Impressive Rushing Attack Lifts Estacado Over Fort Stockton

Estacado jumped out to an early lead on the first drive of the evening. Bobby Ross took a 2nd and short carry through the middle of the defense, broke several tackles, and outran everyone for a 50+ yard touchdown to get the Matadors on the board. After a failed 2-point conversion, Estacado led 6-0 with 10:48 remaining in the 1st quarter.

Fort Stockton responded with a score on a long march that chewed more than seven minutes off the 1st quarter clock. Estacado forced several 3rd down and long situations, but defensive penalties extended the Panthers’ drive to put Fort Stockton in scoring position. The Panthers punched the ball into the end zone to claim the lead 7-6.

After losing the lead, Estacado wouldn’t trail again in this contest. James Bozeman forced his way into the end zone to take back the lead after a 40-yard run by Cedric Ross set up the touchdown. Later, Bobby Ross made his presence felt again with a 44-yard run down to Fort Stockton’s 1-yard line that set up another Bozeman touchdown. 

Fort Stockton would score one more time before the half, again helped along by defensive penalties, but trailed 18-13 at the break.

The Panthers received the 2nd half kickoff, but the Matadors were ready for them. Several negative plays led to a punt, and Estacado took over deep in the Matador’s territory. 

It didn’t take long for Bobby Ross to make his presence felt in the 2nd half. On the second play of the drive, he took off for a 76-yard touchdown. The Panthers had no answer for the Matadors’ star running back as Estacado extended its lead to 25-13.

Estacado took over the entire ballgame following the touchdown. The contest came down to two key factors. The Matadors made two critical stops on 4th down, and the Panthers could not stop Estacado’s rushing attack. Cedric Ross added two more touchdowns in the 3rd and 4th quarters, one on the ground and one through the air, and the Matadors rolled to a 45-20 victory.

After the game, Head Coach Eric Ward talked about how proud he was of his team’s progress this season. Watch that interview below:

Next up, the Matadors return to action next week when Estacado faces off with the Brock Eagles. Perennial 3A powerhouses, the Eagles proved that they can also play with anyone in 4A this season. This will be an incredibly tough matchup for Estacado moving forward, but they have a chance with the Matadors’ dominant run game.

The date and time of this matchup are still TBD.