Gobblers' streak ends with opener
Originally published August 28, 2010 at 1:27 a.m., updated August 28, 2010 at 1:27 a.m.
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CommentWimberley 49
Cuero 42
CUERO - Cuero coach Rick Owens is aware of the past, but he's more concerned with the present.
Owens had his head coaching debut spoiled in Cuero's 49-42 season-opening loss to Wimberley on Friday night at Gobbler Stadium.
The loss ended Cuero's 33-game winning streak at Gobbler Stadium that dated back to 2003. Cuero's last home loss came in Mark Reeve's first game as head coach, a fact not lost on Owens.
"This is not exactly the way I envisioned it," Owens said. "I'm proud of our effort. We've told them since coach Reeve was here, they've got two choices on Monday, to quit or go back to work, and they all said they're going to go back to work."
The Gobblers, who came into the season ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, have a number of areas where they can improve.
Cuero showed its explosiveness and inexperience. Running back Trent Jackson had touchdown runs of 35 and 17 yards, and receiver Monte Green caught a 25-yard touchdown pass and ran back a punt 58 yards for a touchdown.
But the Gobblers also turned the ball over four times and had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jackson to open the second half called back by a penalty.
"This was probably the quietest our locker room has been since I've been here," Owens said. "The guys were focused, but they probably were a little nervous. There were some little things from the guys hadn't been under fire."
Cuero also had trouble stopping Wimberley's running game in the second half. The Texans had 122 of their 208 rushing yards in the third and fourth quarters. The Texans had 24 first downs, including 16 by the rush, to 13 for Cuero and had 69 offensive snaps to 48 for the Gobblers.
"We did have a hard time with that," Owens said. "I think we got gassed. We've got to work on our conditioning. We had a bunch of guys going both ways and their offensive line didn't have to go both ways. That was telling."
Wimberley running back Dennis Smith, who has committed to Texas A&M, carried 26 times for 108 yards and three touchdowns and caught five passes for 58 yards. The Gobblers were also hurt by Wimberley quarterback Brady Lambert, who rushed for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns and passed for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
"We thought we'd try to wear them down," said Wimberley coach Weldon Nelms. "We thought we'd try to shorten the game a little bit and try to pound them. We have a pretty good offensive line and a good back, which they have the same thing. We felt like the best defense was keeping our offense out there and mashing."
Cuero quarterback Mason Blaschke passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a touchdown in his first varsity start. But he lost a fumble and was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter. Jackson also lost a fumble after a 40-yard run.
"We came out knowing they were going to be a good team," Green said. "We didn't execute like we should have. This is only going to make us better. We need to be a team and do what we need to do to get the job done."
If the Gobblers and Texans take care of their business, they would likely meet again in the area playoffs.
"We'd like to hope to get back that way and I'm sure their cupboard will be plenty full if we come back that way so they'll have plenty of ammunition," Nelms said.
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