The Johnson City Eagles traveled to San Saba this past Thursday to play the 7th grade Dillos. The Dillos were ready for the challenge and looking for a fight. Johnson City won the toss and elected to receive.

Oscar Villa handled the kicking duties for the Dillos. Johnson City started with pretty good field position. The Dillo defense was poised for attack. Kolton Ellis and Gunnar Hibler made the first tackle of the game at the line of scrimmage. This got the Dillos off to a great start. Tackles by Geryn Young, Daniel Calderon, Dustin Sloan and Ruben Aguirre put the Eagles on their heels. Kelan Verette made a big hit on 4th down to stuff the Eagles and give the Dillos the ball.

The Dillos took over deep in Eagle territory. Geryn Young and Kelan Verette made a couple of 5-yard runs. Geryn Young took a pitch for a touchdown from 21 yards out. This run was possible because of the blocking of Jordan Watson, Cosme Diaz, Brian Rogers, Kelan Verette and Wesley Gates. Verette punched in the 2-point conversion behind Kristian McCoury and Ismael Ramirez - 8-0, Dillos.

Johnson City took over deep in their own territory. Big hits by Kelan Verette, Daniel Calderon and Kristian McCoury put the Eagles in a 3rd and long situation. Oscar Villa forced a fumble and Ruben Aguirre recovered it.

The Dillos took over with decent field position. However, on this drive, the Dillos couldn't get anything going. Penalties put the Dillos in the hole, so on 4th down, the Dillos punted.

Johnson City started their drive on their own 27-yard line. A mix-up in the backfield caused a fumble and Brian Rogers recovered it for the Dillos.

The Dillos took over on the Eagle 23-yard line. This drive didn't last very long for the Dillos. On the very first play, Kelan Verette ran it in from 23 yards out. Dallas Caldwell and Kolton Ellis made good blocks to spring him for the TD. Verette punched in the 2-point conversion - 16-0, Dillos.

Johnson City took over with a few seconds left on the clock. Ryan Salinas, Brandon Amstead and Daniel Calderon provided pressure on the last plays of the half. Cosme Diaz made the final tackle of the first half - 16-0, Dillos at the half.

The Dillos got the ball to start the second half. San Saba couldn't get anything going offensively on this drive. Penalties didn't help anything either. The Dillos were forced to punt.

San Saba's defense played tough this next series. Kelan Verette, Jordan Watson, Gunnar Hibler and Oscar Villa made big tackles on this series. On third and short, the Eagles tried a dump pass to their fullback in the flats, but Geryn Young was having none of that. Young picked the pass off to give the Dillos the ball.

It didn't take long for the Dillos to strike again. Kelan Verette made a run from 50 yards out to score a touchdown. He made this run behind the blocking of Asa Harbour, Ashton Krueger and T.J. Hibler. The 2-point try was no good - 22-0, Dillos.

The Dillo defense came out next series and stuffed the Eagles on three straight plays and forced them to punt. The Dillo offense took a knee and the ball game was over. Final score - 22-0, Dillos.

The 7th grade Dillos play the Dublin Lions next week in their district opener. Next week begins the push for the district title. Hope to see you there!