Gobblers compete in final tune-up

• 

  Isaac Ward makes a touchdown. (Photo by Mike Cantu)

  Isaac Ward makes a touchdown. (Photo by Mike Cantu)

The Cuero Gobblers are no stranger to competition. This year’s team may be young and inexperienced, but they showed plenty of fight Thursday night against the SA Davenport Wolves.

“I think we competed real well. That’s a group that went to the State Semifinals last year and is predicted to go to the State Semifinals this year,” Coach Fikac said. “And I think for the most part, we held our own, and our kids competed really-really hard. I was proud of em for that,” he added.

After stopping the Wolves offense on the first series, the Gobblers wasted no time moving the ball downfield with some tough runs by Jace Gamez. Quarterback Jax Marie connected with Walker Dietze on a 35 yard strike, in which the Junior wideout outjumped the defender for the catch, before falling into the end zone. A few plays later, Marie found Dietze along the sideline, and the receiver juked the defender before racing towards the end zone, eluding several other defenders, on the way to his second touchdown of the evening, a 43 yarder.

SA Davenport’s backups came in for a series on offense and finally got the Wolves on the board. After a few nice runs by the running back, the quarterback kept the ball on a read-option and scampered across the left sideline for a 45 yard touchdown run.

The Gobblers second unit matched that score with a 55 yard touchdown run by Jaxon Timpone. Timpone looked to be stopped in the backfield, but shook off the defensive lineman and sprinted up the middle untouched the rest of the way.

Defensive Tackle Kason Roy disrupted the Wolves 3rd series, sacking the quarterback for a big loss. But on the Wolves next set of downs, they found some holes in the defense, moving the ball down to the 2 yard line before punching it in for a touchdown.

There wasn’t much action in the 4th series, as both offenses struggled to move the ball. Gobbler Cornerback Tony Perez intercepted a pass, ending a Wolves drive.

As the timed-quarter portion of the scrimmage began, it looked like Davenport’s offense was finding its rhythm. The Wolves moved the ball to the 11 yard line before scoring on a screen pass. After going 3 and out, the Gobbler defense was right back on the field. Despite another sack from Roy, the Wolves running back and quarterback both broke big runs, moving all the way to the Gobbler 22. The Wolves then scored on a handoff, making the score 14-0.

The Gobbler offense finally awakened, hitting a big screen pass from Marie to Davyon Varela. After several tough runs by Varela, Marie hit Walker Dietze for a 15 yard touchdown, making the score 14-7. The Gobblers defense stood tall, forcing a 3 and out.

The Gobblers took over, and Marie found Conner Kubesch for a 30 yard gain, to the Wolves 20. Barrett Smith scored from 5 yards out and the score was tied 14-14. The Gobbler defense stopped the Wolves again and the game was called about halfway through the 2nd timed quarter.

With the scrimmages over, Coach Fikac expects the Gobblers to continue to improve, heading into next week’s home opener against Columbus.

“I think discipline. We had a few penalties tonight,” Fikac said. “You can’t get behind the chains. And also just continuing to trust and play as a unit together.”

The competition level won’t get any easier as the Cardinals are ranked #2 in 3A Division 1.