Published: November 07, 2009 09:44 pm      

Middle School Football: Dust off the Cup

San Marcos — For the past four years, the infamous Rattler Cup, awarded to the winner of the annual Miller vs. Goodnight middle school eight-grade A football game, has been gathering dust in Goodnight’s trophy case.

That’s not the case any longer. The Miller Diamondbacks came through with a strong defensive performance to hand Goodnight a 12-6 loss, in front of close to 2,000 fans Saturday afternoon at the San Marcos High School football stadium.

The win allowed the Diamondbacks to claim the Rattler Cup for the first time since its five-year inception. The Miller eighth-grade B team also claimed a win in what as been dubbed the “Snake Bowl”. It’s last time the players will face each other before joining the SMHS program next year.

Miller was first on the scoreboard in the A game when Jesus Rodriguez broke through for a 3-yard scoring dive with 1:49 remaining in the first quarter, as the two-point attempt fell short.

The Diamondbacks looked like they had come through with a big defensive play when Zach Sterling hauled in an interception, but pass interference was called, allowing the Rattlers to retain possession.

Four plays later, Goodnight running back Michael Ousey broke free for a 4-yard touchdown run that evened the score at 6-all with 3:18 left in the half.

That was just enough time for Miller to strike back, as the Diamondbacks methodically drove the ball into the Rattlers’ red zone. That set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Sterling to Alex Sowell that gave Miller what would be the game-running score.

Both teams were scoreless in the third and fourth quarters, allowing Miller to hold on for the win.

Defensive standouts for the Diamondbacks included C.J. Moreno, Daryl Ontivaros, Tucker Smith and Zach Sterling, while defensive standouts for Goodnight were Justin Tate, Jason Pacheco, Andrew Mendoza, Jaime Villanueva and Robert Bosquez.

Miller B rallies past Goodnight

The Miller Middle School eighth-grade B team won bragging rights in the first game, scoring a 26-22 win over Goodnight.

The Rattlers scored first when Jaime Maldonado scored on a 6-yard sweep play to give Goodnight an early, 6-0 lead.

Miller tied the game at 6-all minutes later when Josh Coleman scored on a 14-yard run after a Goodnight turnover.

Goodnight answered with Jeremy Guerrero’s two-yard scoring run, followed by Andrew Mendoza’s two-point run to give the Rattlers a 14-6 lead.

Miller posted a score moments before the half when Al Evans ran the ball in for a three-yard score, but the two-point try failed, allowing Goodnight to take a 14-12 lead into the half.

Alex Ormsby helped the Rattlers extend their lead to 22-12 when he broke loose on the left side for a 43-yard touchdown. Michael Hernandez’ pass to Thomas Mascorro gave Goodnight the two-point conversion with 4:30 left in the third.

That’s when Miller started to take control, and eventually the lead.

The Diamondbacks capped a long and sustained drive with another score from Evans, this time from two yards out with 5:54 left in the game. Evans’ attempt at a two-point run came up short, but Miller had trimmed the lead to 22-18.

The biggest play came on the ensuing kickoff, as Miller’s Josh Coleman came up with the ball on an onside kick, allowing the Diamondbacks to retain possession.

Miller didn’t squander the opportunity, scoring four plays later when Justin Pavelka took a left-side hand off, the cut right and up field for a 35-yard touchdown run for the winning score with 4:30 remaining in the game. Coleman added the two-point run that gave Miller the 26-22 lead.

Goodnight tried to come back in the final minutes when Elias Villalobos recovered a fumble at the Rattlers’ own 40-yard line. But the Diamondback defense came through when it was needed when Juan Castro and Michael Masters came through with tackles for losses, forcing the Rattlers to lose the ball on downs.

Miller took over and ran out the clock for the win.