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Pearsall rolls to lopsided 50-20 win over Lytle to improve to 5-0 for first time in five years.

PEARSALL MAVERICKS FOOTBALL

Pearsall rolled to a 50-20 non-district decision over Lytle last Friday, improving to 5-0 for the season for the first time since 2017.

The Mavericks came out of the gates quickly, taking an 8-0 lead with just over two minutes gone in the opening stanza but only led by ten, 24-14 at the half. They would turn it around in the third and quickly put the game away with a refocused second half effort.

“We executed in the third quarter to near perfection and refocused on what we had to do as a team to pull away from Lytle,” PHS Head Coach Ruben De Leon said. “One of the biggest lessons we learned was that we cannot overlook an opponent or play down to their level.

“We must continue to play at a high level no matter the situation of the game.”

After taking the quick lead in the first, things turned for Pearsall as Lytle took advantage of several Maverick penalties to cut into the margin and make it 8-7 with 4:22 to play in the first.

Pearsall quarterback Matt Hughes would regroup his team and tacked on a pair of short scoring runs as the Mavericks quickly regained control and surged to a 24-7 lead. He went in from a yard out to close the first and added a two-yard run with 1:23 remaining in the half. While leading 24-7, the Mavericks were inconsistent on offense and surrendered too many big plays on defense in the first half.

That effort would be punctuated late in the half as Lytle needed less than a minute to cut into the Maverick lead, scoring on a 15-yard strike with six seconds remaining in the half.

Pearsall came out in the second half with a more determined effort and quickly put things away with a 20-point burst in the third.

Joey Ramirez scored the second of his two touchdown on a 45-yard scamper 38 seconds into the third. A two-point conversion by Elijah Luna put Pearsall ahead 32-14.

Ramirez would score on a 56-yard run on the Mavs’ next series but the play was called back on a holding penalty. Hughes added scoring runs of 22 yards and a yard in the third as the Pearsall lead ballooned to 44-14 at the end of the quarter.

Reserve running back Eddie Martinez would cap the Pearsall scoring 29 seconds into the fourth as he broke off a 44-yard touchdown following a Lytle turnover to make it 50-14 with 11:31 remaining.

The Pirates would add a cosmetic score late in the game as Pearsall would take the 50-20 victory.

Hughes led the offensive effort with 114 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. He rushed for 59 yards and four scores and went five of eight passing for 55 yards.

Ramirez added 131 yards on 13 carries and finished with a pair of touchdowns. He has now rushed for 1,021 yards for the season and has 16 touchdowns. That is the most since Meme Cuevas ran for 1,381 yards in 2018 and most touchdowns since Oscar Cubriel had 15 in the 2017 season.

Pearsall rushed for 355 yards on the night as Martinez rushed for 54 yards on three carries and had a touchdown. Kingston Martinez added 39 yards on nine carries and Elijah Luna tallies 35 yards on 11 carries.

Luna also hauled in three receptions for 19 yards while Ramirez added 29 yard catch and Corbin Norris hauled in one for seven yards.

Pearsall will turn its attention to Stockdale this week in the final non-district contest of the season. The Class 2A, Division I Brahmas are 4-1 this season having lost only to 1-4 Falls City via a 32-20 decision. Stockdale has notched wins over Ingram Moore, Karnes City, Yorktown and Freer.

“The biggest goal going into Stockdale is, of course, to play better than the last game we played and continue to build on momentum before our first district game,” Coach De Leon said of this week’s outing. “The other goal we want to see as a staff is to clean up any issues we are having on offense and defense.”

Game time for the contest is 7 p.m. at Bobby Russell Stadium in Stockdale.