United High School - Longhorn Yearbook (Laredo, TX)

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l .Iv Longhorn eased up on Hawk By JOHNNY CAMPOS Times Sports Writer As one-sided as United's43-I 0 win over Dist. 31-AA oppo- nent Zapata was Friday night, it could have been worse. Early in the contestUnited fullback George Ramirez scampered 49 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a holding call wiped out the play. In the second half of action a pair of fumbles deep in Zapata territory and more than a couple of major penalties halted several Longhom drives. But United head coach Robert Ford was pretty satisfied with his team's victory, which kept them in the thick of the league race with a 2-1 mark. The 'Homs face league-leading Premont at Premont next Friday. Wejusthadagood night, Ford said. They're that weak, but we had a real good effort. The big story of the game was the effort put out by halfback Luis'Gonzalez, who scored the first five Longhom touchdowns and wound up with 235 yards on only ll carries. He's got that speed, said' Ford of Gonzalez, who doubled his season's output with his performance against the Hawks. That's all we've got to do is get him one-on-one with anybody. Jl..Lf L I1 .1211 iii And our line just opened up the holes for him, he continued. They did a real good job. They fthe 'Hornsi didn't play as flat as I thought they might, Ford added. The United defenders also received their share of recognition from their men- tor. I felt we had a pretty good effort both offensively and defensively, Ford noted. Zapata improved a lot. They've got a lot of young players. They did a pretty good job of stopping us in the second half. Zapata head coach Sal Mora said he had to use several young players in a makeshift defense because of injuries to some of his key players. His starting quarter- back, Johnny Villarreal, also had to be replaced because of a muscle spasm in his hip. But Mora agreed that the final score probably could have been worse. They eased up on us, Mora said. They probably could have scored more. The first half was pretty phenominalf' He said the homecoming drama for the Longhorns might have had an affect on the younger Hawks. They made too many mental mis- takes, he noted. The se- cond effort wasn't there the first half. Besides the obvious success in the running game for United, Ford said the success of the passing game for quarterback Carlos Gar- cia was another plus for the team. We hadn't been able to pass the ball, Ford explain- ed. Maybe Carlos and the receivers gained some con- fidence now. It'll be a little different story on offense. Longhorn backs George Ramirez and Kevin Young both suffered bruised shoulders against theHawks, but Ford hopes to have them back for the Premont trip.

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By JOHNNY CAMPOS Times Sports Writer United head coach Robert Ford might have missed his calling: Before the Longhorns' game against previously un- beaten San Diego Ford predicted the 'Homs could pull the big upset over the then 10th ranked AA team in the state if they made their own breaks. That was some prophesy. The United defenders pick- ed off four Vaquero passes and recovered three fumbles en route to a 15-10 victory on the Vaqueros' home turf. Our game 'plan was to keep them outside our 40 yard line, because if we did that we figured they wouldn't be able to drive it in, and we were right, commented a happy Ford, who saw his team get back into the Dist. 31-AA race with the upset win. Ford said the Vaqueros did show signs of being a good ball club, but all the tur- novers made the difference. And it was the aggressive play of the United defense that made the difference. Scott Doggette picked off a pair of key pass, stoppingSan Diego drives inside the Un- ited 40. He also tipped another pass that was in- tercepted by Carlos Garcia. Amado Ayala also snared n enemy aerial, while Kevin oung and Bobby Laurel ecovered fumbles. Laurel's umble netted the 'Horns hat turned out to be the inning touchdown in the inal quarter of play. San Diego head coach Ray ontreras said his team had otten away with their mis- akes earlier this season, but ey finally caught up to hem. We played bad nough to lose a couple of imes already this year, oted Contreras, whose team ost to the Longhoms in the an Diego stadium two easons ago and had not lost t home since. The Vaqs also ad a nine-game winning treak extending back to last ear broken by the 'Horns. United 'prophets' from Son Diego lapses We don't usually punt out of our endzone. We don't usually allow long run- backs, he continued. Defensively we played a jewel of a game and allowed nine points. It was just too much good field position given away, and United did take it. There is a lot of crying going on here now, Con- treras said. They burst our bubble. But I don't think we're out of it yet. It just makes our challenge a little harder. We got over 300 yards total offense last night, he added. I still think the better football team lost lastnightf' Although the defense gave up all the yardage to San Diego, Ford said his team eamed all their breaks, poin- ting out aggressive play by Sammy Barreras, Arthur Ralph Quiroz, out most of the season with injuries, also played a good defensive game for the 'Horns, but his only carry of the game offen- sively put the Longhorns ahead on a one-yard scoring run. A quick kick by Amado Ayala and a punt by Ed Sherfey were killed inside the San Diego five at about the one, and Ford said the pun- ting game kept the Vaqueros in the hole most of the game. The United defense scored a safety in the final period after Sherfey's punt was downed by Ayala on the Vaquero' one. The two San Diego backs ran into each other in their own endzone, and Harwerth was right there to make sure the play was over. That happened with 3:27 left on the clock. AfterUnited failed to move the ball, they punted to the Vaqs, who reached the United 45 yard line before Ayala recorded his interception with 17 seconds to go. United used up the rest of the clock. That's what was really fun...watching the clock run off and they couldn't do anything about it, said a smiling Ford. The United offense racked up 195 total yards, with fullback George Ramirez netting 103 of them on 25 carries, for his second out- standing performance in as many weeks. Luis Gonzalez picked up 59 yards on a dozen tries. The victory puts United back into the district picture with a 1-1 mark, which they will risk next week when they host the punchless Zapata Hawks. Peterson and Lance Harwerth Laredo Times Article- Ralph is probably holding. 131

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.-1.4 Cowboys rope Longhorn By JOHNNY CAMPOS Times Sports Writer PREMONT-It was the Premont passing rather than its feared swiftness that led the Cowboys to a 14-7 Dist. 31- AA win over United here Friday-night. Taking advantage of the only Longhorn turnover of the game, a fumbled punt, Cowboy quarterback Joe Trevino hit David Smith for a David Miller personally halted three Cowboy drives with three interceptions off Trevino. The Longhorns kept Pre- mont deep in its territory throughout the first half with the help of some goodSherfey punts. The first of his punts, gave the 'Pokes the ball at their 15. The next two kicks put Pre- mont inside its own five. HalfbackBillyHallmanag- 13-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth period and then hit halfback Teddy Suarez for a two-point conversion wip- ing out a 7-0 United lead. The 'Horns never put on a serious threat after they fell behindf United had taken the lead with 1: 34 left in the half when junior back Luis Gonzalez, who totaled 68 yards on 19 carries, went in from one yard out. Ed Sherfey's extra ed only 40 yards on 14 attempts but was successful on two halfback passes com- ing in critical situations late in the contest. He completed two passes for 31 yards. UNITED PREMONT First Downs 5 12 Rushes-ya rds 34-91 43-159 Passing yards 32 43 Passes 6-16-0 5-17-3 Punts-avg. 9-35 5-35 Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-1 Penalties-yards 5-35 9-61 point put the 'Horns ahead 7-0 at halftime. United held the lead until lit 32 left in the final period. Premont's other score came with 40 seconds show- ing onthe clock when Trevino went around his right end from the seven yard line for the TD. The PAT was block- ed. The sophomore quarter- back finished the game with 85 yards on 15 tries, including a 29-yard pickup that setup the final touchdown, The win leaves Premont in first place in the league with a 4-0 mark and eliminates the Longhorns from the con- ference race. United is now 2- 2 and 3-5 for the season. On the United scoring drive, Gonzalez carried the ball six of eight plays picking up 31 yards on the 39-yard drive. Defensively for the 'Horns, J' Laredo Times Article. The Trans Am in action