Javelinas hammer Mavericks in home opener

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PEARSALL FOOTBALL

Pearsall rally hampered by turnovers, three Crystal City touchdowns in fourth quarter.

A sluggish start, a key injury and a spirited Crystal City team proved to be all the ingredients needed to spoil Pearsall’s home opener last Friday as the Javelinas rolled late to take a 41-14 win at Mack Laxson Field.
Crystal City jumped out to a 14-0 lead but Pearsall was able to close the gap twice but ultimately couldn’t overcome the deficit.
“It was a slow start for us, we knew Crystal City was a competitive team and we could not give them opportunities to capitalize on and they did that to us,” PHS AD and Head Football Coach Ruben DeLeon said. “Our youth did show up at crucial points in the game and Crystal City was able to take advantage of it.
“This is a game we needed to show to our boys that good teams can not be given extra help during a game.”
DeLeon said he reminded his players this week to play within themselves and said that they will also work on cleaning things up. Pearsall overcame several penalties in their opener but were constantly flagged against the Javelinas and it hampered numerous possessions.
“We will clean this moving forward. As a staff we need to continue to preach, do your job and not try to do too much. The key thing is we need to stay within ourselves and trust the other ten men on the field will do their job as well. We can not let the moments get bigger than they are on the field.”
The Javelinas took their opening possession down the field and scored on a 40-yard run down the Pearsall sideline to take a 7-0 lead early in the first. Pearsall countered, driving down to the Crystal City 34 but the possesion stalled on a fourth down sack.

Pearsall running back Kingston Martinez tries to find room to run against Crystal City last Friday at Mack Laxson Field. Martinez scored both Maverick touchdowns in a 41-14 loss to the Javelinas. (CURRENT Photo: Manuel Azocar III)

Crystal City capitalized, moving down the field once more and went in from five yards out to build a 14-0 lead late in the first.
The Mavericks then lost starting quarterback Jarren Cabasos to a shoulder injury on their next possession. Kingston Martinez would go on to cap the possession with an 11-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Aiden Carrasco. Martinez then went it for two as the Mavs cut the margin to 14-8 with 9:38 left in the second.
A Crystal City 40-yard touchdown pass midway through the second would reclaim the two score margin for the Javelinas and held into halftime.
A defensive struggle ensued for most of the third but Pearsall finally managed to get a drive going late in the stanza and scored on Martinez’ three-yard run with 2:38 remaining in the quarter.
The two-point conversion attempt failed but the Mavs cut it to one score and trailed 21-14.
Things looked optimistic in the fourth for Pearsall as the defense stuffed a pair of Javelina drives deep into Maverick territory, but a pair of turnovers quickly saw things go south for the home team.
A Javelinas’ drive moved down the field to the 22 but was snubbed when Pearsall intercepted a pass in the endzone. Following a Maverick punt, the Pearsall defense rose up again, stopping yet another Crystal City drive at the 15-yard line. On the ensuing play, however, the Javelinas picked off an errant pass and took it the other way for a touchdown.
Pearsall threw another inteception on their next possession and Crystal City needed only one play to cash it in. Leading 35-14, the Javelinas would add a final score in the waning moments.
The Mavericks will look to turn things around this week as they renew their rivalry with the Cotulla Cowboys. The two have not met since a two-game series in 2014 and 2015 which Pearsall won via 32-0 and 27-14 decisions. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Meyers Memorial Stadium in Cotulla.