Esparza's five TDs ignites Lyford
LYFORD — The Johnny Esparza show premiered Friday night at Bulldog Stadium and got rave reviews as he threw for 281 yards and five touchdown passes, leading Lyford past Hebbronville, 45-10.
Esparza, who missed the season opener last year because of a collarbone injury, said it felt great to be able to play in the season-opener for the Bulldogs.
“It feels great to do something special as a senior, especially after having to sit this one out last year,” Esparza said. “We wanted to prove a point right away and were able to put a few nice drives together and convert. We feel we did what we wanted to do tonight and did not hold anything back.”
Lyford (1-0) got on the board first as Jorge Lerma recovered a fumble and returned it for a 40-yard touchdown as they took a 7-0 lead with 2:47 left in the first quarter.
Lerma scored his second touchdown of the night as he caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Johnny Esparza to increase the Bulldogs lead to 14-0 with 26 seconds left in the first quarter. Lerma ended up with 65 yards receiving on four receptions and two touchdowns.
Lyford increased its lead to 21-0 as Esparza threw his second touchdown of the night, a 7-yarder to Cuahlti Quiroz as time expired in the first quarter.
Hebbronville (0-1) got on the board when quarterback Leo Rodriguez connected with Arnold Alaniz on a 21-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 21-7 with 6:41 left in the second quarter.
Esparza threw his third touchdown pass of the contest as he hooked up once again with Lerma on a 5-yard strike as the Bulldogs extended their lead to 28-7 with 4:48 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs took a 35-10 lead into the half as Esparza hooked up with Sammy Ambriz on an 8-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the second quarter.
Esparza continued to dominate through the air as he threw his fifth touchdown pass of the night, a 10-yard strike to Jacob Carranco as the Bulldogs extended their lead to 42-10 with 9:12 left in the third quarter.
Lyford tacked on three more points as Juan Salinas nailed a 36-yard field goal with 3:55 left in the contest.
“We wanted to win the opener and I am happy with the win,” said Lyford head coach Jaime Infante. “We played a little sloppy in the second half and need to work on a few things. But, overall, our defense did a nice job and rose to the occasion.”
“Offensively, Johnny did a great job and we spread the ball around tonight. We will only get better as the season progresses.”
