Wolves break mustangs

By Manuel Azocar III - Sports Writer/Managing Editor | October 2, 2024

DISTRICT 15-3A, DIVISION II FOOTBALL

Dilley blasts Natalia 64-19, exact measure of revenge for previous losses.

Shaking off a bit of rust following its bye week, Dilley brushed off a slow first half with 44 second half points in a 64-19 rout of Natalia last Friday at Gosch Field in the District 15-3A, Division II opener.
Looking to put the Mustangs in their place after Natalia had previously won four of five outings since 2019, including a pair of wildly lopsided wins in 2019 and 2020, the Wolves came out with a strong defensive effort in the second half and forced six turnovers.
Dilley has now outscored the Mustangs 106-19 over the last two meetings.
“We came out a little slow on defense but on offense we were fine,” DHS AD and Head Football Coach David Silva said. “We came out in the second half totally different and really shut them down.
“We did what we wanted to do; right now, our run game is tough and we’re getting stronger every week but we still need to work on our pass game.”
The Wolves’ dominant effort is visible in the stat line as Dilley rolled up 563 yards of offense and 25 first downs while Natalia was limited to 268 yards and eight first downs.
Dilley ran for 472 yards and passed for an additional 91 yards. Natalia’s offense came largely through the air as the Mustangs kept passing the ball even as the game was well out of hand.
“We just need to keep building,” the coach said. “It just gets tougher every week now.
“Right now we’re healthy and that’s a big plus.”
The Wolves got touchdowns from Jacob Lopez, Bubba Reyes and Isaiah Lambert in the first half. Lopez hauled in a 35-yard pass from quarterback Johnny Rodriguez while Reyes ran in from 13 yards out and Lambert reeled in a 20-yard reception from Rodriguez as Dilley led 20-13 at the half.

Dilley quarterback Johnny Rodriguez executes a play-fake and rolls out to pass during the Wolves’ 64-19 rout of Natalia last Friday at Gosch Field. Rodriguez had a pair of passing touchdowns for Dilley in their district opener. (Photo courtesy: Janet Castaneda)

The Wolves erased any ideas of a close contest to open the third as they blitzed the Mustangs for three consecutive scores to open the second half.
Lambert went in from 20 yards out, Reyes broke off a 41-yard touchdown run and Lambert then added a ten-yard score as the lead ballooned to 38-13.
Natalia managed a 67-yard touchdown pass on a broken coverage play to cut it to 38-19 but the defense then put the clamps on, pitching a shutout the rest of the way.
Dilley scored four times in the fourth but by no means did they run up the score as one touchdown was a 61-yard burst from Lambert while two others were defensive scores as Reyes took an interception 22 yards for a touchdown and Lopez went 58 yards the other way for another pick-six play.
Backup running back Jesse Hernandez then added a seven-yard touchdown run.
The bulk of the Dilley scoring spree came as the offense took advantage of six turnovers, two fumbles and four interceptions, two of which went for scores.
Lambert and Reyes did the bulk of the offensive damage with Reyes rushing for 163 yards and two touchdowns while Lambert had 187 total yards of offense, including 150 on the ground and three touchdowns. He caught two passes for 37 yards and another score.
Lopez also finished with 106 yards of total offense, rushing for 52 yards and hauling in two receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Rodriguez was four of nine passing for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
The Wolves also had four other ballcarries combine for 107 rushing yards on only 10 combined carries and a touchdown.
Juan Garcia led the defensive effort with ten total tackles and an interception. Reyes added eight tackles, an interception for a score and a fumble while Jesse Hernandez had six total tackles.
Lopez finished with four tackles and an interception for a touchdown while Rodriguez had five tackles and a fumble. Leve Lopez also tallied five tackles, including one for a loss.
Dilley will hit the road this week as they take on the district’s wild card team in the San Antonio Young Mens Leadership Academy Lions. The school opened in 2015 but did not field a football program until 2020 when they played in only a pair of games, going 1-1. They competed at the Class 4A level for four years and made the playoffs three times, losing by a combined total of 192-7 to powerhouses such as Cuero in 2021, Wimberley in 2022 and Navarro in 2023.
This year, YMLA is 1-3 for the year, losing 27-0 to Brady, 45-7 to Crystal City and 42-7 to Stockdale. The Lions’ only win was a 28-14 decision over San Antonio Kennedy.
“YMLA is a finesse-type of team,” Silva said of the Lions. “We need to tackle in space and can’t let them get out in the open space. We also need more consistency from our special teams.”
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the SAIDS Sports Complex next to Burbank High School.