HOMEDALE — Homedale has the luxury of surrounding its new quarterback with some talented weapons.
Junior quarterback Xavier Uranga made his first varsity start Friday night for the Trojans against Snake River. Measuring in at 5-foot-9 and 142 pounds, he might not have the size you’d expect out of a starting quarterback at the varsity level, but he showed he wasn’t afraid to throw the ball around.
It also helps that he already has a close relationship with one of his receivers.
“He is my cousin so we have a pretty good relationship,” Homedale wide receiver Luke Henry said. “He’s come a long way so far. Everyone has been doubting him a little bit. He got the job done in the first game.”
Henry caught both touchdown passes from Uranga against the Panthers as Homedale opened its season with a 22-6 home victory. There’s always uncertainty surrounding the first game of the season, especially in week “zero," but Uranga looked sharp in his first varsity action.
“He’s been in this offense since he was in third grade,” Homedale head coach Matt Holtry said about Uranga. “He knows the offense. It’s his first varsity start. We’re proud of him and the things he did tonight. We’ll be able to watch film now and point things out and now you’re seeing live action.”
Uranga finished the game going 9-of-16 for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
Along with fellow senior wide receiver Rafael Cuenca, the Trojans (1-0) have a pair of all-conference weapons to help ease Uranga along in the offense. Both showed Friday night they’ll be dangerous weapons all season long. Henry had five catches for 115 yards and Cuenca had four for 74.
Henry stood out in all three phases of the game. Along with scoring all three touchdowns in the game, he had two long punt returns to set up short fields for the Trojans offense and had an interception on defense.
“He can play tailback, he can play quarterback, he can play wide receiver,” Holtry said. “You saw it tonight, he’s a senior leader, he’s an all-around athlete. Both sides of the ball. He’s a special player.”
On Homedale’s second drive of the game, Uranga found Henry deep down the middle of the field for a 78-yard touchdown. The ball hung up in the air for a bit, but Henry was able to track it down. Uranga also ran in for the two-point conversion to give the Trojans an early 8-0 lead.
Homedale didn’t score for the rest of the half as the defense made multiple key stops. The Panthers (0-1) were stopped on two-goal-to-go series.
Snake River drove deep into Homedale territory on its first drive, but were held to a field goal attempt. The 24-yard kick missed wide left.
Snake River worked another drive inside the 10-yard line late in the second quarter, but a holding penalty on first down pushed the Panthers back to the 20-yard line. From there, they failed to gain another yard. They went for it on fourth down and Cuenca came up with an interception.
To begin the second half, the Trojans went on a 70-yard drive that ended on a two-yard touchdown run by Henry. They led 15-0 with 9:09 left in the third quarter. In the second half, Homedale’s defense kept the Snake River offense from getting a first down until late in the fourth quarter.
“We went for it on fourth down early in the game because we believe in our defense,” Holtry said. “We believe in those returning starters we have. They’re going to be fun to see grow this season.”
Henry scored his third touchdown of the game early in the fourth on an 18-yard pass from Uranga, making it 22-0. The Panthers added a touchdown late in the fourth.
The first test for Uranga and co. was passed. With some film and experience to work with, the Trojans hope the offense can look even better as the season progresses.
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