CUERO, Texas — Navarro traded punches with undefeated Cuero Friday, but quarterback Jarvis Williams Jr. delivered two devastating long touchdown runs before halftime and the Gobblers never looked back, rolling to a 63-33 victory at Gobbler Stadium.
Williams accounted for seven touchdowns — four rushing and three passing — as Cuero scored touchdowns on all nine offensive possessions. The Gobblers improved to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in District 15-4A, while Navarro’s three-game winning streak ended as the Panthers fell to 5-2 and 2-1 in district play.
For Navarro coach Glenn Hill, the frustration centered on missed opportunities.
“Just a lot of crumbs left on the table is what sticks out to us,” Hill told KWED’s Dan Hernandez afterward. “There’s going to be some stuff we watch on film tomorrow that’s [going] make your stomach hurt.”
Cuero set the tone on its opening possession when Williams connected with Perez on fourth-and-four. What began as a short pass became a catch-and-run touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 8:36 remaining in the first quarter.
Navarro drove into Cuero territory on its first series but was stopped on fourth-and-three at the Gobblers’ 47. Cuero responded with a seven-play drive capped by Jordan Jones’ one-yard touchdown run, making it 14-0.
Sophomore R.J. Pates sparked the Panthers with a kickoff return to the Cuero 37, then finished the ensuing possession with a five-yard touchdown run on third-and-two early in the second quarter.
Williams answered with a 15-yard scoring run to restore Cuero’s 14-point cushion, but Navarro came right back with one of the night’s cleverest plays. Quarterback Eli Baker faked a spike at the Cuero 11 and found tight end Drew Mundine for his third touchdown catch of the season. The missed extra point left Navarro trailing 21-13 with 3:23 before halftime.
Then Williams changed the game. He broke loose for a 52-yard touchdown run just 53 seconds after Navarro’s score. Following a Panthers punt, Williams struck again, racing 57 yards for a touchdown as the half expired. Instead of an eight-point contest, Navarro faced a 35-13 deficit at intermission.
“Cuero is a team that if you don’t capitalize on all those opportunities, they can expose you,” Hill said.
Baker opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 56-yard march that consumed more than five minutes, and Julius DeLeon dove across from a yard out. A failed two-point try left the score 35-19 with 5:58 remaining in the period.
Hill praised Baker for answering adversity with poise.
“He’s a leader because he leads by example,” Hill said. “He doesn’t have to give a rah-rah speech. He just sticks with it and keeps playing ball.”
Hill also credited Navarro’s veteran offensive line for adjusting to Cuero’s changing defensive fronts, opening lanes for DeLeon and Pates and giving Baker protection. But the offense couldn’t match Cuero’s relentless production.
“We were good in spurts, but spurts is not good enough for where we want to go,” Hill said.
Pates scored his second rushing touchdown from two yards out with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter, trimming the margin to 49-25. Baker, who had thrown only one interception all season entering the game, was picked off twice — his first interceptions since Navarro’s opener at Austin McCallum.
Cuero continued scoring, with backup quarterback Cannon Wilson adding his first touchdown of the season to make it 63-25 with 3:31 remaining.
Navarro used its final possession to drive downfield, and fullback Isidro Rocha scored from three yards out on the final play. With Cuero’s defense on the sideline, Rocha walked in for two more points and the 63-33 final, drawing jeers from the home crowd.
The Panthers’ defense struggled to contain Williams, who became Cuero’s quarterback after Jayce Guajardo suffered a broken collarbone. Hill said Navarro often reached third-and-long or fourth-down situations but couldn’t deliver the stops it needed.
“They’ve got some good players, but so do we,” Hill said. “We need to realize that and truly believe that we’ve got some cats on our squad as well that should be able to make these plays.”
The Gobblers have now won 12 of the teams’ last 16 meetings, and Navarro remains without a victory at Gobbler Stadium. But Hill said his team never quit, even as the margin grew.
“Our guys aren’t going to blink. They’re not going to back down from anybody,” he said. “Proud in the way they kept fighting. Proud in the way they finished the game.”
Navarro travels to Bandera on October 30 before hosting Gonzales on November 6, with playoff positioning still at stake. Hill plans to review the film, correct the mistakes and find more ways to put the ball in the hands of playmakers such as Pates and Emerson Elder.
“We’re still in control of our destiny,” Hill said. “And if we do that, hopefully we can see these guys later on.”
The Panthers couldn’t match Cuero’s perfect scoring night. Their task now is turning Friday’s flashes of promise into four quarters of execution.
Other area scores:
Marion 52, Luling 0