Rolando Vega, running back for the Rio Hondo Bobcats, is seen carrying three Lyford Bulldogs on his way toward positive yardage Friday at Bobcat Stadium. (Photo by T.J. Tijerina)
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO – Thanks to a heroic defensive effort, the Rio Hondo Bobcats shut down the Lyford Bulldogs 21-6 on Friday night at Bobcat Stadium.
Lyford led 6-0 in the first quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Scott Arnold to Julian Perez. The extra point was blocked.
However, late in the second quarter, the Bobcats (now 4-2 overall) got the break they needed.
Lyford (2-3) had an errant snap on a punt and the Bobcats swarmed to the ball and gave it to the offense on the Bulldogs’ 3-yard line.
A couple of plays later, quarterback Juan Puga ran it up the gut for a three-yard scoring run. The extra point was perfect from kicker Jose Luis Guerrero, making it 7-6 Rio Hondo with less than a minute left in the first half.
Eloy Adames brought in an impressive interception to stop a last-ditch Lyford effort and end the first half.
The defense was the story for the home team as time and time again they recorded big stops in the backfield or quarterback sacks to shut down Lyford’s high powered offensive team. They shut out the Bulldogs after the initial score and did not let up after halftime.
Santos Carrizales and Jed Garza combined to crunch Arnold and the Bulldogs on a big sack in the third quarter and the Bobcats had a total of six sacks for the night.
Later in the third quarter, Mathew Zuniga scored on a four-yard pass from Puga and R.J. Vega closed it out for Rio Hondo with a three-yard TD run to make it 21-6 with only 5:54 left in the game.
With their third consecutive victory in hand, the Bobcats start all-important district play next week when they host the La Feria Lions at Bobcat Stadium.
Read this story in the October 7 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
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