The San Saba High School varsity football team got its first taste of victory for the 2021 season on Friday, October 15, when the Armadillos put a 44- 12 beatdown on Winters High School at Rogan Field.
Offensively, the Dillos got the scoring off to a hot start immediately when junior quarterback Lance Taylor engineered a fantastic-looking drive that started out towards midfield. Following a couple of solid screen passes to Dillos junior wide receiver Tyler Johnson, it was Taylor who called his own number on a draw play and scampered for a 25-yard touchdown to give San Saba an early 6-0 lead with 9:49 left in the first quarter.
After the Dillos forced a quick three-and-out on defense and got the ball back, the Dillos’ offense picked up right where they left off their last drive when senior wide receiver Reagan Mejia took a screen pass from Taylor and burst 26 yards down the Dillos’ sideline to San Saba’s own 40-yard line. Following another solid run from junior fullback Tegen Saiz into Blizzards territory, Taylor connected deep with a wide-open Mejia for a 35-yard touchdown pass to increase the Dillo lead to 13-0 with 5:27 left in the first quarter.
Dillos head coach Andreas Aguirre was then successful with the trickery as San Saba recovered a surprise onside kick at midfield. The San Saba offense would later score in the quarter on a 34-yard touchdown run on first down by senior wide receiver Wesley Lackey to take a commanding 20-0 lead with 1:47 left in the first quarter.
As the San Saba defense continued to suffocate Winters and not allow them to move the ball whatsoever, the Dillo offense put together a lengthy drive in the second quarter. The Dillos would again effectively use a combination of the ground game and screen passes to push themselves through Blizzard territory. With 6:39 left in the second quarter, the Dillos extended their lead again on a run to the left by senior running back Franco Franco, who made multiple Winters defenders miss en route to a nifty 17-yard touchdown run.
Now with a 27-0 lead, a stout San Saba defense forced yet another punt from a stagnant Winters offense that wasn’t able to get anything going so far. The Dillos immediately would strike with the big play again as Taylor connected with a wide-open Lackey 65-yard touchdown pass in which he burned the Winters defender.
Down 34-0 to the Dillos with 3:29 left in the second quarter, the Winters offense was finally able to get something going heading into halftime as the Blizzards were able to engineer a great drive downfield and get themselves on the scoreboard with 32 seconds left via a short touchdown run. However, the Dillos still had themselves a 34-6 lead at halftime.
Winters would get the ball to start the third quarter and immediately was able to move the ball on the Dillos’ defense again. However, San Saba junior linebacker Zuri Herrera came up with a huge defensive play by forcing a clutch fumble in Dillos’ territory that was recovered by senior safety Drake Bryant at the 36-yard line.
On the very first play for the Dillos on offense in the third quarter, Lackey caught a screen pass from Taylor, followed some great blocking by his teammates downfield, and turned on the jets for an electrifying 64-yard touchdown pass to put San Saba up 41-6 with 10:58 left in the third quarter.
The Blizzards refused to quit and were able to drive down the field again on offense to come up with points, cutting the Dillos’ lead to 41-12 with 7:01 remaining in the third quarter.
However, the San Saba offense wasn’t done yet as the Dillos would march down the field again in the closing stages of the third quarter. Although the drive stalled, the Dillos too came up with more points as Mejia went in to kick a 26-yard field goal to put San Saba up 44-12 for good over visiting Winters.
San Saba’s stellar defense would assure there would be no scoring for Winters in the fourth quarter on a fantastic play by junior defensive end Dylan Ware, who sacked the Blizzard quarterback deep in his own territory to force a fumble that was recovered by fellow senior defensive end Leonel Aranda.
On the night, Taylor led an efficient San Saba offense with 17-of-30 completions for 268 yards passing, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Lackey was a major offensive threat throughout the night as he finished with 196 total offensive yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, Herrera led all defenders with 13 total tackles on the night, while sophomore linebacker Ethan Gonzales saw his first varsity action of the season and had five tackles and one sack.
Up next on their schedule, the Dillos (1-6 overall and 1-1 in 2A-1 District 4 play) will look to win their second game in a row and stay alive in the playoff race when they travel at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 22, to take on winless district foe De Leon High School.
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.