Tigres tame Santa Rosa
SANTA ROSA — Punching in three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the Nuevo Leon Tigres spoiled the Santa Rosa Warriors’ homecoming celebration with a 48-34 victory Friday night at Warrior Stadium.
The loss puts the Warriors on a three-game losing skid (2-3), with next week’s bye an opportunity to regroup before starting district play. The Tigres officially begin their season next week.
The Warriors (294 total yards) gamely kept pace with the Tigres powerful attack (503 yards), leading 34-27 as the fateful final quarter began.
But then the scoring spree began, causing one Santa Rosa coach to wonder when his team will get serious about their play. Francisco Mata cleverly delayed a screen pass to Cesar Vazquez, who outran a trailing Warrior defense for 19 yards and a touchdown. Four minutes later, Vazquez ran it in for a 25-yard score, and about four minutes later Mata found Jose Magallenes after an extremely effective pump fake on a 29-yard strike.
The Warriors put together an impressive third quarter, gaining 150 yards, all on the ground, which included a sly 48-yard option run for a score by quarterback Omar Ramirez and an 11-yard scoring run by Juan Gonzalez.
Santa Rosa’s special teams squad also impressed. Aaron Ramirez returned a kickoff 95 yards on a dazzling run for a touchdown in the first quarter, the Warriors’ first score. In the game’s waning minutes, Joshua Watrous returned one 63 yards to the Tigres 32-yard line, sparking hopes of a comeback, but Robert Rodriguez fumbled two plays later.
