The San Saba High School varsity football team was outplayed on Friday, November 5, on the road by a very good Cisco High School squad as the Armadillos were routed 46-7 by the host Loboes in the 2A-1 District 4 finale for both teams.
Throughout the night, the stellar rushing attack of the Loboes was simply too much to handle for the Dillos’ defense as Cisco rushed for a whopping 353 yards on 26 carries as a team.
With the Dillos trailing the Loboes 7-0 midway through the first quarter, San Saba got its first and only score of the night on a beautiful offensive drive engineered by junior quarterback Lance Taylor. One play after a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Franco Franco was called back due to a penalty, Taylor connected with senior wide receiver Reagan Mejia on a perfectly thrown 20-yard touchdown pass in the endzone to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:15 left in the first quarter.
Unfortunately for the Dillos, the high-powered offense of the Loboes was simply too much for San Saba to handle. The Dillos’ defense was snake-bitten often by big plays from the Loboes’ offense as Cisco took a 14-7 lead into the second quarter of play.
That was as close as it got in this contest for the Dillos as the Loboes gradually added 14 points in the second quarter and 18 more points in the third quarter to take a very comfortable lead.
Offensively, although the Dillos were able to move the ball at times this game, they could not string nearly enough plays together to get the job done as a team. Taylor had 103 yards passing on 13-of-26 attempts and one touchdown pass while also rushing for a team-high 63 yards on just nine carries. Mejia had six receptions for 61 yards and one touchdown, while senior wide receiver Wesley Lackey caught five passes for 25 yards.
Defensively, sophomore outside linebacker Ethan Gonzales had a team-high nine tackles, while junior cornerback Jaxzen Mask and junior inside linebacker Zuri Herrera each made four stops of their own in the loss.
Although the Dillos limped to just a 2-8 record after beginning the 2021 season at 0-6, San Saba will head to the playoffs as the fourth seed in their district after picking up wins last month at home vs. Winters High School and on the road at De Leon High School. The Dillos will be heavy underdogs this week as they take on the 2A-1 District 3 champion Hawley High School Bearcats at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 11, in the Bi-District Playoffs held at neutral site Gordon Wood Stadium in Brownwood.
Hawley, who has a perfect 10-0 record, has been dominant for a vast majority of the 2021 campaign as the Bearcats have outscored their opponents by an eye-opening 439-42 margin over those ten games. The Bearcats clinched their district title last Friday on the road in a 24-21 victory at Forsan High School, which was the only close game they played all season so far.
Be sure to check out next week’s edition of the San Saba News & Star for more updates on Dillos and Lady Dillos varsity athletics. Sports editor Andrew Salmi can be contacted via email at salmi.courier@gmail.com or by cell phone at (818) 645-1115.