Career night for Johnson helps Apaches win

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YOAKUM – Ricky Lock just tries to win.

The Gonzales football coach doesn’t get caught up in individual statistics during the course of a game as the only thing that matters to him is a win. Lock got his wish and then some as the Apaches not only beat rival Yoakum, 48-20, on Friday at Bulldog Stadium in Yoakum, but leading rusher Cecil Johnson ran for a career-high 336 yards on 35 carries.

“This was a big game,” Lock said. “Every game in this district is big. I’m proud of our kids, they played hard. We’re just trying to win.”

Gonzales (6-2, 2-1 in District 26-3A) is now in a second-place tie with Yoakum (5-3, 2-1 in 26-3A) with two games to go. La Grange (7-1, 3-0 in 26-3A) leads the district race.

The Apaches can wrap up a playoff spot with a win over Cuero (3-5, 1-2 in 26-3A) on Friday at Apache Field. The Gobblers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 30-13 win at Smithville.

Johnson’s 35 carries not only gave him a career-high, they also gave him five touchdowns. He now has 1,744 yards on the season, and passed his total last year of 1,701.

“The line blocked well and I ran,” Johnson said of his career night. “Everyone has to come out and play, and we did that. We come out to play every Friday night.”

Gonzales ran the ball on 27 of its 28 first-half plays as it held on to a slim 20-13 lead at halftime. Johnson carried the ball 20 times for 195 yards and all three Apache touchdowns in the first 24 minutes.

While Gonzales ran the ball almost at will against the Bulldogs, it was the passing game that blew things wide open. After forcing Yoakum to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter, Matt Hillman hit Darrance James for a 70-yard gain on third-and-8 from the Apaches’ 19-yard line to set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hillman to Francisco Diaz, which gave Gonzales a 27-13 lead at the 8:22 mark of the third quarter.

Following a Bulldogs’ turnover on downs, the Apaches struck again. An illegal shift backed Gonzales into a first-and-15 situation at its own 40, but Hillman hit James in stride for a 60-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 33-13 with 5:18 left to play in the third.

Hillman completed three of his four passes for a season-high 138 yards and two touchdowns. James’ two catches netted him a career-high 130 yards.

“I’ve been waiting to have a game like this all year and it finally came,” James said. “We were running the ball pretty good and the Yoakum defenders weren’t expecting the pass. I think that had a lot to do with me getting open. Our running game is hard to defend so the opposing defenses always expect the run, and that makes it easier to get open on pass plays.”

The Apache defense forced another three-and-out following the Hillman-to-James touchdown, and Gonzales made yet another touchdown march. The Apaches moved 71 yards in nine plays – all running – as Johnson carried the ball seven times on the drive for 64 yards, including the drive-capping 2-yard score.

Johnson ran in the two-point conversion to make it 41-13 at the 11:06 mark of the fourth quarter. He had 264 yards after the drive.

The Bulldogs did not go away quietly though. Tre’Vontae Hights ran five times for 50 yards, including a 4-yard score to pull Yoakum within 41-20 with 8:04 left to play.

The ensuing drive belonged to Johnson. He ran all four times for 59 yards and scored the game’s final touchdown from four yards out to put his team up 48-20 with 6:03 remaining in the contest.

Johnson’s first two carries of the drive were the most significant. He opened the drive with a 33-yard carry, which helped him shatter his previous career-high of 278 against Pleasanton last season, and he broke the 300-yard mark on the next carry – a 6-yarder.

“It’s exciting to have a back like Cecil,” Gonzales left guard Damian Airhart said. “We just have to block and he hits the holes.”

The game began with the Apaches going on a signature clock-consuming drive as they drove 71 yards in 12 plays, chewing 7 ½ minutes off the game clock and finishing the drive on a 10-yard touchdown run from Johnson at the 4:30 mark of the opening quarter. Johnson had 43 yards on nine carries during the drive, but the key play was a 26-yard gain by Morgan Martinez on a fake punt.

The teams traded punts on the next two drives before Yoakum answered. Hights hit Blake McCracken for a 34-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 at the 11:18 mark of the second quarter.

Gonzales responded on the following drive as Johnson scored from 53 yards out to put his team up 13-7 with 8:21 left in the second quarter. Diaz had a 12-yard run on the drive, while Hillman had gains of 6 and 4 yards.

The Bulldogs did not roll over though. Hights hit Keith Ratley for gains of 13 and 17 yards before McCracken scored from 19 yards out on a jet sweep to tie the game at 13 at the 6:20 mark of the second quarter.

The Apaches struck again on the next drive as Johnson scored from 40 yards out on a fourth-and-2 play to give his team a 20-13 lead with 3:54 left before halftime. He carried the ball on four of Gonzales’ five plays during the drive.

Hights drove Yoakum to the Gonzales 6 thanks to completions of 7 and 16 yards to Ratley and a personal foul. But Reagan Jacobs’ field goal attempt sailed wide with 54 seconds remaining before intermission.

Hights led the Bulldogs with 91 yards rushing on 14 carries and 136 yards passing on 10-of-21 completions. Ratley was Yoakum’s top receiver with four catches for 53 yards.

As a team, the Apaches ran for a season-high 439 yards on 47 carries. They also had season-highs in passing yards (138) and total yards (577).

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