GANADO - Evel Jones had missed Shiner's last two games against Ganado, but he more than made up for lost time.
Shiner wide receiver #4 Evel Jones carries the ball as he did all night long, scoring numerous touchdowns and wreaking havoc upon the Ganado Indians. Advocate Photos by Frank Tilley
Jones rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns to lead the No. 7 Comanches to a 28-19 District 15-1A, Division I win over No. 13 Ganado on Friday night at Indian Stadium.
"It meant a lot," said Jones, a senior. "We got beat by them two years straight for the district championship so we just wanted to come out here and play real hard and win and get the district championship back."
Shiner improved to 8-1 and 3-0 in district, wrapping up at least a share of the district title and the top seed in the playoffs.
"Last year, we were so close and couldn't quite get them at our home field," said Shiner coach Steven Cerny. "Your goal is to win district and when you can beat Ganado to get it, it's special."
Jones carried only nine times and scored on runs 5 and 68 yards in the second quarter. The second touchdown came with 1:09 left in the half after the Indians (7-2, 2-1) had cut Shiner's lead to seven points. He also 58-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up the Comanches' final score.
Ganado receiver Thomas Parks reaches for the ball with no luck as Shiner defensive back Evel Jones makes sure the pass is incomplete. Jones, a senior, had a big night running the ball on offense.
"He's been playing well," Cerny said. "We've lost him the last two years and didn't have him for this game. We were not going to overdo him this year. He can go. He's a special player."
Jones, who also returned a pair of kickoffs for 47 total yards, said Cerney's strategy has allowed him stay fresh.
"It's helped me a lot," Jones said. "I've got a lot more endurance and I can play real hard. I was just using my speed and looking for my blocks. I couldn't do it without my blocks."
The Indians were without running back Clay Vesely, who missed the game with an injured back.
But Ganado coach Jimmy Thompson felt the difference was his defense's inability to keep Shiner from making big plays.
"We didn't adjust to the speed of the game well," he said. "Of course, you can't practice that and we played three or four teams in a row that didn't show us that and then all of a sudden you see it and it's just a different look.
"But give them credit," he added. "They played a good ballgame. They had one turnover and two penalties and they stopped us when they had to. It was a night where we could have made a play or two and been in it, but we didn't."
Shiner running back Caleb Curtis carries the ball in the opening drive against Ganado on Friday.
Ganado running back Billy Jones carried 22 times for 181 yards and led an offense that produced 230 of its 358 yards in the second half.
"In the first half I thought we matched them blow for blow," said Shiner linebacker Jacob Stafford. "In the third quarter, they started pounding on us a little bit, but we kept our spirits up going into the fourth quarter because we knew we could win this game."
Stafford scored two touchdowns from his fullback position, including a 13-yard run with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter.
Mike Forman is a sports writer for The Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-580-6588, or by e-mail at mforman@vicad.com.
GAME STATISTICS:
statistics source: http://www.advosports.com/games/football/shiner-at-ganado/206/
GAME SUMMARY: Shiner 28, Ganado 19 TEAM STATISTICS: Shiner Ganado First downs 15 17 Rushes-yards 38-314 46-289 Passes 0-1-0 5-13-x Passing yards 0 69 Punts-yards 3-114 3-95 Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-yards 2-15 1-5 SCORING SUMMARY: 1 2 3 4 -- Final Shiner 7 14 0 7 -- 28 Ganado 0 7 6 6 -- 19 SCORING DETAILS: First Quarter S - Jacob Stafford 13 run (Kris Patek kick), 6:28 Second Quarter S - Evel Jones 5 run (kick failed), 9:18 G - Kameron Smith 29 pass from Ray Salazar (Jonathan Maratinez Kick), 2:42 S - Jones 68 run (Jones run), 1:09 Third Quarter G - Kenny Kocian 1 run (pass failed), 5:55 Fourth Quarter S - Stafford 13 run (Patek kick), 5:48 G - Salazar 1 run (run failed), 1:10 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Rushing Ganado: Benny Garcia 2-7, Kenny Kocian 13-48, Ray Salazar 9-53, Billy Jones 22-181, Shiner: Trevion Flowers 11-46, Evel Jones 9-177, Jacob Stafford 8-47, Caleb Curtis 7-51 Passing Ganado: Ray Salazar 11-5-69-0 Receiving Ganado: Michael Garcia 1-17, Thomas Parks 1-18, Kameron Smith 2-26, Billy Jones 1-8