Autentic Tigres Defeat Leones
The Universidad Anahuac Mexico Norte Lions wasted the mistakes and penalties committed by the defense and fell 44-14 against the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon's Autentic Tigres, who became the first finalists of the Green Conference in the National Student American Football Organization (Onefa).
The Autentic Tigres defense managed to stop Guillermo Gutierrez Valdovinos' team in their first offensive possession, although the regio squad struggled to find rhythm. Despite reaching the four-yard line thanks to a carry by Erick de Hoyos, they had to settle for a field goal by Ricardo Aguilar, who connected from 36 yards for a 3-0 lead.
The home team's offense began to make an impact in the final minutes of the first quarter with another good drive, which ended with a 32-yard pass from Francisco Mata Charles to Daniel Lozano in the end zone.
In the second quarter, the Leones wasted a valuable opportunity to score points when their kicker missed a field goal. The Autentic Tigres did not forgive and capitalized on the mistake with a 49-yard carry by Marcelo Gonzalez for a touchdown, with the extra point good (17-0).
Although the Anahuac defense blocked Aguilar's field goal attempt and recovered the ball for good field position, the visiting team missed an opportunity to tie the game when Alejandro Arce threw a pass that was intercepted by Javier Sanchez from UANL, who maintained their dominance until halftime.
In the third quarter, with Jorge Antun at the controls, the Leones began to find their rhythm, but came up empty-handed when Fernando Arriola sacked the quarterback on fourth down. After this, the Tigres offense extended their lead thanks to a 47-yard touchdown run by Erick de Hoyos (24-0).
From here, the UANL team fully controlled the game. Emanuel Rodriguez intercepted a pass from Antun and the Leones began to crumble. Mata Charles found Aaron Mendoza, who ran for 21 yards, and the lead increased to 31 unanswered points.
It wasn't until the final minutes of the third quarter that the orange team scored six points. Antun found Edson Martinez in the end zone, although they failed to convert the two-point attempt (31-6).
But Mata Charles didn't relent and, with 13 minutes to play, added seven points with a touchdown pass to Cesar Gonzalez, who ran 27 yards into the promised land. The extra point was good and the scoreboard read 38-6.
With the game secured, the Autentic Tigres reached 44 points thanks to a touchdown run by Victor Cruz, although Antun wanted to make the score more respectable and connected with Nagib Buiton for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful, making it 44-14.
Thus, the Autentico Tigres will defend their title and await the winner of the match between Pumas CU and Burros Blancos del IPN.