Yarbrough’s 30-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining lifts the Dillos past the Rogers Eagles 24-21.
Friday night's ball game at Rogan Field was a tough hard-fought matchup that literally came down to the last few seconds. The #6 state-ranked Armadillos battled the 3A Rogers Eagles back and forth all evening and were able to extend their winning streak at the "Graveyard" to 10 games in a row. The win also extends their regular season winning streak to 22 games.
It was the ground game that took the Dillos into the win column Friday night. San Saba ran the ball 45 times for 264 yards (5.8 avg), and all 3 touchdowns were rushing attempts.
Leading the way for the Dillos was running back Stone Sears. Sears ran the ball 29 times for 227 yards (7.8 avg) and 2 rushing touchdowns. QB Risien Shahan had 35 yards rushing on 13 attempts (2.6 avg) and one rushing TD. Shahan completed 4 passes on 9 attempts (44%) for 79 yards with one interception.
Logan Glover had 2 receptions for 30 yards along with Lance Taylor and Reagan Mejia with one reception as well. Mejia’s 45-yard catch late in the 4th quarter helped set up the game winning field goal.
We can’t throw out all these offensive stats without mentioning Justin Yarbrough. Yarbrough went 3 for 3 on extra points and had one field goal from 30 yards out to win the game.
Defensively, San Saba had a “bend, but don’t break” kind of night. Rogers stuck with their triple option style offense that relied on ball control and limited, but timely passes. Technically, the defense only gave up 2 touchdowns (one TD was a punt return). An interception by linebacker Justin Yarbrough in the end zone, and several 4th down stops, showed that San Saba will be counting on the defense throughout the season. Leading the team in tackles this week was Landon Yarbrough (15 tackles, 1 sack); Bladen Calley (13 tackles, 1 sack); and Logan Glover (10 tackles).
Game Recap 1st Quarter
1:13 – Rogers returns a punt 43 yards for the 1st score of the game. PAT is good 7-0 Rogers.
:59 – RB Stone Sears turns out a 70-yard rushing TD to get the Dillos on the board. PAT is good; 7-7.
At the end of the 1st quarter San Saba 7, Rogers 7
2nd Quarter
3:50 – San Saba drives the ball to the 20-yard line; from there, Sears gets his 2nd TD of the game. PAT is good; 14-7 San Saba.
At halftime, San Saba leads 14-7.
3rd Quarter
3:50 – Rogers capitalizes on a Dillo interception and drive the ball 50 yards for the score. PAT is good; 14-14.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, San Saba 14, Rogers 14
4th Quarter
6:55 – Rogers takes their 1st lead of the game on a 30-yard rushing play. PAT is good; 21- 14 Rogers.
3:14 – San Saba drives the ball 60 yards to the 3-yard line. From there, Shahan goes in for the score. PAT is good; 21-21.
:05 – The Dillos force the Eagles to punt, and San Saba gains just enough yards to put them in field goal position. Yarbrough’s 30-yard field goal seals the victory for San Saba.
Final score: San Saba 24; Rogers 21
Week 3 Matchup:
San Saba vs Mason Week 3 of the high school football season sees a return of an old rival to the Armadillo schedule, the Mason Punchers. It has been seven years since the Dillos and Punchers have squared off on the gridiron, but both teams have played each other 54 times dating back to 1924. Only two other teams have played San Saba more times than the Punchers: Goldthwaite -102 and Llano - 55. Here is some useless (but always good to know) facts about the two teams.
Series Record
Mason leads the overall series 30-21-3 and are the winners of 6 of the last 7 contests. There has been limited success for the Dillos playing at the Puncher Dome. San Saba is a dismal 3-15-1 at Mason and hasn’t been in the win column there since 1973 (tied in 1983).
Enrollment
San Saba – 201
Mason – 223
Classification
San Saba - 2A Division 1
Mason – 2A Division 1
Last Week’s Game
San Saba (2-0) 24; Rogers 21
Mason (0-2) 6; Comfort 30
What’s on the Line
Lots of pride and bragging rights will be given to the winner of this game. San Saba is looking to break a 47-year winless drought in Mason and go 3-0 to start the season for the 3rd consecutive year. A win for Mason would get them back into the win column and be a big motivational gain for the struggling Punchers.
Last week’s scores around the District
#4 Cisco - 14, #4 (3A) Wall-35
Winters - 19, Eldorado - 51
Coleman - 14, Anson - 38
Goldthwaite - 14, Cross Plains - 28
Deleon - 7, (#4) Windthorst - 55
San Saba 2-0
Cisco 2-0
Coleman 1-1
Winters 0-2
Goldthwaite 0-2
DeLeon 0-2