ROCKPORT, Texas — The Rockport-Fulton Pirates (4-3, 1-0) are coming off a huge UIL 4A-DII District 15 win over No. 5 Cuero, 57-56. The Pirates rushed for 454 yards and 8 touchdowns thanks to their strong offensive line. These guys are our Game Changer of the Week from week 7.
"It's surreal once you get that good block," said Rockport-Fulton senior right guard Levi Dias. "You just have that feeling that Traey Alvarado, Captain Rockport, is going to be right behind you going for a 50 yarder. It's an amazing feeling."
Alvarado was one of 4 rushers who found the endzone against Cuero. He led the Pirates with 206 yards and 2 touchdowns followed by Jaxon Keown with 138 yards and 2 touchdowns, Zane Rios with 86 yards and 3 touchdowns and Reid Snyder had 24 yards and 1 touchdown.
"We just had good teamwork and relied on Traey, Jaxon and all of our running backs," said Rockport-Fulton senior center Keith Kilough. "Trusted Soza the most with play-calls. Just worked as a team."
When Eric Soza took over as the head coach last fall he brought in the Slot-T. The scheme takes a lot of timing, strength and skill in the trenches that Tanner Starling, Dias, Kilough, Eric Hajduk and Adam Richison.
"One of our best things we've done this year is our double-teams," Dias said. "We're very close, we're very connected and we do everything together outside of school and outside of practice. You know I feel like connection is really what it takes to be successful on the field."
Through 7 games, the Pirates offensive line has only allowed 4 sacks and just 29 total plays for negative yardage. Their dominance helped Rockport-Fulton take down Cuero for the first time in a very, long time.
"Speaks volumes when you're able to play against a great team like Cuero and score 57 points," Soza said. "It's hard to do that. These guys do anything and everything we ask them to do. They trust in the process. They really did trust even down 3 touchdowns in the third quarter."
Rockport-Fulton travels down the road to Ingleside on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Thank you to Thomas J. Henry for supporting Coastal Bend athletes.
