CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Calallen (1-0) earned a big win to kickoff the season in the Battle of the Wildcats. Calallen held off Gregory-Portland 42-40. One of the players that stood made his varsity debut. He’s their junior running back and our Game Changer of the Week, Ricardo Rodriguez.
“It was definitely a good thrill because I always played JV. Like in the beginning of the season I wasn’t playing running back a lot," Rodriguez said. "I was playing more defense. Then when I got the chance to play running back I had to take it because I always wanted to play running back.”
Rodriguez literally took the opportunity and ran with it. 22 carries for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns in his Calallen varsity debut.
“He works as hard as anybody out there, but he’s a physical player," Charlie Reeve, Calallen first-year football head coach, said. "I think he has a little bit of everything. You know he’s definitely a downhill back. He plays behind his pads well. He’s hard to tackle. Hard to bring down. You know what he showed Friday night is he also has some speed, that if he can get into the open he’s hard to catch.”
Rodriguez will never forget their opening drive against G-P. The junior changed the game on their third play. Bursting through the gap for a 47 yard house call for 6.
“It was great. It was a great feeling. I got the ball and I ran it," Rodriguez said. "I was like oh my gosh there’s no way this is happening. I mean the linemen they did a lot for me. Like they did all of the blocks for me. They made all of the gaps.”
Calallen had won 8 straight meetings against G-P before their loss last season. This year with Reeve, the maroon Wildcats are back on top.
“It was great. There were a lot of people doubting us," Rodriguez said. "It was just a great win overall.”
Up next, Calallen takes a road trip to Alice for a non-district matchup against the Coyotes on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
