Ross brothers power Estacado football comeback win over Levelland in district opener

With the team trailing by 10 at halftime, Estacado football coach Eric Ward delivered a message of playing "for your brother." As it turned out, an actual pair of brothers helped spark a comeback win.

Cedric Ross ran for two touchdowns and Bobby Ross led a renewed defensive effort as the Matadors rallied to beat Levelland 28-23 in the district opener Thursday at Lowrey Field. There were three lead changes in the second half, with Cedric Ross scoring the go-ahead TD with 1:23 to play.

Estacado (3-4, 1-0 district) has won consecutive games after snapping a four-game losing skid.

"I said let's get a stop, keep playing our game and let's go one play at a time," Ward said. "But don't play for yourself. Play for your brother … and they did exactly that. They played and leaned on each other. They came together and they got it done."

Cedric Ross gets loose in second half

Cedric Ross scored Estacado's first TD after returning his brother's fumble in the opening quarter. He found the end zone in more conventional ways after halftime.

The first came after a Bobby Ross sack forced a turnover on downs to start the third quarter. Two plays later, Cedric Ross completed a 53-yard TD run by spinning out of two tackle attempts near the goal line. The touchdown brought the Matadors within one score and jolted life into the team.

Another electric run of 38 yards put Estacado in front late, and Bobby Ross helped close out the game. Ross came up with another fourth-down sack to end Levelland's final drive and seal the victory.

A standout running back in his own right, Bobby Ross showed his defensive prowess with five tackles for loss.

"Me and my parents, teammates, we've all done said that Bobby's a defensive player," Cedric Ross said. "He showed it tonight."

Levelland can't capitalize on strong start

Levelland built a 16-6 lead after a touchdown just before halftime. Lobos coach Lyle Leong felt good about their position, but the offense sputtered.

Levelland (4-3, 0-1) netted 2 rushing yards in the second half, thanks in part to eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage for Estacado. Still, the Lobos controlled possession with two drives longer than six minutes. That included a 15-play drive to start the fourth quarter that culminated in Ethan Salazar's 1-yard sneak.

Levelland led by one but couldn't contain Cedric Ross on the ensuing possession.

"They've just got some playmakers," Leong said. "Ceddy got loose and made some plays, made some kids miss. That's what it came down to is Cedric making plays, and that's what he did. He's a top 300 (college recruit) kid for a reason, and he showed it tonight."

Estacado hopes to build off thrilling win

Things looked bleak for the Matadors before the late resurgence. Ward hopes the team has turned a corner after starting 1-4 in his debut season.

Estacado will look to continue its momentum next week at Perryton.

"We've still got to go out there and we've got to put in the effort in practice," Ward said. "So we just take this, we celebrate it and then we have short-term memory and get back to work. But it's definitely something to build off of."

DISTRICT 2-4A DIVISION II

Estacado 28, Levelland 23

Levelland 10 6 0 7 — 23

Estacado 6 0 16 6 — 28

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

LEV — Ricky Rodriquez 17 run (Eli Randol kick), 8:08

EST — Cedric Ross 21 fumble return (run failed), 7:56

LEV — Randol 24 field goal, 5:18

Second quarter

LEV — Gage Potter 5 pass from Ethan Salazar (kick failed), 0:04

Third quarter

EST — Ross 53 run (Bobby Ross run), 4:31

EST — James Bozeman 20 run (B. Ross run), 0:03

Fourth quarter

LEV — Salazar 1 run (Randol kick), 4:27

EST — C. Ross 38 run (run failed), 1:23

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: (L) 18; (E) 14

Rushes-Yards: (L) 37-109; (E) 35-238

Passing: (L) 230; (E) 31

Comp-Att-Int: (L) 16-27-0; (E) 4-6-0

Punts-Avg: (L) 1-8; (E) 1-35

Fumbles-Lost: (L) 0-0; (E) 2-0

Penalties-Yards: (L) 7-50; (E) 3-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Levelland, Ricky Rodriquez 13-66, Noah Martin 17-42, Ethan Salazar 4-16, Kysen Niblett 1-3, Boston Winfield 2-(-18). Estacado, Cedric Ross 9-108, Bobby Ross 9-74, Donivan Torrez 5-29, James Bozeman 8-23, Nathan Johnson 1-10.

PASSING: Levelland, Salazar 15-26-0—223, Winfield 1-1-0—7. Estacado, Johnson 4-6-0—31.

RECEIVING: Levelland, Gage Potter 6-99, Eryk Jones 2-83, Niblett 2-15, Martin 2-12, Rodriquez 1-13, Tobias Gavina 1-9, Kaden Brogden 1-2, Zaden Carrillo 1-(-3). Estacado, Ja'Terrian Hargers 2-18, C. Ross 1-8, Xavier Lucio 1-5.

RECORDS: Levelland 4-3, 0-1; Estacado 3-4, 1-0.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Ross brothers power Estacado football comeback win over Levelland in district opener