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.
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