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The Brahmas struck first, during their second drive of the game, when Randy Vega connected with Travis King for a 36-yard touchdown pass which initially bounced off of the receiver’s hands before it was caught. H.M. King led 7-0.
Mission answered right back with a 4-yard run which capped a three play drive and was set up by a 57-yard run. The game was now deadlocked at 7-7.
Larry Ochoa thwarted a Rattler drive, early in the second quarter, with an interception which set up H.M. King at their own 31-yard line. The Brahmas put together an eleven play drive that ended when Marc Cavazos - on fourth down and one - caught a Vega pass, kept his balance while threading the sideline and ran for a 35-yard touchdown giving the Brahmas a 14-7 lead.. Four plays prior, Brahma Head Coach Andrew Hrncir went for it on fourth and one while his team was at their own 40-yard line.
“We did not want to put our defense on the field more then we had to so we decided to go for it and we got them both,” he said.
Playing on defense, Cavazos recovered a Rattler fumble killing their march and giving the Brahmas possession at their own one-yard line. H.M. King, however, lost the ball on a fumble a few plays later and the Rattlers recovered. Mission scored the very next play on a 6-yard run and the score was now tied at 14-14 going into halftime.
The Rattlers took a 21-14 lead after scoring on a 63-yard run early in the third quarter. An interception returned for a touchdown and a 24-yard run for another tally gave Mission a three score lead of 35-21. Kyle Cantu broke off a 53-yard run to bring the score to 35-20 after a missed extra point. Mission scored their final touchdown on a 43-yard run. Vega threw his third touchdown pass of the night, of 12 yards, to Nick Garcia.
“They (Mission) did not make any adjustments, we had (defensive) plays but did not wrap them up when we should have and our guys got tired,” Hrncir said. “It is something we have to keep working on and we have three weeks to do so but we are going to be alright.”
Hrncir said his team succumbed more to exhaustion as many of his top players see little time off the field.
“We came in with the right schemes defensively, we were not going to let them run it down our throats,” he said. “If they were going to get us they were going to have to do it on big plays. That first half they made two big plays and scored on them but we still played decently against them tonight.”
Artaveus Hayes, injured in the third quarter, may not see any action for a while.
“He sprained his ankle again and will be out at least two weeks I am thinking,” Hrncir said. “We may not even think about playing him until district.”
H.M. King hosts Corpus Christi Miller (September 28) before going into a bye week (October 5). Their district opener is at Flour Bluff October 12.
“We are getting better and that is something I told these kids from the beginning,” Hrncir said. “Every week we need to improve before district starts and we will be okay.”