Pink was the theme between United Independent School District's oldest rivalry, Alexander and United, on Tuesday night.
A sea of blue and orange filled the United gymnasium in each team’s regular season finale, but it was the pink color that stood out.
The United volleyball team took the court with pink ribbons in its hair and pink t-shirts while the gym was filled with pink balloons in support of breast cancer awareness month.
Alexander (16-2 District 29-5A, 26-5 overall) beat United (13-5, 22-15) in a four-game thriller, 25-16, 22-25, 27-25 and 25-21. Both teams are headed to the Class 5A playoffs, with Alexander the No. 2 seed in 29-5A and United No. 3.
With the playoffs already determined in 29-5A entering the game, the rivalry, the seeding and a year’s worth of bragging rights took a back seat to the real winners of the game, the women Involved in the Nurturing Giving and Sharing organization.
Prior to the game, the United volleyball coaching staff and players presented the WINGS organization with a $2,000 check from all the proceeds off their t-shirt sales for the past three weeks.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Week 7 Football: United 55, Cigarroa 2
Football fans at the SAC on Friday night were treated to an explosive episode of The Billy Williams III Show.
The talented junior United running back racked up 303 yards of total offense as he led his team to a 55-2 victory over the Cigarroa Toros.
United is now 6-0 in District 29-5A, 6-1 overall. Cigarroa fell to 3-3, 4-3.
Williams accounted for a majority of his team's yards, rushing for 267 and five scores on 25 attempts (averaging more than 10 yards per carry) and catching four passes for 36 yards.
The emergence of Williams came in response to a superb job by the Cigarroa defense at shutting down United’s deep threat passing game.
Toros safety Jose Garcia was especially impressive as he got a hand on and almost intercepted three early deep passing attempts by United senior quarterback Tony Salas.
Salas rebounded from a 50 percent first-half completion rate to completing 14 of 25 attempts on the night for 185 yards, no scores and no turnovers.
The quarterback also showed flashes of speed by carrying the ball three times for 38 yards, including a six-yard touchdown.
United wide receiver Sergio Ramos also got in on the running game by scoring on a 1-yard scamper as a reward for pulling in a reception that set his team up inches away from the goal line.
Ramos led the team in receiving with 90 yards on six receptions.
United put its backups into the rotation late in the game and quarterback Joey Zepeda found Gus Garza on a 10-yard touchdown strike midway through the fourth quarter; the only passing touchdown of the night for Longhorns.
Zepeda completed three of five passes for 35 yards in his limited playing time.
Cigarroa got the defensive performance it was looking for early in the game when it held United to 27 first-half points and returned a blocked extra point 100 yards to put its lone two points on the board.
The Toros offense, however, failed to find any consistency against a stingy Longhorn defensive unit.
Cigarroa gained only 16 rushing yards and finished the game with 132 total yards of offense, a far cry from the 551 yards of offense accumulated by the Longhorns.
Toros quarterback Victor Martinez contributed 116 yards of offense through the air by completing 16 of his 29 passes with neither any scores or turnovers.
Cigarroa's lead running back was Jesse Sanchez, who had 15 yards on eight carries. Ramon Flores, a new name on the Cigarroa roster, led his team in receiving with 56 yards on three catches.
The talented junior United running back racked up 303 yards of total offense as he led his team to a 55-2 victory over the Cigarroa Toros.
United is now 6-0 in District 29-5A, 6-1 overall. Cigarroa fell to 3-3, 4-3.
Williams accounted for a majority of his team's yards, rushing for 267 and five scores on 25 attempts (averaging more than 10 yards per carry) and catching four passes for 36 yards.
The emergence of Williams came in response to a superb job by the Cigarroa defense at shutting down United’s deep threat passing game.
Toros safety Jose Garcia was especially impressive as he got a hand on and almost intercepted three early deep passing attempts by United senior quarterback Tony Salas.
Salas rebounded from a 50 percent first-half completion rate to completing 14 of 25 attempts on the night for 185 yards, no scores and no turnovers.
The quarterback also showed flashes of speed by carrying the ball three times for 38 yards, including a six-yard touchdown.
United wide receiver Sergio Ramos also got in on the running game by scoring on a 1-yard scamper as a reward for pulling in a reception that set his team up inches away from the goal line.
Ramos led the team in receiving with 90 yards on six receptions.
United put its backups into the rotation late in the game and quarterback Joey Zepeda found Gus Garza on a 10-yard touchdown strike midway through the fourth quarter; the only passing touchdown of the night for Longhorns.
Zepeda completed three of five passes for 35 yards in his limited playing time.
Cigarroa got the defensive performance it was looking for early in the game when it held United to 27 first-half points and returned a blocked extra point 100 yards to put its lone two points on the board.
The Toros offense, however, failed to find any consistency against a stingy Longhorn defensive unit.
Cigarroa gained only 16 rushing yards and finished the game with 132 total yards of offense, a far cry from the 551 yards of offense accumulated by the Longhorns.
Toros quarterback Victor Martinez contributed 116 yards of offense through the air by completing 16 of his 29 passes with neither any scores or turnovers.
Cigarroa's lead running back was Jesse Sanchez, who had 15 yards on eight carries. Ramon Flores, a new name on the Cigarroa roster, led his team in receiving with 56 yards on three catches.
10.15.10: Volleyball: United 3, Cigarroa 1
The Lady Longhorns won, 25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16. United improved to 11-4 in District 29-5A, 18-14 overall. Cigarroa fell to 8-7, 21-15. Leading the way for United was Anabeli Fernades (10 kills, six digs), Natalie Chavez (11 kills, 15 assists, eight points, 11 digs), Ashley Everett (nine kills, 10 points, nine digs) and Kristen Ovalle (17 assists, five digs). Leading the way for Cigarroa was Gloria Morales (eight kills, seven blocks), Sandra Ambriz (10 kills, six digs), Deandra Gonzalez (seven points, seven kills), Raquel Martinez (nine assists).
10.12.10: Volleyball: Nixon 3, United 2
The Lady Mustangs pulled off the upset, winning 18-25, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-9. Nixon improved to 9-5 in District 29-5A, 19-15 overall. United fell to 10-4, 17-14. Leading the way for Nixon was Ruby Grace (22 assists, 11 digs, four kills), Rosalynn Velasquez (22 kills, four digs), Lisa Villarreal (20 digs) and Natalia Medina (13 kills, 14 digs).
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 6 Football: United 60, Nixon 0
The United Longhorns turned in another dominant performance Friday night, pouncing on the Nixon Mustangs and running away with a 60-0 District 29-5A victory at the SAC.
The Longhorns remain in first place in district with a flawless 5-0 standing. They’re 5-1 overall.
Nixon fell to 1-4 in district, 1-5 overall.
United scored on seven of its opening eight drives and the Mustangs were held without a first down until the final play of the first half.
The Longhorns pulled a majority of their starters from the lineup at halftime when the lead was 50-0, but that didn’t dilute any of the offensive statistics.
In two quarters of play, star senior quarterback Tony Salas threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns on 13 of 17 passing. At one point, Salas completed 10 consecutive pass attempts, including three straight for touchdowns.
Other United offensive weapons were clicking at full speed as well. Running back Billy Williams III had 125 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries and wide receiver Nick Fuentes had 111 yards and two touchdowns on two receptions.
The Mustangs never got their offense off the ground against the Longhorn defense. Nixon finished the game with 128 yards of offense compared to United's 582.
Nixon’s offense was led by Ritchie Rendon, who had 36 yards on 15 carries, and Fermin Rendon, who had 38 yards on nine carries.
The Longhorns remain in first place in district with a flawless 5-0 standing. They’re 5-1 overall.
Nixon fell to 1-4 in district, 1-5 overall.
United scored on seven of its opening eight drives and the Mustangs were held without a first down until the final play of the first half.
The Longhorns pulled a majority of their starters from the lineup at halftime when the lead was 50-0, but that didn’t dilute any of the offensive statistics.
In two quarters of play, star senior quarterback Tony Salas threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns on 13 of 17 passing. At one point, Salas completed 10 consecutive pass attempts, including three straight for touchdowns.
Other United offensive weapons were clicking at full speed as well. Running back Billy Williams III had 125 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries and wide receiver Nick Fuentes had 111 yards and two touchdowns on two receptions.
The Mustangs never got their offense off the ground against the Longhorn defense. Nixon finished the game with 128 yards of offense compared to United's 582.
Nixon’s offense was led by Ritchie Rendon, who had 36 yards on 15 carries, and Fermin Rendon, who had 38 yards on nine carries.
10.09.10: Volleyball: United 3, Del Rio 0
The Lady Longhorns swept. United improved to 10-3 in District 29-5A, 17-13 overall, led by Karina de Anda (14 digs), Natalie Chavez (15 assists, 12 points, 7 digs), Amatali Fernandez (eigjavascript:void(0)ht kills) and Ashley Everett (five digs, three blocks).
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
10.05.10: Volleyball: Eagle Pass 3, United 0
Eagle Pass continued its roll through District 29-5A and keep its perfect record intact as it swept United, 25-21, 26-24 and 25-23 at United on Tuesday night.
Eagle Pass (12-0, 26-5) took control of the first game with big hits by Aiden Gracia to jump out to a 10-4 lead before United started to rally back and come within two points.
United (9-3, 16-13) fought to the end, but the ball did not roll in its favor as Eagle Pass kept its composure to silent the home crowd and take game one 25-21.
A different and determined United team took the court in the second game where the offense finally got in rhythm to jump all over Eagle Pass.
The United offense started to pick apart the Eagle Pass defense and took a 14-9 lead.
United controlled the game and was within one point to even the series when Eagle Pass scored three straight points to sweep a game from the Lady Longhorns and take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Bad news continued to plague United as an injury to setter Natalie Chavez forced Longoria to attempt a different lineup in the crucial part of the game. Chavez returned midway through the third game ready to rally the team from the brink of defeat.
But United squandered too many scoring opportunities to put the third game away and allowed Eagle Pass to stay close.
United's Ali Sanchez was big down the stretch as she had key kills to give the Lady Longhorns a 21-19 lead, but again, Eagle Pass rallied and burned the Longhorns again to take the sweep.
Eagle Pass (12-0, 26-5) took control of the first game with big hits by Aiden Gracia to jump out to a 10-4 lead before United started to rally back and come within two points.
United (9-3, 16-13) fought to the end, but the ball did not roll in its favor as Eagle Pass kept its composure to silent the home crowd and take game one 25-21.
A different and determined United team took the court in the second game where the offense finally got in rhythm to jump all over Eagle Pass.
The United offense started to pick apart the Eagle Pass defense and took a 14-9 lead.
United controlled the game and was within one point to even the series when Eagle Pass scored three straight points to sweep a game from the Lady Longhorns and take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Bad news continued to plague United as an injury to setter Natalie Chavez forced Longoria to attempt a different lineup in the crucial part of the game. Chavez returned midway through the third game ready to rally the team from the brink of defeat.
But United squandered too many scoring opportunities to put the third game away and allowed Eagle Pass to stay close.
United's Ali Sanchez was big down the stretch as she had key kills to give the Lady Longhorns a 21-19 lead, but again, Eagle Pass rallied and burned the Longhorns again to take the sweep.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Week 5 Football: United 28, Del Rio 13
It was old school versus new school at the SAC Friday night when the high-flying United Longhorns faced the pound-the-ground Del Rio Rams.
Old school stuck around for four quarters, but ultimately fell, 28-13, as the Longhorns came away with the victory.
United improved to a perfect 4-0 in District 29-5A, 4-1 overall. Del Rio dropped to 2-2, 3-2.
The Longhorns are all alone in first place in district.
United wasted no time getting on the board, scoring on its opening possession with a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tony Salas to Billy Williams en route to an early 21-6 halftime lead.
Salas' quick start proved to be just a sample of the big night he had in store for the Rams. The senior quarterback completed 14 of 24 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.
The 'Horns halftime lead came in large part because of a pair of big early plays that accounted for a third of United's total yards. The 41-yard pass was joined by a 54-yard catch and run from Nick Fuentes to account for 95 first-quarter yards and the first two touchdowns.
There may have been even more big plays had it not been for a trio of costly drops.
A trick play pass from Joey Zepeda to Tony Salas was nearly a 40-yard touchdown, only to be dropped and then wiped out by an illegal blocking penalty anyway.
Fuentes, a reliable touchdown machine earlier in the season, dropped a 20-yard touchdown pass in the end zone and what would have been an 80-yard touchdown bomb when he got wide open behind the defense.
Even with the drops, however, Fuentes still had a team-leading 79 yards on three catches.
Sergio Ramos led in receptions with a handful of catches. None of the senior's receptions went for touchdowns, but several were on crucial third or fourth downs.
Ramos finished with 57 yards on five catches.
Longhorns junior running back Billy Williams started slow on the night but turned it on in the fourth quarter, when he accounted for a majority of the team's yardage in a 91-yard touchdown drive that ate the clock and clinched the game.
Williams finished the night with 94 rushing yards on 20 carries in addition to 47 receiving yards on three receptions.
Del Rio didn't just roll over, however. The Rams defense stiffened after the Longhorns' second touchdown and held United to only two more scores in the final three quarters of play.
The Rams had a number of long drives but shot themselves in the foot with fumbles on several occasions; the most costly of which came halfway through the second quarter.
The Rams started at their own 25-yard line and pounded the ball out on the ground, advancing all the way to the Longhorns' five-yard line before Del Rio running back Robert Gonzalez had the ball knocked loose by an aggressive United defense that recovered the ball at the 2.
Gonzalez finished the night with 119 yards on 22 carries and two first half fumbles.
Del Rio's Diego Cadena also got his share of carries in, finishing the night with 109 yards on 25 carries with a single touchdown.
For the first three quarters, while the score was close, Del Rio was able to establish a fairly reliable play-action passing game.
Del Right tight end Jeff Peterson had a touchdown on a 31-yard reception and wide receiver Jordan Terrell had another on a 25-yard strike.
Del Rio actually outgained United in total offense, with 339 yards compared to United's 315.
Both teams made mistakes that left points on the board, but Del Rio's proved to be the more costly.
Old school stuck around for four quarters, but ultimately fell, 28-13, as the Longhorns came away with the victory.
United improved to a perfect 4-0 in District 29-5A, 4-1 overall. Del Rio dropped to 2-2, 3-2.
The Longhorns are all alone in first place in district.
United wasted no time getting on the board, scoring on its opening possession with a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tony Salas to Billy Williams en route to an early 21-6 halftime lead.
Salas' quick start proved to be just a sample of the big night he had in store for the Rams. The senior quarterback completed 14 of 24 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.
The 'Horns halftime lead came in large part because of a pair of big early plays that accounted for a third of United's total yards. The 41-yard pass was joined by a 54-yard catch and run from Nick Fuentes to account for 95 first-quarter yards and the first two touchdowns.
There may have been even more big plays had it not been for a trio of costly drops.
A trick play pass from Joey Zepeda to Tony Salas was nearly a 40-yard touchdown, only to be dropped and then wiped out by an illegal blocking penalty anyway.
Fuentes, a reliable touchdown machine earlier in the season, dropped a 20-yard touchdown pass in the end zone and what would have been an 80-yard touchdown bomb when he got wide open behind the defense.
Even with the drops, however, Fuentes still had a team-leading 79 yards on three catches.
Sergio Ramos led in receptions with a handful of catches. None of the senior's receptions went for touchdowns, but several were on crucial third or fourth downs.
Ramos finished with 57 yards on five catches.
Longhorns junior running back Billy Williams started slow on the night but turned it on in the fourth quarter, when he accounted for a majority of the team's yardage in a 91-yard touchdown drive that ate the clock and clinched the game.
Williams finished the night with 94 rushing yards on 20 carries in addition to 47 receiving yards on three receptions.
Del Rio didn't just roll over, however. The Rams defense stiffened after the Longhorns' second touchdown and held United to only two more scores in the final three quarters of play.
The Rams had a number of long drives but shot themselves in the foot with fumbles on several occasions; the most costly of which came halfway through the second quarter.
The Rams started at their own 25-yard line and pounded the ball out on the ground, advancing all the way to the Longhorns' five-yard line before Del Rio running back Robert Gonzalez had the ball knocked loose by an aggressive United defense that recovered the ball at the 2.
Gonzalez finished the night with 119 yards on 22 carries and two first half fumbles.
Del Rio's Diego Cadena also got his share of carries in, finishing the night with 109 yards on 25 carries with a single touchdown.
For the first three quarters, while the score was close, Del Rio was able to establish a fairly reliable play-action passing game.
Del Right tight end Jeff Peterson had a touchdown on a 31-yard reception and wide receiver Jordan Terrell had another on a 25-yard strike.
Del Rio actually outgained United in total offense, with 339 yards compared to United's 315.
Both teams made mistakes that left points on the board, but Del Rio's proved to be the more costly.
10.02.10: Volleyball: United 3, United South 2
The second round of District 29-5A volleyball seems to be a thorn in the side of the top four teams with two dropping games this week.
Earlier in the week, Cigarroa fell to Nixon to throw a monkey wrench into the playoff scene and Saturday afternoon, United South almost pulled off an upset.
United (9-2 29-5A, 16-12) held off United South's (0-11, 7-18) late surge to hold on to a 26-28, 25-21, 25-13, 21-25 and 15-10 victory at the United South gymnasium.
Junior setter-hitter Natalie Chavez, who earlier in the day captured individual girls' title at the Dr. Marissa Keene Memorial cross country meet, did not skip a beat on the volleyball court as she recorded a team-high 16 kills. She added 21 assists, nine points and 12 digs.
Teammate Ashley Everett backed Chavez with 12 kills and three blocks.
Everett was instrumental in keeping the Lady Longhorns in the games with kills that came at moments when her team needed a boost.
Earlier in the week, Cigarroa fell to Nixon to throw a monkey wrench into the playoff scene and Saturday afternoon, United South almost pulled off an upset.
United (9-2 29-5A, 16-12) held off United South's (0-11, 7-18) late surge to hold on to a 26-28, 25-21, 25-13, 21-25 and 15-10 victory at the United South gymnasium.
Junior setter-hitter Natalie Chavez, who earlier in the day captured individual girls' title at the Dr. Marissa Keene Memorial cross country meet, did not skip a beat on the volleyball court as she recorded a team-high 16 kills. She added 21 assists, nine points and 12 digs.
Teammate Ashley Everett backed Chavez with 12 kills and three blocks.
Everett was instrumental in keeping the Lady Longhorns in the games with kills that came at moments when her team needed a boost.
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