Salado Eagles lost their district opener, 28-16, at home Oct. 6 to the Robinson Rockets, dropping to 2-5 on the year.
The Rockets forced the Eagles to a three-and-out series following the kick off to take over at midfield. Robinson drove half the length of the field with 10 straight rushing plays, scoring on a 7-yard run by Christian Lujan. Miguel Martinez converted the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 4:51 left in the first.
The Eagles responded with a 17-yard kick return by Kade Maedgen to the Eagles’ 35 yard line. Two defensive penalties proved costly to the Rockets, the first for 15 yards to move the chains across midfield, the second on a fourth-and-2 at the rocket 23 yard line. Luke Law hit Korbin Konarik for 8 yards and then found Maedgen for a 10-yard TD strike. Townes Sather tied the game at 7-7 with 1:02 left in the first.
Evan Moreno returned the ensuing kick 93 yards, but a holding call brought the ball back to the Robinson 25.
Salado forced Robinson to a three-and-out series.
Brendan Wilson caught a Lincoln Hossfeld pass for 26 yards to get to the Rocket 39 yard line, but a holding call and a Hossfeld fumble gave the rockets the ball at the Salado 49 with 8:44 left in the half.
Nine plays later, Lujan scored on another 7 yard run. The kick made it 14-7 with 4:55 left in the half.
Morgan Adams returned the kick 30 yards to the Salado 42, but Salado was forced to punt after three plays.
Ty Weaver hit Austin Marshall for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 1:51 left in the half. The kick gave the Rockets a 21-7 halftime lead.
The Eagles stopped Robinson on the second half opening drive.
Jackson Turk returned the punt 30 yards to the Rocket 49 yard line.
Law hit Adams for 27 yards and found Konarik for 6 to give the Eagles a first down at the Rocket 11 yard line. Salado settled for a 25-yard Sather field goal with 6:01 left in the third.
The teams traded possessions for the next 10 minutes until Brodie Landon fell on a Rocket fumble at their 26 yard line. Eight plays later, Maedgen scored on a 1-yard dive with 4;23 left in the game. Salado went for two and failed, leaving the score 21-16.
Lujan returned the kick 73 yards to the Salado 17.he carried the ball three straight times, scoing on a 3 yard dive with 2:45 left in the game. The PAT made it 28-16, the final score.
SHS RHS
First Downs 11 12
Rushes-Yards 40 142
Passing Yards 126 90
Comp-Atts 24-35 6-21
TD-INT 1-0 1-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yds 10-80 5-55
PASSING: Salado: Luke Law, 11-25, 98 yards, TD; Lincoln Hossfeld, 1-1, 26 yards; Robinson: Brice McCurdy, 3-4, 68 yards, TD; Aiden Stanford, 2-4, 22 yards.
RUSHING: Salado: Kase Maedgen, 12-42 yards, TD; Law, 9-7 yards; Hossfeld, 3, -9; Robinson: Christian Lujan, 22-122 yards, 3 TD; McCurdy, 3-17 yards; Stanford, 7, -14 yards.
RECEIVING: Salado: Brendan Wilston, 4-56 yards; Morgan Adams, 4-42 yards; Maedgen, 2-13 yards, TD; Korbin Konarik, 1-7 yards; James Renick, 1-6 yards; Robinson: Stanford, 2-68 yards, 1 TD.
SALADO DEFENSE: Phoenix flores, 9 tackles, 6 assisted tackles (AT); Ethan RObledo, 7 tackles, 4 ATS, sack, tackle for loss (TFL); Damonte Foster, 5 tackles, 6 ATs; Lucas Breyer, 4 tackles, AT, TFL; Devonte Foster, 3 tackles, 5 ATs; Caleb Dockray, 3 tackles, 3 ATs; Dusty Rhiddlehoover, 3 tackles, AT, caused fumble; Dawson Barksdale, 2 tackles, 3 ATs, sack; Brody Landon, 2 tackles, fumble recovery; AJ Fach, 2 tackles, 2 ATs; JJ Adams, tackle, AT, sack, TFL; Davis Graham, tackle, 2 ATs, sack, TFL; Brayden Dildine, tackle, AT; Noah Romney, AT.
JV Eagles
Salado JV Eagles lost to the Robinson JV squad 14-0 on Oct. 5 on the road. Robinson scored with a 5-yard pass in the first and a 50-yard run in the fourth. Gabriel Merriman is the offensive player of the game. Joseph Peek is the defensive player of the week.
Freshmen
Salado freshmen lost 20-3 to La Vega on the road Oct. 5. The Eagles started off by getting a turn over, and then converting it to 3 points. Players of the game were Max Gist and Hudson Hawkins. “Max had a great game, he hit a 30 yard field goal, barely missed another field goal from 49 yards, got an interception on defense, scrambled and made a great punt under pressure, and had yards receiving.”
The team as a whole worked on tackling, and it showed on some of the plays. Small mistakes LaVega was able to capitalize on and end up with the win. The team continues to grow and getting a little better each week,” Coach Kris Perkins said.