Marco Garcia threw for 146 yards and a touchdown to Gerry Diaz, Corbin Luna rushed 18 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Isiah Velasquez rushed for 72 yards and another score as the Fort Stockton Panthers overcame a slow start to down the visiting Alpine Bucks 27-7 last week at Panther Stadium.

The Panthers got a break right off the bat when Alpine went for it on 4th and 2 and was stopped on its first possession, giving Fort Stockton the ball at the Bucks 31. Six plays later, Fort Stockton was in the end zone on a 1-yard plunge by Corbin Luna with just over 8 minutes to play. The extra point failed, and the Panthers led 6-0.

The drive featured three passes from quarterback Marco Garcia to tight end Kasch Norman.

Alpine struck back on their ensuing drive. On 3rd and long at the Fort Stockton 43, Alpine quarterback Devon Rojo lofted a deep pass that was incomplete, but the Panthers were called for pass interference, setting the Bucks at the Fort Stockton 28. Another pass interference on the Panthers put the Bucks at the 4-yard line and Logan Smith ran untouched into the end zone for a score. The extra point was good and Alpine led 7-6 – which the score would remain until late in the second quarter.

“We had that one little spurt at the beginning and then we went totally flat from that point forward until halftime,” said head coach Jeremy Hickman.

Fort Stockton’s go-ahead touchdown came after Alpine shanked a punt with less than 4 minutes to go in the second quarter, giving the Panthers the ball at the 50-yard line.

A 20-yard keeper by Garcia set the Panthers up in the red zone, Isaiah Velasquez ran to the 2-yard line and, three plays later, Garcia tossed five yards to Gerry Diaz and the Panthers were up 13-7 at halftime.

“They did some things, and we didn’t adjust real well, but coming out of half, we just stayed the course and we were able to open the gates,” Hickman said. “I felt like we were much more physical in the second half than we were in the first half.

“I think the physicality side coming out of the gate was not good. We’ve got to start faster and be more physical and assert our dominance as quickly as we can.”

New Alpine head coach Andy Smith is trying to change the culture in Alpine and has brought an exciting level of play to the field.

“Kudos to Alpine for coming and playing hard,” Hickman said. “Coach Smith had his Alpine team ready to play, they didn’t come to lay over, either. They had a lot of energy and they played with a lot of excitement, and we had to overcome that, as well, so it wasn’t just us being flat; I felt like Alpine really got after it and played hard.”

The Bucks drove at will on their first possession of the second half and went for it on 4th and 6 at the Panther 8, but Diaz broke up the potential go-ahead touchdown at the goal line with two seconds left in the third quarter. That was the turning point in the game and switched the momentum to Fort Stockton’s favor.

Fort Stockton drove 92 yards after the stop and scored on an 8-yard run by Luna that was set up by a 20-yard scramble by Garcia. Velasquez ended the scoring with a 2-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter.

The defense once again stepped up for the Panthers.

“Our defense is young but that’s only going to be for so long,” Hickman said. “We have to continue to grow up.”

The Panthers will be back at home this Friday to face the Class 5A El Paso Horizon Scorpions, who are 1-1 with a 15-0 win over El Paso Jefferson and 28-16 loss to El Paso Bowie. The leading rusher for Horizon is No. 9 Julio Jimenez, who has rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown so far this season, and quarterback No. 2 Robert Rodriguez has thrown for 123 yards and two scores.

“We’re going to face another athletic quarterback that can make some things happen with his feet,” Hickman said. “He’s really fast, he’s slippery, does a good job maneuvering in the pocket, getting out in space and trying to get the ball to who he needs to.”

JV Panthers blank Bucks

Thursday night, the Fort Stockton JV defense showed up in a big way, forcing three turnovers and holding the Alpine offense scoreless in a 54-0 win. Juan Velasquez and Angel Mendoza each had a fumble recovery. Cedric Lopez added an interception.

All three scores led to touchdowns by the Panther offense. Sergio Ramirez and Ryan Chavez each had a passing touchdown. Luis Muniz and Mario Morales were on the receiving end.

The Panthers also had a good night on the ground. Nick Almendariz, Nathan Gonzales, Leeland Ibarra, Tyler Hall, and Daniel Lopez each added a rushing touchdown.

Muniz tosses three touchdowns in freshmen win In Thursday’s Fort Stockton freshman win at Denver City, the offense was led by Rylee Muniz with the first touchdown being a 38-yard pass to Angel Lujan, with the 2-point conversion by Muniz. The second Touchdown came off a pass from Muniz to Trapper Gregory from 52 yards out, and Muniz again added the PAT. The final touchdown came from another pass from Muniz to Lujan, this time from 32 yards out with Henry Rivera scoring the extra point.

“The Defense did a great job as well,” said coach Ivan Peña.

Jaden Rodriguez had a fumble recovery on Denver City’s first drive, Jessai Bejarano added a solo fourth down sack in the second quarter and combined with Henry Rivera for a fourth down sack in the thurd quarter. Muniz recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.

Matthew Villanueva and Ivan Peña contributed to this report.