Rattlers run past Leopards
J.J. Graves makes a leaping interception at La Grange and had a huge return to help the Rattlers set up a touchdown. Navasota improved to 1-1 in district with the win. Examiner photo by Matthew Ybarra
Hudson Minor connects with Xavier Steptoe in the corner of the endzone for a 21-yard score. Navasota defeated La Grange 33-21. Examiner photo by Matthew Ybarra
LA GRANGE – Navasota struck first and struck last to pick up their first district win, 33-21 over the La Grange Leopards.
The Rattlers (3-4, 1-1) forced a Leopard punt then used two big plays to take an early lead. Sophomore, Hudson Minor started the game at quarterback with senior Ja’mar Jessie sidelined with an injury. Minor connected with John Lee for 39 yards then Jamal Thomas escaped up the middle for a 53-yard run into the endzone. Juan Vargas connected on the point-after.
A leaping interception and return by J.J. Graves set up another Thomas score, this one from 5-yards out. Vargas connected again on the extra-point to give Navasota a 14-0 lead. Thomas had 23 carries for 165 yards. “We have been working really hard in practice trying to pick up extra yardage,” said Thomas. “One of my coaches told me to go hard every play so that is what I did.”
La Grange cut the lead in half with 5:45 remaining in the first quarter on an 11-yard pass reception by Bravion Rogers from Clay Wolff. Brendan Maddox tacked on the point-after.
Following a scoreless second-quarter, both teams exchanged scores in the third. Hudson Minor connected with Xavier Steptoe in the right corner of the endzone for a 21-yard touchdown. The point-after was blocked. Wolff answered for the Leopards connecting with Jaxon Cooper for a 23-yard score.
Ryder Imhoff tied the game with a 10-yard run, with 11:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. The kick by Maddox gave La Grange a 21-20 lead.
Minor faked a handoff to Jamarion Frear and bounced ran to the left juking a defender in the backfield and making several others miss along the way before falling into the endzone to complete the 50-yard run.
“I made one move and just kept running,” said Minor when describing his run. “The line blocked amazing. It just all came into play.”
Minor said this was a great team win. “I love this team. They have a lot of trust in me and they trust me just as much as they do Ja’mar [Jessie]. We put on a show tonight and it was a good team win and good booster to improve to 1-1 in district.” Minor finished with 87-yards passing, completing 4 of his 6 passes. He also rushed for 76 yards on 8 carries.
Navasota finalized the scoring, 33-21, on an 8-yard run by Frear and Vargas kick.
“I am so proud of the effort all the way around,” Navasota Head Coach Casey Dacus told his team following the win. “That was a complete team win. We saw good stuff on special teams, we saw good stuff on offense and we saw good stuff on defense. That is what it takes, it takes everybody. That’s a big-time win right there.”
Dacus said when watching film, they will see things they missed, “but what I saw was guys getting back on the line of scrimmage and playing the next play like we always talk about.”
Navasota had great production from their offensive-line helping the Rattlers rush for 299 yards. Sheldon Rayford talked about the ability to open holes. “We had to come out and do our job, so we can put points on the board. Before we came out here tonight, we had a good talk to make sure we were all on the same page and same level today. We made big holes and big plays and came away with the dub.”
Navasota hosts the #8 Cuero Gobblers Friday, Oct. 22, with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.