SAN ANTONIO – After earning a “bye” in the bi-district round of the Class 1A Division II playoffs, the Falls City Beavers returned to action on Friday night to face the Sabinal Yellow Jackets in the Area round. With their balanced offense and defense not missing a beat, the Beavers defeated Sabinal by the score of 33-0 to advance to the Regional round of the playoffs.

“The defense played great throughout,” said Falls City head coach Steve Marbach. “Sabinal had a lot of speed but we tackled well. We hope to keep that going.”

The first quarter’s lone score came with 5:52 on the clock as Cameron Soto connected with Dean Gaskamp on a 31-yard touchdown pass, with the extra point by Cody Jendrusch putting the lead at 7-0.

The Beavers broke it open in the second quarter, scoring three times. The first came at the 10:45 mark as Soto ran through the Sabinal defense and into the end zone on a 10-yard run, though the extra point attempt was no good. The second came with 3:50 on the clock on a 4-yard run by Soto, though the two-point conversion attempt failed. The third came with 40 seconds left until halftime as Soto connected with Stephen Harlos on a 5-yard passing score. Jendrusch’s kick put the Falls City lead at 26-0 at the halftime break.

The only score of the second half came with 9:30 to go in the fourth quarter as Soto punched it in on 1-yard run, with Jendrusch’s kick putting the final tally at 33-0.

Statistically, the Beavers gained 397 yards of total offense, with 207 yards rushing over 37 carries and 190 yards passing over 12 completions. The Yellow Jackets, by comparison, were held to 188 yards of total offense, with 120 yards rushing over 33 carries and 68 yards passing over eight completions.

Penalties were minimal throughout the game as the Beavers were flagged three times for 35 total yards and the Yellow Jackets were flagged four times for 20 total yards.

“It helps a lot,” said Marbach about the Beavers’ offensive versatility. “Sabinal was being aggressive and blitzing on every down. We did a good job making the big plays.”

This week, the Beavers will have a rematch with the Woodsboro Eagles at Eschenburg Field in Floresville. Falls City is the designated home team for the contest. The Beavers won the first meeting by the score of 30-22.

“They’ve got a good head of momentum,” said Marbach about Woodsboro. “It’s going to be similar to the first time we played them. We’ve got to contain them. We’re going to have to do an excellent job defensively.”

Kickoff in Floresville is set for Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.