Apaches fall in season opener to Buttons
The Gonzales Apaches opened their 2024 football season on the road in San Antonio Friday, Aug. 31 against the San Antonio Central Catholic Buttons.
The Apaches fell to the Buttons, 48-19, in the season opener; their first season opening loss since 2021 (a loss to El Campo).
Apaches head football coach Joey Rivera said his team had a lot things go right against Central Catholic, but early in the game, they had several things that went wrong quickly.
“It kind of caught up to us, especially with that up-tempo offense that they had. And that's something that we're kind of worried about, but still there are lots of positives that we're taking from it, and lots to learn from. And now we’re moving on to Hallettsville,” Rivera said.
Freshman running back Ayden Ramirez scored three touchdowns on the ground for the Apaches and rushed for 45 yards on 13 carries.
Rivera was impressed by Ramirez’s game and also quarterbacks Travis Malveaux and Tyler Hoffman.
“I haven't even realized after the game, he's like, ‘Hey, Coach, I enjoyed this.’ He was a freshman and scored three touchdowns in his first game. And between Malveaux and Tyler Hoffman at quarterback and running the ball, our running game was very good,” Rivera said.
“There's still more players that we've got to get involved, which, like I said, is the way to get started. It kind of took us out of our plan. But there's still more guys that we need to get the ball to,” Rivera added.
The Apaches will head up US 90-A to Hallettsville Friday, Sept. 6 for a non-district matchup against the Brahmas.
“Two close communities, so we’re looking forward to a big crowd on the road. And it’s been a while, I believe, since we played Hallettsville. They're a good football team. They won last week in a close one against Shiner,” Rivera said. “They’re running the Veer option, so it's going to be good for our defense to learn their responsibilities and doing what they're supposed to do,” Rivera added.
The last time the Apaches faced the Brahmas was back in the 2005; Gonzales beat Hallettsville, 15-12, that season.
Gonzales and Hallettsville are 12-12-2 in the series; the winner of Friday’s game will take the lead in the series.
--STATS—
OFFENSE:
Passing:
Tyler Hoffman: 2/5 for 65 yards
Travis Malveaux: 2/7 for 15 yards and one touchdown
Rushing:
Ayden Ramirez: 13 carries for 45 yards and three touchdowns
- Malveaux: 9 carries for 61 yards
- Hoffman: 6 carries for 51 yards
DEFENSE:
David Clack III: six tackles
John Izaguirre and Davian Pitts: three tackles
Lanom Rhoades, Brealien Jones, Christian Jurek, Jaydon Lampkin, Dylan Hunt, and T. Hoffman: two tackles
Brayden Hoffman, Keath White, Omar Borjon, River VanKirk, Luis Zuniga Jr, A. Ramirez, and Joshua Anthony: one tackle
Tackles for Loss:
- Lampkin, B. Hoffman, and L. Zuniga Jr: one tackle for loss
Interception:
- Clack III and Jermane Upshaw: one interception
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