Henderson Lions Stadium on Friday, November 12, 2021 –
The Joaquin Rams varsity football team was eliminated from the Texas UIL Football Playoff when they suffered a 50-25 elimination loss to the Beckville Bearcats. The game was a bi-district playoff between the two teams and was played at Henderson Lions Stadium, a neutral site.
The Bearcats received the opening kickoff and drove 54 yards in 8 plays to score first. Bearcat quarterback Ryan Harris found tight end Tyler Bryan for a 14-yard touchdown reception with 7:45 left in the opening period. Jayden Mojica added an extra point kick and Beckville gained an early lead.
Joaquin wasted no time answering as Malik Stotts scored just 17 seconds later on a 77-yard touchdown run with 7:28 left in the opening frame. An extra point conversion attempt was denied and Joaquin trailed the ‘Cats 7-6.
The Bearcats mounted another scoring drive that took only 7 plays and concluded with a 24-yard Jkoby Williams touchdown reception. Another Mojica extra point gave BHS a 14-6 advantage with 3:43 left in the opening frame.
The Rams pulled to within two points of the Bearcats when Andre Brown scored on a 1-yard touchdown run which capped off an 8-play drive with 7:41 left in the second period. Joaquin trailed Beckville 14-12.
Beckville fumbled on their next possession but Joaquin was intercepted just 7 plays later when Karter Jones stepped in front of a Rams pass and returned the football 52 yards to Joaquin’s 31-yard line. A personal foul penalty gave the Bearcats even better position at the JHS 16.
Just two plays into the Bearcats next drive Williams pushed four Joaquin defenders into the endzone on a punishing run for a 14-yard score. A Ryan Harris keeper run for the 2-point conversion gave BHS a 22-12 lead with 1:45 left to play in the first half.
Beckville held Joaquin and was able to get more points when Williams scored again on a 55-yard touchdown reception at the end of the first half. The extra point attempt was thwarted and the Bearcats took a 28-12 advantage into the lockerroom at the midway break.
BHS extended their lead to 36-12 with a Harris keeper for a touchdown and a Matt Barr 2-point conversion with 3:12 left in the third quarter. They regained possession moments later after covering a mishandled lateral. With 1:26 left in the third period Harris extended Beckville’s lead to 42-12 on another quarterback keeper run. Barr added his second 2-point conversion and BHS led 44-12.
Things only got worse for the Rams as just moments later Barr picked up a Rams fumble and raced 35 yards for another score which gave Beckville a 50-12 advantage with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.
Draven Lee scored on a 2-yard touchdown run for the Rams and Zakary Binning added an extra point kick with 2:42 left in the game to cut the BHS lead to 50-19.
The Rams pulled to within 50-25 after regaining possession on a fumble. Dallon Jordan scored a touchdown for the Rams with a 32-yard touchdown run with just 51 seconds remaining in the contest.
The Rams season ended with them boasting a 5-5 overall record. They were 2-2 in District 10 2A-1 conference action. The Bearcats will move on to the Area round of the playoffs and will face Hearne High School next week. Hearne beat Norman 38-0.
