Lancaster bullies past SA Brackenridge finale of Classic

SAN BENITO — The Lancaster Tigers will definitely be smiling all the way back to Dallas as they cruised to a 46-13 victory over San Antonio Brackenridge in the third game of the Rio Grande Valley South Texas Football Classic held at Bobby Morrow Stadium in San Benito.

Lancaster struck first as quarterback Thedford Rhodes connected with Cedric Gilbert on an eight-yard touchdown pass, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 10:30 left in the first quarter.

The touchdown was set up on an interception by Matthew Thomas on the very first play of the contest, returning the ball to the Eagles 21-yard line.

The Tigers jumped out to a 13-0 lead as Quentin Hayes returned a punt 50-yards to the house with 9:23 left in the second quarter.

Gilbert scored his second touchdown of the night as he scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Davon Hodge as Lancaster took a 19-0 lead with 7:22 left in the first half.

San Antonio Brackenridge finally got on the board as they marched the ball 88-yards down the field, eventually punching it in on a one-yard run by quarterback Michael Reyna as they cut the lead to 19-6 with 2:26 left in the first half.

However, Lancaster answered back as they drove the ball 95-yards in 2:11 and scored on a two-yard touchdown pass from Hodge to Gilbert, his third of the night, giving the Tigers a 25-6 lead with 15 seconds left in the first half.

Lancaster‘s Quinton Ross scored on the very first play of the second half as he broke loose on a 68-yard touchdown run, extending the Tigers lead to 32-6 with 11:43 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers continued to dominate in the contest as Rhodes hooked up with Tywon Dyer on a 23-yard strike with 6:13 left in the third quarter, thus giving them a 40-6 lead.

Lancaster‘s defense decided to play a part in the scoring parade also as Kendall Hayes intercepted Reyna at the Tigers 35-yard line and returned it for a touchdown with 5:34 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles cut the deficit to 46-13 as Reyna hit Michael Olivas on a seven-yard touchdown pass with 11:39 left in the fourth quarter.