Post by TEAM FALCON on Oct 22, 2012 22:21:44 GMT 3
Rosales, Falcons cruise past Vikings
For the better part of the opening quarter, Los Fresnos did not appear to resemble the team that has steamrolled District 32-5A competition this season, which was particularly interesting if only because it came against a struggling Pace program.
But the Falcons refused to let that image hang around too long Friday night.
Once Jonmichael Rosales found his arm and footing around his home turf following a bye week, the senior quarterback contributed to six straight touchdowns as Los Fresnos cruised to a 58-0 win at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.
"Things could have been a little smoother for us, but we got out of there with a win," coach Clint Finley said.
Rosales completed 12 of 16 passes for 187 yards and five scoring strikes. He also ran 88 yards on four plays, highlighted by a 71-yard touchdown, to lead the Falcons (6-1, 5-0) to their sixth consecutive win, including five straight in district.
Refusing simply to settle for field goals -- which it did on its first offensive sequence after being stuffed 9 yards from the end zone -- Rosales, with the help of running back William Cox (72 yards, eight carries), led Los Fresnos 81 yards before Rosales connected with Jaime Mata on an 11-yard touchdown with 1:11 left in the first quarter.
It was the first of three scoring passes between the two, the last of which helped the Falcons to a 38-0 lead as the first half expired.
"We started off a little slow," Rosales said, "but after that first touchdown, we knew we had to step on the gas and pull away."
Mata (86 yards, five catches) was the primary target, but Akeem Simien (72 yards, two catches) and Brandon Colon (14 yards, one catch) caught Rosales' other two touchdown passes.
"We did some good things," Finley said. "We did what we had to do to win. (Pace was) doing some things up front that was a little non-conventional, so we were able to find some other things to be successful, and that's what you have to do to win."
Playing most of the second half in place of Rosales, sophomore Raul Lopez, a junior varsity player, was unable to connect on his only throwing attempt. But he did tally 70 rushing yard on five carries, including a 62-yard sprint to the end zone in his varsity debut.
Offensively, Pace (0-8, 0-6) showed modest signs of improvement. In the opening half, the Vikings protected the ball well (no interceptions, no fumbles) and moved down field better than they have in previous games this season.
Even then, they were unable to get within 40 yards of the end zone until late in the third quarter, when they reached the Los Fresnos 16. But on the first play of the fourth, quarterback Alex Cisneros threw an interception and Pace never got that close again.
Cisneros finished with five of 21 passes for 24 yards and two interceptions. His last pick led to a 60-yard touchdown return by defensive back Robert Lozano for the final margin.
Workhorse running back Lee Cortez tallied 107 yards on 24 carries, and Karlo Dominguez added 19 on eight plays.
It marked the seventh straight game in which Pace has been unable to score a touchdown.