Southwest 47, Laredo Nixon 7

Southwest rushed for 299 yards in a dominant 47-7 district win over Laredo Nixon on Friday night at Southwest High School. Junior running back Jah Mills led the Dragons with 10 carries for 224 yards and four touchdowns.

“I got to give my props to the O-line. I wouldn’t have had all those touchdowns without them,” Mills said. “The holes were there, the blocks were there, they were pancaking people, pushing people … thank you, O-line.”

Highlights: Junior kicker Angel Rodriguez Escoto scored the game’s first points with a 23-yard field goal. Mills scored the game’s first touchdown with a 58-yard run at the end of the first quarter.

Mills broke loose for another long touchdown run — this one for 32 yards — to push the lead to 17-0.

After Nixon (2-3, 1-2 District 13-5A-I ) gained a big 19-yard pickup, the Mustangs lost control of the ball which was recovered by Southwest junior linebacker Regan Gonzales.

The Dragons (5-1, 3-1) scored their final touchdown of the half on a reverse handoff. After senior quarterback Tim Olague handed the ball off to junior back Tyson Deen, Deen ran toward the right sideline and reversed the ball to junior Aazeryuan Voss who ran up the left sideline for a 38-yard touchdown.

Deen scored the first points in the second half with a 73-yard pick-six. Mills scored both a 17-yard and 96-yard touchdown on back-to-back drives, followed by a 29-yard field goal from Escoto.

“Again, I wouldn’t have done it without the O-line blocking and doing their job,” Mills said. “When we can do our part on the O-line, stuff like that can happen all the time.”

The Mustangs scored their only touchdown on a 1-yard run from sophomore back Emiliano Hernandez with 10 seconds left in the game.

What it means: With Friday’s win, Southwest remains tied with Medina Valley for second in the district standings.

The Dragons’ complete game against the Mustangs will provide an extra confidence boost heading into their next matchup.

Southwest will now enter its bye week before playing Medina Valley in two weeks in Laredo.

Quotable: “We put two complete halves together,” Southwest coach Alex Franco said. “We ran the ball well, it was homecoming night so we had a big crowd, and I’m really proud of our effort tonight.”

Game balls: Mills picking up 224 of the team’s 351 total yards was all the Dragons needed for the blowout district win. With a long run of 96 yards and an average of 22.4 yards per carry, the junior back may have had one of the best rushing performances of the season.

Up next: Nixon will face Medina Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday, at Shirley Field in Laredo. Southwest with face Medina Valley at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, at Shirley Field in Laredo.

Sam Grenadier/Staff photographer Southwest running back Jah Mills (20) celebrates after scoring one of his four touchdowns in Friday night’s game against Laredo Nixon. Mills finished with 224 of the Dragons’ 299 rushing yards in the game.