ACUFF — One week after a 29-point loss to Dalhart, the Muleshoe football team responded with a victory over Roosevelt to begin District 3-5A Division II competition.
The Eagles, who were 5-1 heading into Thursday night’s matchup, marked another tough test for the Mules — this time on the road. Heading into the contest, coach Jason Richards acknowledged that his team would have to be better on the ground to have a chance at starting district play with a win.
After a lackluster rushing performance against the Wolves in Week 6, Muleshoe responded with a few big performances out of the backfield, taking a page out of the Eagles’ playbook.
New personnel
Following the Mules’ loss to Dalhart, Richards and senior quarterback Nathan Martens both knew where the team needed to improve going forward: on the ground.
To help Muleshoe find answers in the backfield, Richards and company moved sophomore running back Davian Sital from the JV team to the Mules’ varsity squad. Sital performed well in his first taste of varsity action, carrying the ball 17 times for 101 yards and the game’s opening touchdown.
Sital was extremely effective in the first half, helping keep Muleshoe’s offense in rhythm while running against a lighter box, as Roosevelt’s defense devoted more defenders to pass coverage. Coming into the matchup, the Mules had beaten defenses with their air raid offense, resulting in the Eagles, and the Wolves last week, playing fewer defenders near the line of scrimmage.
Early in the game, Sital and company were able to take advantage of Roosevelt’s defensive scheme and consistently move the ball down the field with big gains on the ground.
Aside from Sital, senior wide receiver Mauricio Herrera was a big contributor in the pass game and out of the backfield. The Mules’ standout caught 11 passes for 83 yards, and notched eight carries for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
While Herrera usually impacts the game as a wideout on the perimeter, Richards’ said his star receiver offered to play tailback after the team’s loss to Dalhart.
“He’s just a big-time, dynamic player,” Richards said. “When he has the ball in his hands he can do a lot of different things. After that Dalhart game, nobody was happy and he said, ‘Coach, I can play running back.’ I want to also brag on Davian Sital, No. 24, a sophomore. Brought him up from the JV this week and he stepped up.”
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Martens does his part on the ground
Like Herrera, Martens also noted that he was prepared to be a bigger part of Muleshoe’s run game after the team’s loss to Dalhart.
Against Roosevelt, Martens was precise through the air, but also made a huge impact on the game with his legs. The senior signal caller carried the ball seven times for 86 yards and a touchdown to go along with his 254 passing yards and two scores.
Martens carried the ball two times in the first half, but helped put the game away in the fourth quarter with multiple big runs, including a 34-yard touchdown to start the final frame. Martens also picked up multiple first downs on the ground in short-yardage situations.
Once Sital, Herrera and Martens began to gash the Eagles on the ground, Roosevelt dedicated more defenders to stopping the run, and the Mules’ quarterback was able to attack the home team’s secondary in the pass game.
“I thought we saw what we were going to see,” Martens said. “They took away our pass game early, so we had the game plan and we established the run game. We were running really good, they adapted. They gave us a heavier box and we threw the air raid on them a little bit, and then, they couldn’t stop us from there.”
Muleshoe’s offensive line paves the way
While Herrera and Sital both had solid performances running the ball, the two skill position players were led by a strong outing from Muleshoe’s offensive line.
Senior Ethan Whitworth, sophomore Evan Jenkins, senior Ozmart Rodriguez, junior Daniel Mendoza and junior Jake Villanueva started up front for the Mules and created huge running lanes for Sital, Herrera and the rest of Richards’ offense all night.
The Mules’ group created a strong push up front against a tough Roosevelt defensive line, giving Sital, Herrera and others multiple yards of open space before being touched by a defender. Even later in the game, when the Eagles began to bring more defenders into the box to stop the run game, Muleshoe’s offensive line held up well, allowing one sack all game and giving Martens plenty of time to deliver his passes.
“I’m very proud of our offensive line and our offensive line coaches Aaron Simon and AJ Villanueva,” Richards said. “They just keep getting better every single week, and (Roosevelt is) a physical football team, and if you can run the football on them, it’s saying something. We’re getting better, and we need to continue to get better. Being 1-0 in district is a big deal.”
