4 of 5 passes for 35 yards.The defense was effective in stopping the Lion rushing game and knocked down several passes. Leading the defense was Luke Cox with his interception. Adding to the effort were, Sloan, Pannell, Davis, Verette, Argote, Russell Lowe, Isaac Jimenez, Tanner Weyerts, Alex Cervantes, Juan Ortega, Jarrett Mathis Celestino Aguirre and Nathan Amstead.This week has 2 very important games in the district. Coleman travels to Sonora to determine who wins the district and the first round bye with the loser getting second. San Saba travels to Junction to determine who gets the final playoff berth. The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between Dilley and Stockdale in the bi-district round. Those two teams are tied for second in district 14. The loser falls into a 3-way for 3rd along with Nixon-Smiley and the winner of the game between Karnes City and Three Rivers. That will determine who the loser of the Coleman-Sonora game plays in bi-district. Come out to Junction and support these players as they try to make the playoffs for the 3rd straight year. Kickoff is set for 7:30.