By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO, TX—The Bobcat Varsity Football Team finished the regular season and district play with a 54-0 shutout of the Progreso Red Ants last week, as the Deep River gridiron giants now set their sights on the London Pirates as they begin their quest for a state title.
For the second consecutive year, the Bobcats play their Class 3A Division I bi-district game at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen against the Corpus Christi-based school.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday.
Rio Hondo finished District 16 Division I in second place with a 6-1 record, 9-1 overall.
The Raymondville Bearkats were first with a 7-0 district record and a 10-0 season record.
London finished in third place with a 5-2 record in District 15 Division I play, and was 6-4 on the season. Edna and Goliad were first and second in their district.
Rio Hondo faces a London team that averages about 30 points per game but gives up an average of 36 points to opponents.
That bodes well for the Bobcats, who are averaging 45 points per game. They also had the best district defense in terms of points allowed.
Rio Hondo will face a pass-heavy London team that relies on senior quarterback Alex Manning to lead the offense.
He has thrown for 2,819 yards and 33 touchdowns on 187 of 321 completions. He’s also the second leading rusher on the team with 381 yards and four TDs.
London has two receivers who pose the biggest threats to the Bobcats. They are sophomore Maddox Jennings (1,000 yards, 13 TDs) and junior Zach Tyrone (831 yards, 12 TDs). Four other players have contributed at most two passing scores each.
Junior running back Jake Castaneda leads in rushing with 475 yards on 101 carries. He scored six times.
On defense, London features four players with a total of 188 tackles. The team also has eight quarterback sacks and a similar number of interceptions.
The Bobcats are counting on quarterback Matthew Lopez and running back Mario Lopez to score and continue to average more than 40 points per game.
In 10 games, Matthew Lopez threw for 2,078 yards with 111 completions. He threw 21 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. Mario Lopez had 177 carries for 1,909 yards and 31 touchdowns.
The main wide-receiver threats are Sebastian Gonzalez (37 receptions, 712 yards, seven TDs), Emmanuel Perez (37 receptions, 665 yards, six TDs), Albert Villalovos (18 receptions, 368 yards, four TDs), and Michael Lopez (10 receptions, 242 yards, four TDs).
The offensive line had at least six players play eight games, while accumulating double-digit pancake blocks. David Castaneda led with 26, followed by Devin Raymond (13), Jose Lopez and Adrian Betancourt (12), and Miguel Lopez (11).
Defensively, Ty Alaniz led Rio Hondo in tackles with 125, followed by Rolando Pastrana (108), Joel Medina (87), Matthew Sanchez (84), Frankie Losoya (61), Marcus Flores (60), and Noe Leos (59).
Leos led the team in sacks with eight, followed by Marcus Flores with six.
Jaziah Arredondo and Michael Lopez each had a team-high four interceptions, followed by Joel Medina (three) and Ty Alaniz (two).
On special teams, Villalovos also kicked extra points and connected on 61 of his 65 attempts. He had one field goal.
Leos was counted on as a punter and put his best foot forward only 14 times this season. He garnered 531 yards, with six of his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Leos’ longest punt went 55 yards.
Joel Medina (252 yards) and Eddie Martinez (143 yards) had the most kickoff returns in 10 games played.
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