The Springlake-Earth Wolverines’ varsity football team came up short on Thursday on the road in Happy, falling to the 4th ranked Cowboys, 60-34.
With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 2-2 overall on the season.
The Cowboys won the coin toss and elected to take the ball in the second half, giving Springlake-Earth the ball to start the game.
The Wolverines began their opening drive on their own eightyard line, as Nehemiah Castillo took a carry up the middle, picking up a couple of yards. However, on second down, Froylan Agundiz’s pass was tipped up in the air and picked off by Hayes Bressler, who returned it down to the Springlake-Earth 15-yard line with 9:09 to play in the opening quarter.
Braylan King carried the ball for six yards on first down, and Jaxon Stoker took a sweep around the right side, but he was tackled for a loss by Tyler Tanaro, backing them up to third and 11. A fumbled pitch on third down was covered by King for a six-yard loss and on fourth down, the Cowboys went for it, but the snap was fumbled and recovered by Stoker, but he was sacked for a turnover on downs with 7:13 to play in the first quarter.
The Wolverines took over at their own 22-yard line, but a bad exchange between Agundiz and Castillo backed them up to second and 19. Agundiz kept it himself on second down, picking up 14 yards before stepping out of bounds to make it third and five from their own 32-yard line.
The Wolverines were flagged for a crackback block, backing them up to third and 19, but on third and long, Agundiz dumped the ball off to Donovan Stiggers, who got it back to the 32-yard line to bring up fourth and five. The Wolverines would go on fourth down, as Agundiz connected with Tanaro on a pass, as he took the ball across midfield to the Happy 34-yard line to move the chains for the Wolverines.
On first down, Castillo would take the ball up the middle before cutting out to his left for a 34-yard touchdown run with 5:08 to play in the quarter. The kick by Joshua Tovar was blocked, making the score, 6-0.
The onside kick attempt was downed by Ryelan King at the Happy 35-yard line, and the Cowboys wasted no time responding. Stoker carried the ball on back-toback plays taking it down to the Springlake-Earth 26-yard line to give the Cowboys a fresh set of downs. Two plays later, Braylan King carried the ball around the right side for a 19-yard touchdown run with 3:14 to play in the first quarter. The kick from Luke Dempsey was good, putting the Cowboys in front, 8-6.
The Wolverines took over at their own 23-yard line after a short return on the kick-off by Kaleb Castillo, but their drive would be derailed after moving the ball into Happy territory, as Castillo was stripped in the backfield and the ball was recovered by C. W. Johnson with one minute to play in the quarter.
Happy took over at their own 32-yard line and was able to take the ball down to the Springlake-Earth 16-yard line, as the drive spanned into the second quarter, but on fourth and three, Braylan King carried the ball up the middle on a dive, but he was stuffed by the Wolverine defense for a turnover on downs with 8:59 left to play in the first half.
The Wolverines’ next drive began at their own 24-yard line and after an incomplete pass on first down, Tanaro carried it up the middle on the next play, picking up three yards. A pass over the middle was dropped by Castillo to bring up fourth and 12, but the Wolverines would line up to go for it, as Agundiz kept it himself scrambling for a first down, taking the ball down to the Happy 35yard line.
With a fresh set of downs, Castillo picked up three yards on first down and on the next play, Agundiz connected with Castillo on a pass to his left, as Castillo took it down to the seven-yard line to set up first and goal. Agundiz would drop back on first down and hit Tanaro to his left for the sevenyard touchdown pass with 6:40 to play in the half. There was a bad snap on the conversion, but Josh Tovar caught it and hit Timothy Tovar for the one-point conversion, putting the Wolverines in front, 13-8.
Happy would answer after starting their next drive at their own 27-yard line, they used a 10-play, 53-yard drive, capping it off with a one- yard touchdown run by Braylan King with 2:39 to play in the half. The kick from Dempsey was good, making the score, 1613.
Springlake-Earth covered the onside kick at their own 35-yard line and on first down, Agundiz connected with Tanaro for 11 yards, as the Wolverines took a time out with 2:27 to play in the half. Out of the break, Agundiz fumbled on second down, but the ball was recovered by Tanaro, backing them up to third and nine.
However, the Wolverines would not be denied, as Agundiz dropped back on third down and heaved a pass down the field, that found Stiggers who made the catch and took it in for the score with 1:37 remaining in the half. There was another bad snap on the conversion, but it was again fielded by Josh Tovar, as he hit Timothy Tovar for the one-point conversion putting them back in front, 20-16.
Happy began their next drive at their own 27-yard line and they would drive all the way down to the Wolverine 14-yard line, taking a time out to preserve the clock to run one last play before halftime. Out of the break, Bressler dropped back before taking off up the middle breaking a tackle on his way to the 14-yard touchdown run as time expired in the half. The kick from Dempsey was no good, putting Happy on top, 22-20, going into the locker room at halftime.
The Cowboys got the ball to begin the second half, starting deep in their own territory, after the kick-off was fumbled and recovered by Stoker at their own 19yard line.
A series of runs by Stoker and Braylan King gave the Cowboys a fresh set of downs at the Springlake-Earth 35-yard line and back-to-back runs by Braylan King set them up with first and goal from the 15-yard line. Happy kept the ball on the ground, but would be faced with a fourth and goal from the one-yard line. They went for it, as Braylan King carried it on the sweep around the left side for a touchdown with 5:45 to play in the third quarter. The kick was blocked by the Wolverines, leaving the score, 28-20.
Springlake-Earth would strike back in a hurry, after getting the ball after the kick-off at their own 35-yard line. Agundiz dropped back to throw on first down and connected with Kaleb Castillo down the Wolverine sideline for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter. The kick from Josh Tovar was good, tying the game, 28-28.
The onside kick attempt by Timothy Tovar was recovered by JC Dyer, giving Happy the ball at their own 34-yard line to begin their next drive. The Cowboys would take the ball into Wolverine territory, before being faced with a fourth down at the Wolverine 25-yard line. They would elect to go for it, as Bressler dropped back and hit Jarrod Blackmon, who made the catch to move the chains for Happy, setting up first and goal from the nine-yard line.
Three plays later, Bressler would hit Stoker for a three-yard touchdown pass to put the Cowboys back on top, 36-28, after the kick by Dempsey with 2:30 left to play in the quarter.
Happy’s Mason Hix would recover the onside kick for the Cowboys, and two plays later, Braylan King would punch it in for the fouryard score followed by the kick from Dempsey, making the score, 44-28, with 1:42 to play in the quarter.
A short return on the next kickoff from Josh Tovar, set the Wolverines up at their own 24-yard line to begin their next drive. Agundiz picked up six yards on a first down run, before throwing an incompletion on second down. He would connect with Tanaro on a third-down pass, as he took it up near midfield to move the chains for the Wolverines.
Agundiz was sacked on first down, but the Cowboys were flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving Springlake-Earth an automatic first down at the Happy 36-yard line. Two plays later, Agundiz would hit Kaleb Castillo in the endzone for an 11-yard touchdown pass, but the kick from Josh Tovar was no good, making the score, 44-34, with 25.1 seconds to play in the quarter.
Happy would score twice in the final quarter, as the Coboys went on to take the contest, 60-34.
The Wolverines will be at home next Friday to take on the Whiteface Antelopes.
Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.