The No. 8 ranked Cuero Gobblers (11-1, 3-1) stood up to the test Friday night at Yoakum High. They wire-to-wire and defeated the Gonzales Apaches 35-14 in the area round of the 4A D2 UIL Texas Football State Playoffs. Cuero senior quarterback Jaxxon Marie did not play in last week’s playoff game due to injury and came into the week as a game time decision according to head coach Jerod Fikac. Nonetheless, Marie took the field with his team and got the Gobblers offense off to a hot start. “Obviously Jaxxon coming back, being a senior guy, just a boost to our whole team having him back there,” coach Fikac said. The Gobblers marched down the field on the game’s opening drive for a touchdown. The final play of the scoring drive came on a fourth-and-20 from the Apache 25-yard line. Marie rolled out to his right and found a leaping Walker Dietze in the end zone who made a contested catch over two Gonzales defenders. The Gobblers led 7-0 with 7: 01 remaining in the period after the extra point by sophomore kicker Angel Hernandez. Before the play, Cuero head coach Jerod Fikac elected to call a timeout. He later revealed his mindset to go for it in that moment of the game. “You draw a play to throw it to the best wide receiver on the field and let him go be the dude that he’s been all year long. That’s exactly what he did,” coach Fikac said. After a three-and-out by Gonzales, the Gobblers scored their second touchdown in as many drives. Early in the second quarter, a seven-yard touchdown run by sophomore halfback Jordan Jones boosted the Cuero lead to 14-0. A three-yard touchdown run by Gonzales sophomore running back Ayden Ramirez on the subsequent drive cut Cuero’s lead in half at 14-7. Later in the period, Cuero’s junior halfback Melo Perez was responsible for the most electric play of the contest. On a third-and-6 from the Cuero 47, Perez caught a swing pass out of the backfield and raced down the sidelines. With a Gonzales defender bearing down on him, Perez hurdled the player and continued to run. He was finally tracked down by the Gonzales defense after a 27-yard catch and run that resulted in a first down. “I caught the ball, turned around, and I see the boy, he’s already coming low. Something in me told me to hop him. From there, it was on my blockers who blocked and let me keep getting yards,” Perez said. The Gobblers finished off that drive with a two-yard Marie touchdown run on the first play after the two-minute warning. Cuero took a 21-7 advantage at the half. Each team traded touchdowns in the third quarter before play on the field became heated late in the period. During a Gonzales offensive possession, a Gonzales lineman was ejected for throwing punches at the bottom of the pile. Cuero nose guard Jesus Flores was also ejected for taking his helmet off as he was coming off the field. “It’s a rivalry, happens to be in the playoffs, this thing’s been going on for 80 something years. These things happen in high-pressure, high-profile games,” coach Fikac said. The Gobblers scored their final touchdown of the evening in the fourth quarter. Marie connected with D’Zayvin Bonner on a 19-yard leaping grab in the endzone. Marie ended the night with two rushing touchdowns and two passing scores. Cuero advances to the Region 4 semifinals where they will take on Rockport-Fulton. A date, time, and location for that game has yet to be announced.
https://victoriaadvocate.com/2025/11/22/gobblers-outlast-apaches-35-14-in-area-playoffs/
