Shared from the 10/5/2016 Southside Reporter eEdition

Highlands leaps into 28-5A playoff picture

23-20 victory over Kennedy jumbles race

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Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-News The Holy Cross Knights, led by head coach Mike Harrison (center), remained undefeated with a convincing 44-0 trouncing of Cornerstone Christian on Sept. 30.

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Sam Houston QB Jawon Anderson scampered for 138 yards rushing, including a 25-yard touchdown run to lead the Hurricanes to a 34-7 win over Burbank. File photo

The District 28-5A playoff picture has been ever-shifting over the first month, and Highlands coach Juan Morales expects the trend to continue.

Highlands (2-3, 2-1) was one example, jumping into a fourth-place tie with Edison (4-1, 2-1) by virtue of its 23-20 win over Kennedy (1-5, 1-3) Sept. 30 at Alamo Stadium. Edison defeated Brackenridge (3-3, 3-1) Oct. 1, knocking the Eagles out of first-place and scrambling the race even further.

First-place Lanier (3-2, 3-0) is the district’s last remaining undefeated team.

“It was a little bit of a downer to lose to Lanier (Sept. 15),” Morales said, “but it was great seeing the kids bounce back.”

Kennedy rallied to make the game close in the fourth quarter, just as it had done Sept. 23 against Lanier. Rockets senior quarterback Abraham Arias (8 of 11, 191 yards) scored on a two-yard run and passed to Kristian Guerrero (92 yards, 3 catches) for a 52-yard touchdown in the last 6:14 to bring Kennedy within three points.

“Just because we gave up those points at the end doesn’t mean we played a bad game,” Morales said. “Kennedy just doesn’t give up and keeps coming back.”

The Owls scored on a one-yard touchdown plunge from Joseph Palafos, but the Rockets quickly took a 7-6 lead on a 50-yard pass from Arias to Felix Reyes.

Touchdown runs of 21 and two yards from senior Rene Palomino (169 yards, 30 carries) gave Highlands a 20-7 halftime cushion.

A 29-yard field goal from Jose Lagunas with 11:10 remaining secured the win.

“We had a really good game plan,” Morales said.

Holy Cross 44, Cornerstone Christian 0

The Knights (6-0, 2-0) remained undefeated Sept. 30 with their second TAPPS District 5-5A win and second shutout of the season, defeating Cornerstone Christian (1-4, 0-2) at Harlandale Memorial Stadium.

Holy Cross outgained Cornerstone 297-64 and forced five turnovers.

They led 15-0 after a quarter behind a two-yard touchdown run from Jay Nava (46 yards, 7 carries) and a 15-yard pass from Vince Compian (11 of 20, 169 yards) to E.J. Perez (61 yards, 3 receptions). Perez also scored on an 18-yard reception in the third quarter and Steven Gutierrez caught a 47-yard touchdown pass.

Sam Houston 34, Burbank 7

The Hurricanes (4-2, 3-1) defeated Burbank (0-6, 0-4) Sept. 30 in a District 28-5A game at the SAISD Sports Complex.

Sam Houston ran for 385 yards and had two 100-yard-plus rushers. Quarterback Jawon Anderson rushed for 138 yards and Josh Harris added 108. Harris scored two touchdowns. Anderson tallied a 25-yard touchdown run.

Bulldogs quarterback Jason Villarreal slashed the lead to 13-7 with a four-yard scoring run a minute into the second half. The Hurricanes responded with three unanswered touchdowns.

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