As of late, momentum has hurt Cigarroa as it entered the contest on a three-game skid. The Toros have failed to capture momentum when they needed to the most in their recent skid.
Over the last four matchups against Sharyland, Cigarroa has been outscored 154-30 with an average margin of victory of 31 points. So, the Toros felt like a fast start would give them a chance to beat the Rattlers. And while Cigarroa did have a good start — it scored a touchdown on its first offensive possession — it lost momentum and never regained it as it fell 42-17 to open district play.
“The sideline was good. The vibe was good after that early touchdown,” Hein said. “It took our defense some time to adjust to (Sharyland’s) team speed. If we can start every game like that, I will be one happy man.”
Cigarroa (1-4, 0-1 District 16-5A II) ran the ball well against Sharyland (3-2, 1-0) as it gained 254 yards on the ground. The rushing attack allowed the Toros to gain an early lead. But what made them lose momentum Thursday was their first pass attempt.
After a methodical touchdown drive to open the game, Sharyland tied the game at seven apiece. Yet again, Cigarroa put together another solid drive and looked well on its way to retaking the lead early in the second quarter as it got to the Rattlers’ 18-yard line. However, Sharyland forced the Toros into a fourth-and-2 situation with 9:33 left in the first half. Instead of running ball — which was effective for Cigarroa up to that point — it decided to throw the ball and the pass was swatted down. From there, the Rattlers captured the momentum of the game and never relinquished it.
“We got what we wanted on that fourth-and-2 play,” Hein said. “It was an RPO. We were open. They just made a good play to bat that ball. It was part of the game plan. That was our fourth-and-2 play.”
Not only did failure to regain momentum hurt Cigarroa, so did big-time plays. Sharyland had seven plays of 20 yards or more. The Rattlers had 404 total yards in the win.
While the Toros may have lost their fourth straight game, they had their best offensive performance since their 35-28 Week 2 loss to Nixon. In its previous two games, Cigarroa only scored seven total points and couldn’t move the ball well.
The Toros’ offense gained 332 yards in the loss. They were led offensively by quarterback Hector Solis and Swiss Army knife Alex Guzman. Solis ran for 142 yards and a score while Guzman rushed for 113 and a touchdown. Solis also finished 9 of 11 for 78 yards through the air.
Cigarroa scored first thanks a 14-yard run by Solis with 4:59 left in the first quarter to give the Toros an early 7-0 lead. Yet, from there, the Rattlers rattled off 21 unanswered points.
Sharyland tied the game less than two minutes later thanks to a 21-yard run by quarterback Orly Lopez. The signal caller did leave the game early in the second quarter after an apparent injury, which resulted in him getting stretched off the field. Lopez finished 4 of 4 for 28 yards through the air and 19 yards on the ground with a score.
A few plays after Lopez’s injury, backup quarterback Benjamin Valdivia scored on a 46-yard run to give Sharyland a 14-7 lead. The Rattlers extend their lead to 21-7 with 2:10 left in the half thanks to a 43-yard run by Robert Mancha.
Cigarroa did end the half with a 30-yard field goal to enter halftime down 21-10.
Sharyland opened the second half with the ball and picked up where it left off. The Rattlers drove down the field with ease to begin the third quarter. They extended their lead to 28-10 after a 7-yard run by Valdivia with 9:35 left in the quarter. Valdivia led Sharyland with 119 rushing yards and two scores. He also finished 5 of 9 for 54 yards through the air.
Scoring subsided until three minutes into he fourth as Manuel Cantu scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to give the Rattlers a 35-10 lead as 9:33 remained on the clock.
Despite being in a massive hole, Cigarroa continued to fight. Guzman had a 55-yard run to get the Toros to the Sharyland 20-yard line. A few plays later, Guzman punched the ball into the end zone from a yard out to cut the lead to 35-17 with 3:03 left in the game. Cigarroa seemed like it wasn’t going to score on the drive, but a pass interference call on the Rattlers on fourth down in the end zone extended the drive. Sharyland scored one final touchdown thanks to a 24-yard run by Damian Pruneda to seal the 25-point win.
“We were definitely in the game there,” Hein said. “We came out in the second half and shot ourselves in the foot. Then the score became 35-10. What I liked is that we got the stop and got that other score. Wished we wouldn’t have allowed that last score at the end. There will be a lot of positives on film.”
Cigarroa will have next week off to regroup before hitting the... Click here to read full article
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