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Coyotes lose weather-shortened game


On a stormy night in Boerne, the Champion Chargers recorded a 30-0 district football victory over the Uvalde Coyotes.

The first half of the game at Boerne ISD Stadium was punctuated by strong winds and rain from a line of thunderstorms that preceded the first major cold weather front of the fall.

At halftime, the game went into lightning protocol because of lightning strikes in the area.

Following a 68-minute delay, the game was called complete as lightning and heavy rainfall in the area continued.

“It was a tough game, against a tough opponent, on a tough weather night for football,” said Uvalde High School head football coach R.T. Gonzales.

“We knew going into the game that we were facing a really good Champion team on their home turf,” said Gonzales. “We made a few mistakes that cost us points in the game. You can’t do that and hope to have a chance to win.

“The windy conditions made it difficult to pass the ball or to kick the ball,” said Gonzales. “The weather conditions really affected play.”

The Chargers got off to a 13-0 lead in the first period.

On a fourth-down play near midfield, the Coyotes set up to punt the ball away.

The punt was fielded by Boerne’s Bowen Fjord, who returned the punt 81 yards for a touchdown.

Place kicker Will Wallace added the conversion kick and the Chargers took a 7-0 lead with 5:59 left in the period period.

Following the kickoff, the Coyotes advanced the ball from their 23-yard line to the Boerne 31, but lost the ball at that point on downs.

Running back Tamari Jenkins carried the ball for a 42-yard gain.

Quarterback Luke Boyers then ran 25 yards to the Uvalde two.

Boyers then scored on the next play.

The point-after kick failed, but the Chargers upped their lead to 13-0 with 1:13 remaining in the first period.

Three plays later, the Coyotes punted the ball, but their punt went on 17 yards and Boerne began their next offensive possession at the Uvalde 42-yard line.

From that point, the Chargers went on a six-play scoring drive.

Luke Boyers connected with wide receiver Connor Lee on a 19-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive.

Will Wallace made the point after kick.

Less than a minute later, the Chargers regained possession of the football.

On a fourth-down play, the Coyotes set up to punt the ball away, but a bad snap from center resulted in Champion gaining the ball at the Uvalde 22-yard line.

“The ball got caught up in the turf on the snap. As a result, the Chargers gained good field position,” said Gonzales. “That play and the punt that was returned for the touchdown were huge plays in the first half.”

On the next play, Luke Boyers tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Reed Cantrell.

Will Wallace made the conversion kick and the Chargers increased their scoring lead to 27-0 with 10:05 remaining in the second period.

Later in the half, the Chargers drove the ball from their 36-yard line to the Uvalde one.

On a first-and-goal play, the Chargers fumbled the ball and linebacker Diego Gonzalez covered the ball for the Coyotes.

Two plays later, safety Bowen Fjord intercepted a Uvalde pass at the Coyotes 21-yard line and returned the ball for a touchdown.

But the touchdown was negated by a penalty for an illegal block by the Chargers during the interception return.

Champion’s stalled and they were forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal by place kicker Wilbur Ramirez.

Down 30-0 with 4:54 left in the first half, the Coyotes began with the ball at their 25-yard line.

They advanced the ball to near midfield, but were forced to punt the ball away on fourth down.

Three plays later, the Coyotes regained control of the ball when safety Ryan De La Cruz made a jarring hit on the Boerne quarterback and forced him to fumble.

Linebacker George Willemin covered the fumble for the Coyotes at the Boerne 42-yard line.

“We stopped Champion several times with turnovers against a really good Boerne offense,” said Gonzales. 

With 36 seconds left in the half, the Coyotes tried to mount a scoring drive.

On a third-down play at the Boerne 39, the Coyotes completed a 14-yard pass, but then fumbled the ball away on what proved to be the final play of the half.

Play in the contest never resumed as the long lightning delay eventually resulted in the game being called complete.

Statistically, the Chargers finished with an advantage over the Coyotes in first downs, 13-5, and in total yards, 191-104.

Running back Sotero Martinez Jr., who exited the game with an ankle injury late in the second period, led Uvalde’s individual rushing stats with nine carries for 30 yards.

Quarterback Donovan Davila completed nine passes for 60 yards, while wide receiver Christian Rivera caught six passes for 48 yards.

The Coyotes, now 1-4 in district play and 3-5 overall, will play their final home district game next Friday when they host the San Antonio Kennedy Rockets.

One week from Friday, the Coyotes will travel to Lockhart for a district game against the Lockhart Lions.

“We have two games left to play. These two games are must-win games for us, if we want to have a shot at making it to post-season play,” said Coach Gonzales. “We hold our playoff fate in our own hands. So it all comes down to how we play in our final two district ball games.”

pete luna|Leader-NewsSafety Ryan De La Cruz (No. 7) tackles the Boerne quarterback as his defensive teammates Jesse Robles (No. 30), Hector Najera (No. 72), George Willemin (No. 36), and Diego Gonzalez (No. 42) coverge to assist on the play. The action took place during the first period of the Uvalde-Champion football game Friday at Boerne.

pete luna|Leader-NewsSafety Ryan De La Cruz (No. 7) tackles the Boerne quarterback as his defensive teammates Jesse Robles (No. 30), Hector Najera (No. 72), George Willemin (No. 36), and Diego Gonzalez (No. 42) coverge to assist on the play. The action took place during the first period of the Uvalde-Champion football game Friday at Boerne.

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