Eagles soar past Broncos, 48-37

Published October 20, 2012 12:00am by Josie Musico

Good news is that fans on both sides of the Terry-Hockley County line anticipating a close match from their top rivals weren’t disappointed.

Bad news is that Bronco fans wanting a win and its accompanying guaranteed district championship certainly were.
The Meadow Broncos (6-2) suffered a heartbreaking 48-37 loss to Ropesville Friday after trading leads with the Eagles a half-dozen times.

Head Coach Kent Allison said he was disappointed his Broncos seemed to have lost the self-confidence that had helped them nail recent victories against tough opponents Follett, Nazareth and Anton.

"We didn’t play fast, and we didn’t play with the enthusiasm we’d been playing with,” he said. "I don’t know why we doubted ourselves after the way we played the last three games.”

The Broncos recovered the ball from the Eagles’ 10-yard line early in the game and scored on a 30-yard run by junior running back Jonathan Flores. They were down 6-8 after an Eagle touchdown run, then back up 14-8 at the end of the first quarter after a pass from seniors Christian Herrera to Rafael Urias in the end zone.

The home team stayed ahead most of the second through another touchdown run by Flores and a pass from Urias to senior Evan Esparza for a 29-28 halftime lead. They were soon behind again when Ropes sophomore Jovan Molina scored on a long run early in the third, then back up after a full two minutes of fumbled passes finally started to go their way and Herrera successfully threw to Urias past the goal line.  

They maintained a 3-point lead until five minutes were left on the clock, when the Eagles turned the scoreboard around with a run by sophomore Lawrence Cruz. Cruz scored again on a longer run three minutes later to seal the Ropes victory.

The loss was particularly upsetting given the significance of the game. With only easier opponents Whiteface and Lubbock-Harmony and a bye week left on their schedule, a Ropes win would have pretty much guaranteed the district trophy to stay at Meadow. The Broncos will almost certainly be runners-up in district, though, and could still have a chance at the championship if they win their next two games and Ropes loses at least one, then defeat both Ropes and Anton in a tie-breaker.

The Broncos will be back on the road next Friday to face Whiteface. For a preview of their fight against the Antelopes, see Wednesday’s issue of the Brownfield News.