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Ricebirds win 98th annual River Battle 42-0
The Ricebirds took advantage of two turnovers and the running of Anthony Terrell and Maverick Smith to build a 28-0 halftime lead and added touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. Terrell scored three touchdowns and rushed for 89 yards. Smith scored once and rushed for 141 yards. Wharton, which totaled up 144 yards, had two penetrations inside the El Campo 20-yardline in the fourth quarter but turned the ball over on downs. Robert Herrera, Triston Washington and Jesmon Grant shared quarterbacking duties and had limited success. Herrera completed four of 15 passes for 63 yards. Grant rushed for 16 yards on five carries. Chris Taylor rushed for 17 yards on five carries and Kenneth Phynon had 14 yards on seven carries. The game was delayed almost 20 minutes in the first minute of the third quarter when El Campo quarterback Dakota Pietsch went down with an injury. He was carried off the field by EMS. The win was the Ricebirds' sixth straight after Wharton won in 2000-01 and coach Bob Gillis has remained perfect against the Tigers. Wharton took the opening kickoff and started at its own 24. El Campo's Kris Escobar recovered a fumble three plays later at the Tiger 35. Two plays later, Smith picked up 18 yards to the 15. Terrell ran seven yards to the eight on the next play. He scored from the three with 7:55 remaining. Tyler Woods added the 2- point conversion to put the Ricebirds up 7-0. El Campo got the ball back four plays later after a Wharton punt at its own 35 yardline with 6:42 remaining. Wharton's defense held, forced a punt and the Ricebirds recovered a fumble at the Tiger 19. Four plays later Terrell scored from the 10. Woods' kick put the Ricebirds up 14-0 with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter. Wharton's third possession started at its own 27 yard line. The Tigers managed to pick up a first down at the 38. The Tigers couldn't convert on a third and 10 and punted. El Campo took over at its own 37 with only three seconds left in the first quarter. Six plays later, Wharton's Shelly Lewis recovered an El Campo fumble by Jac Axel at its own 46 . Jesmon Grant took over at quarterback and picked up 11 yards on the first two plays to put the ball at the 42. He continued to keep the ball and on a fourth down and three, Wharton called time out with 7:34 remaining. Rivera took over as quarterback and threw an incomplete pass. The Ricebirds took over at their own 35 with 7:28 left. The Ricebirds crossed midfield to the Tiger 41 on runs by Terrell and Smith. Two plays later Larry Williams caught a 32 yard pass from Pietsch to the Tiger 9. Smith scored on the next play and Woods booted the extra point kick to put the Ricebirds up 21-0 with 4:52 remaining in the first half. Robert Rivera took over as quarterback after the kickoff. Kenneth Phynon couldn't hold on for a long pass on the first play at the 45. The Tigers punted two plays later and the Ricebirds took over at their own 40 with 3:43 remaining. El Campo drove to the Wharton 35 and called time out with two minutes left until intermission. Smith and Terrell worked the Ricebirds down to the Tiger 16 with under a minute remaining. Pietsch recovered his own fumble and it was second down and 11 with only 39 seconds remaining. Then Pietsch connected with Williams in the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown pass. Woods' kick gave the Ricebirds a 28-0 lead with 33 ticks left. The Tigers got off three plays before the half and Blake Korenek picked off a pass by Triston Washington. El Campo's Landon Appling took the second half kickoff and returned it 77 yards to the Tiger 13. Smith picked up five yards on the first play and Pietsch made it to the four on the next play and went down with an injury. Woods took over as quarterback. Terrell scored on the next play from the four and Gabe Lara booted the extra point kick to put the Ricebirds up 35-0 with still 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Wharton got its only second first down of the game when Triston Washington connected to Phynon to the 27 yardline. Two plays later, Anthony Cruz intercepted a pass and the Ricebirds took over at their own 43 with 7:55 remaining. On a fourth down and three, El Campo failed to pick up the necessary yardage. Wharton took over at its own 49 with 5:46 remaining. The Tigers then punted, but then got the ball back and drove inside the Ricebird 20-yardline with under seven minutes - only to turn the ball over on downs. The Tigers lost yardage on the next three plays and had to punt. El Campo took over at its own 24 with 3:31 remaining. A personal foul gave the Ricebirds a first down at the 41. El Campo drove to the 36. Then on a fourth down and six, Woods threw an incomplete pass and the Tigers took over on downs at the Ricebird 38 with only 44 seconds remaining. Caleb Fisher scored El Campo's last touchdown on a 32 yard run with 1:50 remaining. Lara's kick made it 42-0. Wharton threatened before the game ended, but turned the ball over on downs inside the 15 yardline. The Tigers, still winless on the season, visit Sealy in the District 24-3A opener next Friday. Sealy had an open date. El Campo improved to 2-1 and is open next week. |
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