San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Somerset 28, McCollum 17
Quick take: Koal Detmer threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns, and the Somerset defense forced three turnovers in a balanced 28-17 victory over McCollum on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.
“He’s been doing a great job,” Somerset coach Koy Detmer said. “He’s running the offense and executing what we’re calling really well. He’s doing a good job of processing things at the line of scrimmage and things we’re asking him to do. He’s been accurate, and I couldn’t be prouder of him and the way he’s playing right now.”
Highlights: Both defenses stood out early, with McCollum linebacker Matthew Cerda recovering a fumble that would be the first of five combined turnovers by both teams. Late in the first quarter, Somerset junior cornerback Daniel Salinas tipped a pass, and teammate Xavier Garay got both hands on it for his first interception of the game and third in the past two weeks.
Garay recovered a fumble later in the half to give the Bulldogs (3-0) possession at the Cowboys’ 19-yard line, and Detmer capitalized on the field position with a 10-yard touchdown pass on a corner fade to Jaxon Gutierrez.
Detmer and Gutierrez connected for their second touchdown of the game with 12 seconds left in the second quarter when the senior wideout broke off on a hitch route just past the goal line and snagged Detmer’s pass for a 13-yard score. McCollum’s only points of the half came on a 23-yard field goal by Karim Rocha Luna, and Somerset went into the break with a 14-3 lead.
Somerset’s opening drive of the second half produced another touchdown, this time on a screen pass to explosive receiver Tajh Jones, who accelerated
down the sideline and just snuck his feet into the end zone before falling out of bounds.
McCollum receiver Gavin Hawley made one of the game’s unlikelier catches when he leaped into the air, used his length to catch a pass over the defender, and just got a toe down in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
Jones set up another score for Somerset when he burst out of the slot on a fly route and secured a 34-yard catch, tumbling to the ground at the 1-yard line. Steven Menchaca took a toss to the right and barreled over the goal line to extend the Somerset lead to 28-10 with a little more than eight minutes left.
The Cowboys (2-1) cut the deficit to 11 on a Tejeda touchdown pass to Gary Escobar, who made a sharp cut toward the sideline to create separation from the corner and made the catch in the end zone. Despite a late push, McCollum’s comeback attempt fell short as Somerset extended its all-time series lead to 5-0.
What it means: The 180-degree turnaround continues for Somerset as the Bulldogs have surpassed their win total of 2020 with their third consecutive victory to open the season. The balanced offensive attack led by Detmer, a trio of running backs with complementary abilities, a fleet of proven receivers and a
capable offensive line has only been eclipsed by the Bulldogs’ surprisingly suffocating defense. This was the second straight week Somerset has held a team that scored 60 or more points in its previous matchup to fewer than 20 points.
McCollum showed fight late, and despite the two-score deficit, the Cowboys threatened until the game’s closing seconds. Tejeda is electric behind center and has an all-region talent in Hawley to throw to as McCollum looks to continue improving over last season’s winless campaign.
Quotable: “All these games have been tough,” Detmer said. “We had our issues early in the game offensively with penalties and turnovers and things like that. We have to clean things up, and I was proud of how we did that in the second half, to get some scores back to back. We don’t take any of these wins for granted, ’cause they are all not easy.”
Game balls: Somerset got the kind of performances it needed from its receiving corps, with Jones hauling in eight passes for 75 yards and a score and Gutierrez registering five catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Garay’s two forced turnovers were huge for the Bulldogs in the first half.
Tejeda went 20 of 34 for 264 yards and two touchdowns, while Hawley, his favorite target, impressed with seven catches for 122 yards and a score.
Up next: McCollum will host Buda Johnson in its district opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Harlandale Memorial Stadium. Somerset will continue its home stretch with a matchup against Beeville Jones at 7 p.m. Friday.