Look: Southwest Legacy beats Laredo Nixon 41-15 to keep playoff hopes alive
LAREDO, Texas — The San Antonio Southwest Legacy Titans pulled away during the second half and never looked back, racing to a pivotal 41-15 road win against Laredo Nixon on Friday night at Shirley Field.
The victory marked Southwest Legacy's third straight win and helped the Titans improve to 5-2 in district play, moving them into a third-place tie with Laredo Cigarroa in the District 13-5A DI standings with one week left in the regular season.
Southwest Legacy senior Jesse Zapata scored three touchdowns and booted in a field goal, while senior running back Fernando Flores added a pair of touchdowns for the Titans.
Zapata was everywhere for the Titans, spending time as a wide receiver while also getting the nod for punting and kicking duties. He put Southwest Legacy on the scoreboard first and accounted for all the points scored by both teams during the opening quarter.
San Antonio Southwest Legacy was efficient on offense, scoring on each of its first three possessions of the night.
The Titans moved the ball down the field behind Flores, their workhorse on the ground, to get the ball inside the red zone.
Laredo Nixon held its ground defensively and forced Southwest Legacy to kick a field goal. Zapata booted in a 34-yard field goal with 6:19 left in the first quarter to help the Titans seize an early 3-0 advantage.
Nixon had a hard time firing up its offense, as Southwest Legacy's defense sealed off potential running lanes anywhere on the field.
Zapata scored his first of three touchdowns to open the second quarter.
Titans quarterback Fabian Ramos found Zapata down the field for a 60-yard touchdown pass to make it a 10-0 Southwest Legacy lead after Zapata capped off the drive by kicking in the extra point.
The Mustangs went on to score their only touchdown of the first half on a broken play. Laredo Nixon moved the ball into scoring territory when quarterback Ray Gonzalez attempted to find a receiver in the end zone only to be intercepted by Jeremiah Sifuentes.
He started to run out of the end zone but was wrapped up by a Mustangs' defender. As Sifuentes was on his way down, he threw a shuttle pass to one of his teammates but it landed in the hands of Alexis Aldana in the end zone, giving Laredo Nixon a defensive touchdown.
Nixon went for the two-point conversion, as Thomas Limon forced his way in on a short run to cut the Titans' lead to 10-8 with 1:38 left during the first half.
On the ensuing San Antonio Southwest Legacy drive, Markeey Collins broke loose on a kickoff return to put the ball on Nixon's 18-yard line. Soon afterward, Zapata capped off that short drive with a field goal, as the Titans extended their lead to 13-8 with 38 seconds left in the half.
The wheels then came off for Laredo Nixon, which could never find its footing against the Titans. San Antonio Southwest Legacy started dominate all over the field, as the Titans pounced on the Mustangs miscues.
Flores scored his first touchdown of the game after making two tough runs for the Titans that moved the ball in scoring territory. He capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to open the second half, as the Titans built a 19-8 edge.
Things continued to sour for the Mustangs, as they mishandled the kickoff, which was recovered by Southwest Legacy on Nixon's 38-yard line.
One play later Ramos, found a wide open Zapata for a 38-yard touchdown reception to give the Titans a 27-8 lead with 9:16 left during the third quarter.
Southwest Legacy added its third touchdown of the quarter on a 6-yard run by Flores to take a 34-8 lead with 1:46 left during the third. The Titans scored a touchdown on a 25-yard run by Sifuentes to open the fourth quarter too, which gave them a commanding 41-8 lead.
Laredo Nixon continued to work hard to find an opening offensively and scored a touchdown when Gonzalez connected with a wide open Brandon Pulido for a 35-yard touchdown pass to make it a 41-15 Titans with 4:08 left in the game.
San Antonio Southwest Legacy (5-4, 5-2) will look to pick up its fourth straight win and secure a postseason berth when the Titans return to action for a rivalry game matchup against the San Antonio Southwest Dragons (6-3, 6-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, at Southwest Dragon Stadium in San Antonio.
Southwest Legacy can clinch one of the two remaining District 13-5A DI playoff seeds with a Week 11 against the Dragons.
Laredo Nixon (3-6 , 2-5), meanwhile, will wrap up its regular-season slate next week when the Mustangs clash against the Laredo Martin Tigers (1-8, 1-6) in a crosstown rivalry game at the same time Friday, Nov. 4, at Shirley Field in Laredo.
Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:
PHOTO GALLERY — SAN ANTONIO SOUTHWEST LEGACY 41, LAREDO NIXON 15
All photos by Clara Sandoval
