HOOKS, Texas-Hughes Springs got the best of Hooks on Friday night, 26-12, in a District 7-3A matchup at Hornet Stadium.
Mason Vasquez blocked a Hughes Springs punt and ran it back 37 yards for a touchdown to bring Hooks to within two points with four seconds left in the third quarter.
The Hornets elected to go for 2 points but were stopped short and left at halftime trailing 14-12.
In the final frame the Mustangs snuffed Hooks' momentum. The Mustangs controlled the ball for more than nine minutes on just two drives and tacked on two more touchdowns.
Both fourth-quarter touchdowns came on 1-yard runs. Quarterback Andrew Gaul ran in the first about halfway through the quarter, and Nakia Lee ran in the second with 1:16 left to play.
Both teams were combating the rain as much as they were each other.
In the first half the two teams nearly broke even on yards gained through the air and on fumbles with two apiece. Hooks went on to finish the night with six fumbles, none of which they lost, and the Mustangs committed three fumbles and lost none.
Hughes Springs adjusted well to heavy rain at the beginning of the game and was able to establish the ground game, scoring the first two touchdowns of the night.
Bryce Johnson broke the seal for the Mustangs on a 44-yard dash down the visitor sideline. Nakia Lee punched in the 2-point run put Hughes Springs on top 8-0.
Lee added the second touchdown on a 2-yard plunge but the 2-point pass failed.
The Mustangs piled up 258 yards rushing on 54 carries.
Hooks struggled to find its feet in the first half, being limited to 39 yards on the ground on 12 carries. In the second half, the rain, mud and Mustang defense led to a number of sacks resulting in a significant loss of yards-the Hornets finished with just 15 yards on the ground as a team.
Hooks' lone touchdown of the first half was a 10-yard pass that dropped into the arms of Slate Ruth as quarterback Connor Price scrabbled toward the home sideline.
Price completed one other pass in the first half, a 47-yard hookup again with Slate.
Andrew Gaul completed two passes for the Mustangs during the contest for 57 yards, one of which was a 47-yard bullet to Chandler King in the second quarter.
The Hornets slip to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in district. The Mustangs climb to 3-5, 1-3.
Hooks travels to Mount Vernon next Friday.
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Hughes Springs 8 6 0 12 - 26
Hooks 0 6 6 0 - 12
First Quarter
HSP-Bryce Johnson 44 run (Nakia Lee run), 8:55.
Second Quarter
HSP-Lee 2 run (pass failed), 11:23.
HKS-Slate Ruth 10 pass from Connor Price (kick failed), 1:55.
Third Quarter
HKS-Mason Vasquez 37 blocked punt return (run failed), 0:04.
Fourth Quarter
HSP-Andrew Gaul 1 run (kick failed), 6:53.
HSP-Lee 1 run (run failed), 1:16.
Hughes Springs=Hooks
First Downs=15=8
Yards Rushing=54-258=15-20
Yards Passing=58=57
Passes A-C-I=32-0=142-1
Fumbles-Lost=3-0=6-0
Penalties=8-75=4-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Hughes Springs, Gaul 8-52, Isaiah Bolden 8-26, Flournoy 3-7, Lee 17-66, Johnson 18-107. Hooks, Price 5-(-47), Vasquez 11-48, Jack Dedner 2-10, Logan Murray 2-4.
PASSING-Hughes Springs, Gaul 3-2-0-58. Hooks, Price 14-2-1-57.
RECEIVING-Hughes Springs, Bolden 1-11, Chandler King 1-47. Hooks, Ruth 2-57.