The little brown jug that is awarded to the winner of the high school football game between Calallen and Tuloso-Midway will stay put at 4001 Wildcat Dr. for at least one more season.
Calallen erupted for 21 points in the second quarter, and its defense limited Tuloso-Midway to one score in the second half, to capture a 35-14 win against their longtime rival on Friday at Warrior Stadium.
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Calallen’s victory was the 41st straight against the Warriors as the Wildcats inched closer to a 40th consecutive playoff berth.
“That’s a really good team with a lot of good players,” Calallen coach Charlie Reeve said of the Warriors. “I’m just proud of our kids and the way we came out in the first half. We knew they were going to make some plays and every time they did, we responded.”
The turning point
Calallen went to work behind its running game after using 11 plays to score on a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Sebastian Dennis.
Tuloso-Midway’s Damian Figueroa answered for the Warriors with a 2-yard score to tie the game in the second quarter, but the Wildcats went on to score three unanswered touchdowns to put the game out of reach going into halftime.
Even after a 56-yard touchdown pass from Braycen Beazell to Figueroa in the third quarter, a 3-yard run by Hernandez was enough to put the game away in the final minutes.
“We had a great week of practice and our coaches do a great job getting us prepared,” said Calallen’s Drayson Gamez, who scored on a punt return in the second quarter. “Our guys knew what we had to do this week and we went out there and got the job done.”
Playmakers
Ricardo Rodriguez led the Wildcats on the ground with 11 carries for 106 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Sebastian Dennis finished with 14 carries for 76 yards and one touchdown, and completed five passes for 77 yards and one touchdown pass to Michael Viera.
Jude Hernandez also recorded a rushing touchdown after carrying the ball nine times for 38 yards. The Wildcats finished with 226 rushing yards as a team.
Figueroa was the high-man for Tuloso-Midway after carrying the ball 14 times for 63 yards and catching two passes for 60 yards and two total touchdowns.
“Coach is always talking about this game being the most important game because it’s the next one,” Viera said. “We just go week-by-week so we can get a good seeding for the playoffs. We want to go week-by-week and go 1-0.”
Looking ahead
The Warriors showed positives after recovering an onside kick and making it a two-score game after Figueroa’s touchdown reception in the the third quarter.
Head coach James Villarreal expects his players to respond to the loss by playing for a spot in the postseason. A win against Valley View next week will secure T-M’s third consecutive trip to the playoffs.
“They’re (Calallen) a really good football team and they run a great scheme,” Villarreal said. “Offensively, they have some players, and we were trying to slow them down on defense. They just kind of wore on us. Coming out in the second half we had a stop, scored and the onside kick worked out. I’m really proud of our kids, and I think they fought the entire game.”
What’s next?
Zapata at Calallen (6-2, 2-0), 7 p.m. Oct. 25; Tuloso-Midway (5-3, 1-1) at Valley View, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Calallen rolls past rival T-M to remain unbeaten in district play
