By Miles Toogo-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
The Ruthless Wolfpack was having quite a Spring Season Tournament as an organization.
Their participation in the 12th Annual TYFA “Battle at the Border” was turning into quite a success.
The Wolfpack had won titles at the Rookies (9U) and Juniors (11U) divisions and all that remained was another opportunity at a third Championship in the Senior (13U) division.
Opposing them were the PSJA Wildcats. Their Spring season skills awarded them the second seed coming in and had managed to win both games prior, demonstrating skill and tenacity against both the RGV Javelinas and Sabertooth.
The Wolfpack had their share of triumphs in earlier rounds, winning both of their contests include upsetting the top-seed SW Dawgs.
The Senior Championship figured to be a difficult game for both.
This championship would be decided by one score, much like the Junior title game, that score was early and would hold up the rest of the game with the Wolfpack outlasting the Wildcats 8-0.
“In the beginning, we struggled a little bit, we had to take a time out and regroup a little,” said Coach Kylin Munoz. “The boys were nervous being in a Championship game, some of these boys had never been in a Championship game. We needed to keep our composure.”
“The Wolfpack provides a home for everybody, many of these boys are from all over the RGV, its for anybody that wants to come play. Many are graduating out, I’ve had many of these boys since they were babies, they’re leaving me with a Championship and that is so satisfying.”
The offensive start did need some gathering, righting the ship, the Wolfpack proceeded to work their way up field.
Quarterback Drayden Espinoza was key in getting his offense in gear. Calling the plays and making the right decisions showed his leadership skills especially when things were going as planned.
Espinoza called his own number, managing to grab 13-yards to kick start the scoring drive. Running-back Noah Buenrostro next added a 27-yard romp.
Staying with the ground game, the Wolfpack picked up another 26-yards when Luis Gonzalez streaked up the middle, stop just short of the goal-line. From there the Wolfpack jumped ahead on the next play with the 2 -yard score by Buenrostro.
“You gotta kick some gears at different times, make defenders miss,” said Buenrostros of his ability to change speeds. “Sometimes you gotto power run too, I like running that way most, like running and hitting people, making an impact. I train a lot and stay elusive and be aware of my surroundings. I could probably be faster.”
The Wolfpack went for two after the touchdown run, converting the pass-play when Espinoza hit Luis Gonzalez for the completion and the 8-0 advantage midway through the opening quarter.
Several Wildcats tried to stop the swell of running yards being grabbed with tackles by Ever Villanueva, Zackarie Nanton and Arnold Arroyo.
The Wildcats got a spark on the kickoff return. Joseph Vazquez picked up the loose ball and took it 31 yards before being stopped.
With excellent field position, the Wildcats looked for the equalizer. Starting at the Wolfpack 41, the Wildcats went to the ground-game but only managed to pick up a yard on Nathan Solis carry.
An offsides penalty moved them 5-yards closer. After Arroyo picked up three more yards, the Wildcats were helped again by another Wolfpack penalty, continuing the drive.
Now in the second quarter, Roman Reyna scampered for 5-yards as the Wildcats were moving the ball meticulously towards the Wolfpack endzone.
Deciding to go to the air from the Wolfpack 26-yard-line, Reyna threw two straight incompletions, a third down attempt fell into the wrong hand and was intercepted by Anthony Gonzalez to snuff out the promising Wildcats effort.
Other than an Espinoza to Mark Quintanilla completion for 13-yards, the Wildcats limited Espinoza and company and soon got the ball back to their offense after stops by Raul Tovar, Reyna, D’Angel De La Rosa and Rhino Martinez.
With time nearly expired, the Wildcats offense couldn’t score quickly enough and tackles by Luis Gonzalez and Aaron Cruz ended the first half with the Wolfpack ahead 8-0.
The second half saw plenty of defense as turnover on down were traded back and forth. Each team also saw penalties stifle any attempt and maintaining control of the ball or sustaining drives.
The Wildcats tried moving the ball on the ground behind the efforts of Arroyo and Fernando Sotelo but were limited by the Wolfpacks defensive skills. Among them were Cruz, Quintanilla, Patrick Arrendondo, Buenrostro, Anthony Gonzalez and Ethyn Martinez.
Cruz was a force; his line play defensively was stellar and it appeared at times the Wildcats purposely ran away from him.
“I like to read the play and focus on where the quarterback is moving and also the running-back, it’s the first thing I look for coming out of my stance,” said Cruz. “I hope I grow taller but my strength works for me, I power through people, I’ve been coached well and know now how to get pass opponents. I use a swim or a rip and work it.”
The Wolfpack offense fared no better in the second half even with the efforts of Quintanilla, Espinoza Frankie Salinas, Buenrostro and others. The Wildcats defense picked up as time was elapsing, they couldn’t afford to fall behind two scores with each second passing nearing the closure of their game.
Leading their efforts were Tovar, Nanton, Rey Reyes, Alez Aguirre, Arroyo, Victor Alvarado, Villanueva, Jorge Garcia among others.
When the final whistle sounded, the Wolfpack maintained their 8-0 lead and capture the programs thrd consecutive Championship of the day.
For winning quarterback Drayden Espinoza, he gave credit to others for the win.
“Nothing was easy today, but my offensive line really helped me a lot, without them and their blocks, I wouldn’t be much as a quarterback. I love them a lot. I work on jukes almost every day. We have a great comradery on this team, we hang out a lot every day. I love playing with this team and everyone on it.”
Coach Isaac Diez pulls double-duty for the Wildcats. Not only does he coach the Seniors, but he also leads the Junior Wildcats. To say his commitment to the PSJA Wildcats iOur fs Strong would be an understatement!
“Our go to guy was defended really well, they did a tremendous job to shut him down for the most part,” said Wildcats Head Coach Diez. “We tried to mix it up more with the Athletes we got but are a tremendous team with a great coaching staff and game-planned well against us.”
“We tried to be patient with our game-plan, to establish the run first and every yard we could get, hoping to open the passing lanes, just didn’t happen as we wanted. But we still played competitively Hats off to them. I’m proud of our efforts and of our players.”
Other Wildcats giving their all included, Antwon Estrada, Izick Luna, Benjanmin DeLeon, Joseph Vazquez, Justin De La Garza, Marcus Perez, Joan Navarro, Luis Cisneros, Juan Camacho, Jeremiah Saunders, Julian Jimenez, Grayson Rodriguez, Enrique Cordero, Tyson Leal, Adam Ramirez, Manuel Chavez, Mark Calderon and Diego Hernandez.
The Winning Wolfpack also had others contributing to the victory. They are Santiago Salazar, Kameron Briones, Rene Castaneda, Ashton Guillen, Travis McAlpine, Nicklaus Gaytan, Mark Quintanilla, Jacen Arispe, Lan DeLeon, Isaiah Valdez, Joanny Trevino, Max Stark, Justin Castillo, Alan Guzman, Gabriel Elizarraraz, Aiden Ayala, Jacoby Herrera, Daniel Gomez, Aeron Veloz, Kingston Briones, Noah Basaldua, Mark Molina and Roland Cortez.
