Gobbled up: Cuero manhandles Gonzales, 41-14

Anyone who faces or has faced the Gonzales football team knows that the Apaches’ game plan isn’t too hard to figure out.

They lean heavily on the run and give Cecil Johnson the ball the majority of the time. While Gonzales’ first eight opponents had a hard time containing its game plan, Cuero did not.

The Gobblers beat the Apaches at their own game Friday night as they limited Johnson to 109 yards on 23 carries in a 41-14 victory at Apache Field. In addition to stopping Gonzales’ running game, Cuero (4-5, 2-2 in District 26-3A) also rushed for 230 yards as a team, including a game-high 130 from D’Anthony Hopkins.

“(Cuero) whipped us up front,” Gonzales coach Ricky Lock said. “They whipped our tails and manhandled us. We didn’t play very well, but give Cuero credit. They lined up and ran right at us. They played better than we did.”

Despite the loss, the Apaches still have a pulse. Gonzales (6-3, 2-2 in 26-3A) can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Smithville (5-4, 1-3 in 26-3A).

The game did not start off well for the Apaches as the Gobblers recovered a fumble on the first play from scrimmage at the Gonzales 39-yard line. Cuero drove to the Gonzales 16, but Brendan Pupi’s field goal attempt from 33 yards out sailed wide to the right as the game remained scoreless.

The Gobblers forced a Gonzales punt on the ensuing drive and followed by driving 37 yards in three plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run from Hopkins at the 5:06 mark of the first quarter. Hopkins’ score was set up by a 25-yard pass play from Blake Reeve to D’Andre Gallagher.

The Apaches responded on the next drive and went to their bag of tricks to score their first touchdown. Matt Hillman hit Coltin Russell for a 5-yard gain before Russell pitched the ball to Darrance James who ran 30 yards into the endzone to cut the lead to one, 7-6, with 1:35 left in the first quarter.

The hook-and-ladder play was set up by four carries from Johnson that totaled 21 yards and a 7-yard pass play from Hillman to Cameron Smith. Gonzales’ drive covered 64 yards in seven plays.

Cuero struck again on the following drive as the Gobblers drove 69 yards in five plays before Hopkins scored from nine yards out to make it 14-6 at the 10:39 mark of the second quarter. Reeve hit Gallagher for 6 yards and Ross Reimenschneider for 9 before Reimenschneider reeled off 11 yards on a reverse.

The Apaches went back to work as Johnson had carries of 9, 16 and 4 yards before Hillman hit James for a 25-yard score to cap a 54-yard, four-play drive. Johnson ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 9:17 left in the second quarter.

The Gobblers took advantage of a short field thanks to a 26-yard kickoff return from Reimenschneider to the Gonzales 39, and it took them just six plays to go the distance before Reimenschneider scored on a 14-yard run to give his team the lead for good, 21-14, with 6:57 remaining in the second quarter. Hopkins had a pair of carries netting nine yards, while Ray Horton carried twice for 14 yards to set up the score.

Following a Gonzales three-and-out, Cuero went to work again as the Gobblers drove 63 yards in 10 plays on a drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock, and concluded with a 5-yard touchdown run from Horton to make it 28-14 with 25 seconds left before halftime. Hopkins had six carries for 32 yards on the drive.

Defense took over in the second half on both sides of the ball, particularly in the third quarter as neither team reached the endzone. But Cuero was able to put the game away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Reeve connected with Reimenschneider for a 68-yard score to increase the Gobblers’ lead to 34-14 at the 7:30 mark of the fourth to cap a three-play, 70-yard drive. Following a turnover on downs, Cuero struck again as Hopkins scored on a 14-yard run with 1:47 left in the contest to complete a four-play, 40-yard drive.

Reeve led all passers with 164 yards on 11-of-14 passing. Reimenschneider led all receivers with three catches for 84 yards.

In addition to Johnson’s team-high 109 yards on 23 carries, Hillman completed 8-of-15 passes for 69 yards, and James caught six passes for 57 yards. Johnson now has 1,853 yards on the season and needs just 147 to reach the 2,000-yard mark.

Gonzales visits Smithville at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tiger Stadium in Smithville. A win puts the Apaches in the playoffs regardless of the outcomes in the Cuero-La Grange or Yoakum-Giddings games.