The visiting Eagles entered the game unbeaten and ranked No. 10 among Class 2A schools, while the host Cougars only had one win in four starts.
“Anytime Salado and Jarrell play you can throw everything out the window,” Salado coach Jeff Cheatham said after his Eagles posted a 23-6 victory in a District 25-2A battle at Cougar Field.
Any expectations of a blowout victory by the district favorites went by the wayside quickly as both teams ate up big chunks of the clock. Salado, improving to 2-0 in district and 5-0 for the year, ran 58 plays, while Jarrell, 0-2 in district, had just 37 offensive snaps.
“They (Jarrell) played well,” Cheatham said. “We made the plays we needed to win the game.”
No coach likes to lose, but Jarrell trail boss Randy Franklin was pleased with some of the things he saw from his Cougars.
“I was proud of our kids,” Franklin said. “They played hard, and I thought we made them earn all 23 of their points. Offensively, we need to block a little better, but they have really good kids up front.”
Salado had to overcome a couple turnovers, including one early fumble that could have proved costly. After Jarrell went three-and-out on the game’s first possession, Matt Brown recovered a fumbled punt at midfield, but the Cougars were unable to take advantage of the opportunity.
Following a short punt, Salado moved 74 yards in 13 plays on its first possession with fullback Leo Galvan crashing over from the one. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
Jarrell evened the count at 6-6 with 6:48 to go in the first half on the initial play after Daniel Tucker intercepted a Salado pass. Sophomore Kyle Williams broke next-ZIP-code open behind the Eagles’ defense and combined on a 68-yard scoring pass from quarterback Chris Trevino. The extra-point attempt was blocked.
However, Salado took the lead for good with 3:55 to go before halftime as a 5-yard pass from David Rosenau to Blake Heller climaxed an 8-play, 47-yard run. Galvan added his first of two extra points.
In the second half, Salado added 10 points. Jarrell’s only threat in the final 24 minutes ended when John Cruz picked off a third-down pass by Trevino in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles’ last points came on a 2-yard stand-up run through the middle by Galvan with 7:44 to go in the third quarter and Galvan added a 23-yard field goal with 8:46 left in the game.
Salado finished with 297 yards - 241 on 43 running plays, including 144 by Seth Collins.
The Eagle defense - headed by the likes of Josh Bush and Patrick Prince - held Jarrell to 172 yards -107 in the air. Twenty of the Cougars’ 29 running plays resulted in gains of three yards or less.
“We’re making progress every week,” Cheatham said of a team carrying the weight of a state ranking. “We have to continually keep our focus and not take anybody lightly. We have to bring our best game every Friday.”
Salado hosts Rogers next Friday, while Jarrell goes to Rosebud-Lott.
ngwellnicki@temple-telegram.com
SALADO 23, JARRELL 6
Salado 6 7 7 3 - 23
Jarrell 0 6 0 0 - 6
Sal - Leo Galvan 1 run (run failed)
Jar - Kyle Williams 68 pass from Chris Trevino (kick failed)
Sal - Blake Heller 5 pass from David Rosenau (Galvan kick)
Sal - Galvan 2 run (Galvan kick)
Sal - Galvan 23 field goal
TEAM STATISTICS
Sal Jar
First downs 20 8
Rushes-yards 43-241 29-65
Passing yards 56 107
Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-15-1 5-8-1
Punts-average 1-18.0 6-31.0
Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-0
Penalties-yards 2-30 3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - Salado: Seth Collins 22-144, Galvan 9-41, Tyler Wright 4-38, Rosenau 2-7, Jerod Lutz 6-11; Jarrell: Trevino 19-48, Gilbert Avilez 7-13, Kyle Deal 2-3, Williams 1-1.
PASSING - Salado: Rosenau 6-15-1 56; Jarrell: Trevino 5-8-1 107.
RECEIVING - Salado: Galvan 2-17, Wright 1-13, Clayton Whitmire 1-11, Collins 1-10, Heller 1-5; Jarrell: Williams 3-94, Daniel Tucker 2-13.
