The Madera South Stallions withstood a Riverdale Cowboys’ rushing attack, and the loss of their starting quarterback for a 31-15 victory to remain undefeated in Stallion Stadium.
Stallions’ quarterback Jairo Parra left the game in the second half after a 32-yard rush. Running back Diego Navarro finished out the game at quarterback by running the wildcat. He finished with 76 yards on 10 carries, and three touchdowns.
Parra gained 59 yards on eight carries while the Stallions had 183 yards of total offense.
On the other side, the Cowboys gained 374 yards of total offense, including 330 yards on the ground. They had two backs with more than 100 yards rushing, including one for 29 carries for 186 yards.
The Cowboys used a 12-play, 77-yard drive to score the first touchdown of the game four minutes into the second quarter on a 14-yard touchdown run on a reverse.
The Stallions got a 27-yard kick return from Michael Cuevas. Six runs by Parra moved the ball inside the Riverdale 20, but a sack turned the ball over on downs.
The Stallions stuffed the Cowboys on fourth-and four to turn the ball over. However, three incomplete passes forced a punt, and time ran out on Riverdale before the half.
The Stallions opened the second half by taking advantage of a short kickoff. The Riverdale kicker slipped on his approach, and the Stallions had a first down at the Riverdale 46.
A screen pass to Adam Sandez gained 12, and a penalty moved the ball to the 18. Sandez carried for 10. Then, Parra got the call up the middle, and ran over a defender at the two for a touchdown. Parra ran in the conversion for an 8-7 lead just two minutes into the second half.
Riverdale took the ensuing kickoff and drove into Madera South territory. However, it took 10 plays to get there. There were also five penalties called on the drive, but the Cowboys threw incomplete on fourth down.
Parra got the call on the second play of the next drive. He broke through a pack of tacklers at the Riverdale 40, and carried to the 16-yard line for a 32-yard game. However, he left the game, and didn’t return.
Navarro got the call on three straight plays. From the nine, he went up the middle, and bounced to the left corner for the touchdown. Navarro found Jonathan Buendia in the end zone for the two-point conversion, his only pass of the game.
Riverdale started its next drive at its 43, and drove 57 yards on 11 plays to score from five yards out. They completed a pass into the end zone to cut the Stallions’ lead to 16-15 with 9:36 left in the fourth.
Riverdale tried an onsides kick. Madera South called a fair catch on the pop-up, and was run into for a penalty, and possession.
Navarro carried 13 yards on two plays to the 27. On the next play, he went up the middle, and bounced to the left. He went down the sideline for a touchdown, but a holding penalty was called.
On the next play, Navarro did, almost, the same thing, but from 10 yards further. He bounced to the left, evaded tacklers along the sideline for a 37-yard touchdown run. He finished off the drive with the two-point conversion run for a 24-15 lead with 8:16 left in the fourth.
The Cowboys returned the kick to near midfield, and a personal foul penalty was added on.
Sandez sacked the Riverdale quarterback to force a long third down. After a penalty, Riverdale completed a reverse pass for 18 yards. However, on fourth-and-five, Sandez pressured the quarterback into a throw. Elijah Chavez saw the fluttering throw, and caught it for the interception.
However, the Stallions had to punt after five straight Navarro carries. He also had to punt, and pinned the Cowboys at the three.
Three plays later, Navarro stepped in front of a Riverdale pass for an interception. He returned it 41 yards down the left sideline to put an exclamation point on the win.
Cuevas hit the extra point for a 31-15 lead with 23.5 seconds left in the game. Three incomplete passes ended the game with a Stallions’ victory.