Lubbock High football loses 'heart and soul' of defense as Andrews runs away with win

Andrews ran for 531 yards to power a 55-21 victory over Lubbock High on Friday at Lowrey Field. The Westerners' task of defending the Mustangs' first-year Slot-T offense was compounded by the loss of top linebacker Zeke Rodriquez with 5:44 left in the opening quarter.

Like Rodriquez, LHS' No. 1 running back also left the game early with an injury and did not return. Sophomore Zeph Barela, who ran for 206 yards in his varsity debut last week, missed the second half. Coincidentally, Rodriquez was hurt on a rush attempt in Barela's absence.

It was one step forward and two steps back for the Westerners, who again had the services of freshman quarterback Dallas Trevino. The starter missed the past two games after suffering an injury in Week 2.

Highlights

Six different players scored touchdowns for Andrews, which did not complete its only pass attempt. The Mustangs (3-2) built a 28-7 halftime lead and spent almost six minutes on a scoring drive to open the third quarter.

Friday's stars

Thrust into an increased role in the backfield, Da'Zuan Jones was a bright spot for LHS. He ran 14 times for 127 yards and two TDs, both in the second half.

But the game's top rusher was Andrews' Jaesean DeBouse. He finished with 240 yards and two scores on 21 carries. Teammate Merqucio Saiz tallied 118 yards on the ground, and Jeremiah Mullen added 87.

Notes and quotes

LHS coach Juan Rodriguez on defending the Slot-T: "We had a hard time mimicking it throughout the week. We kind of knew that we were going to face some problems with it, (but not) to this extent. We didn't have one single stop all night, and obviously that hurt us. We lost Zeke early on, and that's a big part of our defense right there. That's the heart and soul."

Rodriguez on the injury bug: "It feels like it was just deja vu compared to last year. Basically we lost (starting RB Keith) Ramirez right around the same time, in the same game. We lost Zeke tonight; we lost our running game tonight. … We've just been plagued by little injuries. Those are (positions) that we can definitely work on the next couple of weeks and get better at."

Rodriguez on Trevino's return: "It was great to have Dallas, and nothing against (backup) Zach (Reyna). Dallas did some great plays, but you could tell that he's still not the same Dallas that he was the first couple of weeks. … Six-man pressure for a young quarterback like that is going to put him out of rhythm, and I don't think he ever was in rhythm tonight to make some of those big plays that he's used to making. And they're fast on defense."

NON-DISTRICT

Andrews 55, Lubbock High 21

Andrews 12 16 13 14 — 55

Lubbock High 0 7 7 7 — 21

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

AND — Merqucio Saiz 48 run (kick failed), 6:35

AND — Alan Chavez 1 run (run failed), 1:28

Second quarter

LUB — Trini Tijerina 54 pass from Dallas Trevino (Yael Ontiveros kick), 5:50

AND — Aidyn Olivas 9 run (Jaesean DeBouse run), 3:51

AND — DeBouse 17 run (Jeremiah Mullen run), 0:42

Third quarter

AND — Leeroy Millan 4 run (Daylon Jefcoats kick), 6:43

LUB — Da'Zuan Jones 46 run (Ontiveros kick), 4:44

AND — DeBouse 39 run (kick failed), 0:10

Fourth quarter

LUB — Jones 6 run (Ontiveros kick), 9:36

AND — Millan 3 run (Jefcoats kick), 7:25

AND — Mullen 25 run (Jefcoats kick), 1:10

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: (A) 22; (L) 16

Rushes-Yards: (A) 58-531; (L) 27-178

Passing: (A) 0; (L) 173

Comp-Att-Int: (A) 0-1-0; (L) 14-29-2

Punts: (A) 0; (L) 0

Fumbles-Lost: (A) 1-1; (L) 2-1

Penalties-Yards: (A) 7-45; (L) 6-34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Andrews, Jaesean DeBouse 21-240, Merqucio Saiz 11-118, Jeremiah Mullen 9-87, Leeroy Millan 9-51, Aidyn Olivas 6-34, Alan Chavez 2-1. Lubbock High, Da'Zuan Jones 14-127, Zeph Barela 4-50, Zeke Rodriquez 1-4, Keagan Davis 1-2, Dallas Trevino 4-1, Josh Lewis 2-(-1), Team 1-(-5).

PASSING: Andrews, Olivas 0-1-0. Lubbock High, Trevino 14-28-2—173, Barela 0-1-0.

RECEIVING: Lubbock High, Trini Tijerina 4-72, Derek Torrez 4-33, Joshua Coleman 2-24, Jones 2-18, Barela 1-28, Ethan Torrez 1-(-2).

RECORDS: Andrews 3-2; Lubbock High 2-3.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Andrews football runs past injury-plagued Lubbock High