Football

ANGELS EDGE COWBOYS IN BIG MATUA SHOWDOWN

Published on

July 6, 2025

GSPN

By Nick Akimoto

In a heart-stopping battle between the last two undefeated teams of the Matua Divison, the Angels weathered the storm 14-12, outlasting both the pouring rain and the late-game surge of the Cowboys. The razor-thin win was thanks to Angels running backs, Jayce Sablan and Kaden Medler. Medler picked up big yards for the Angels, contributing a total of 119 yards, and Sablan would punch in both of the Angel’s two touchdowns. Medler also made one of the team’s two-point kick attempts, and those two points would prove to be all the difference in the end.

Wendy’s Players of the Game: Angels Jayce Sablan and Kaden Medler

With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Ezekiel-Ray Maysho began slinging the ball to his Cowboys receivers, Damian Ooka and Adam Aflague. Maysho would throw it barely out of reach of an Angels defender and straight into Ooka’s hands, who ran the ball into the end zone to close the lead to 14-12. A missed kick would keep the Cowboys down, however, on kickoff, the Cowboys would miraculously retain possession on their onside kick.

Maysho once again made the effort to find his receivers to try and pull out the win, but the Angels safeties of Cooper Oakley and Shayne Aquiningoc made the game saving effort to break up any pass connections. Those efforts helped the Angels stay on top of the day’s game, and on top of the Matua division.

FIRST HALF

It was a grit and grind opening for a hotly anticipated matchup between the top two teams in the Matua division. Rain and mud assured fans that the day’s last game would be an interesting one at the very least. The Angels looked to Medler early to get the offense started, handing the ball off to the lanky speedster as he attempted to maneuver his way through the Cowboys defense.

“We have a lot of speed and that kind of slows down because we couldn’t really make our cuts. The gameplan was to not take too big strides because then you’re just gonna fall and slip. Cha-cha mini-steps and push. Don’t let anyone get through you and play hard.” said Medler.

The Angels made it to the red-zone on their first drive, but it was at this point when the Cowboys’ strength really made the difference. The Southern team put a lot of pressure on the Angels run game, collecting more than five tackles in the backfield as a team. Leading the charge at noseguard was Thomas Iriarte, who wreaked havoc for the Angels defensive line. In addition to Iriarte’s surge was Taylor Asanoma and Recky Ceasar picking up tackles all over the field for the Cowboys. With their contribution, plus a little help from all the rain and mud, the Angels would fail to score on their first possession.

Going the other way, the Cowboys also struggled to find their footing. With Iriarte at fullback, the Cowboys managed to get a couple yards, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from having to punt it back. The Angels managed to block the punt, and regain possession in their own red zone. With a second chance to score, the Angels lined up a Wildcat formation with Jayce under Center. Jayce held onto the ball, ran to the right side, walked into the endzone for the Angels first touchdown.

“I’m not usually running back. It’s in our playbook, and we just run it sometimes. It felt good [to get into the endzone] especially against a good team like this,” said Sablan.

With more room to work with, the Cowboys started to get their run game going. With Iriarte at fullback, he cleared the way for Cowboys runningback Adam Aflague to break through the trenches. Angels Avin Jude Rios was sure to keep their production limited, however, as he sealed off the sides of the Angels line, making sure that the Cowboys couldn’t break away. The Cowboys were making steady progress with their run game, relying on Aflague and Iriarte to push their way through Angels defenders. That offense was

enough to land the Cowboys in the red zone, but an errant hand off knocked the ball free, with Sablan jumping on the football.

Going back the other way, with the rain not letting up, the Angels decided to open up their pass game. The Angels moved their quarterback, Cooper Oakley, back into shotgun formation and had Medler move out wide. On the snap, Oakley rolled out to his right, surveyed down the field, loaded up and slung it down to Medler for a 41 yard gain. Medler was stopped right before the goal line, but the big gain set up for another Sablan touchdown the other way.

As the halftime whistle sounded, the score was 14-0 Angels.

The Cowboys defense stays strong with another tackle in the rain. (photo by Karisma Tupaz)

SECOND HALF

In the second half, the rain had finally let up, but neither side was ready to bow out just yet. The Cowboys were finally equipped to open up their playbook with the drier weather. Any heroics from Maysho would have to hold for a second, as a deep throw would be intercepted by the opposing quarterback and Safety, Oakley. The Angels tried to capitalize on the turnover, but the staunch Cowboys line would force another turnover, as the Cowboys’ Aflague fell on a loose ball.

A steady diet of handoffs to Aflague and Iriarte kept the chains for the Cowboys. The good field position from the fumble recovery, in addition to the Cowboys bruising through the line helped the Cowboys reach the Angels goal line. This time, they would not be denied, as Aflague would roll his way into the endzone for a touchdown. A missed field goal would keep the Cowboys down 14-6 however.

The Angels turned to their skilled backs to put the game away, but the Cowboys Defense wasn’t finished quite yet. Sage Perez came through screaming from the Cowboys’ secondary to make some key stops in the backfield, and the firm Cowboys defensive line held strong, limiting the Angels from moving forward. On fourth down, the Angels called another QB rollout for Oakley to connect with Medler, but Iriarte slipped his way through Angels blockers and slammed Oakley down for a drive-ending sack.

The huge defensive stop sparked some life for the Cowboys, who turned to Maysho to produce some offense through the air. On third down, Maysho aired it out to the sideline, finding Jaydn Cruz, who turned around and caught the ball before being brought down for 36 yards. The Angels tightened up defensively, and just as it looked like the game was put away, a referee flag signalled a defensive pass interference on the Angels.

With a new set of downs, Maysho lobbed it just over the hands of the cornerback and down into Damian Ooka’s hands, who ran in the touchdown. The passing touchdown ignited the Cowboys sideline, but a sigh of relief was heard from the Angels as the point after attempt went wide left.

The drama was hardly over, however, as the Cowboys jumped down on their onside kick. With possession of the ball, the Cowboys now had a chance to win the game. The Angels would refuse to make the same mistake, however, as they sent Oakley and Aquiningoc deep to prevent any big Cowboy passes. They managed to break up three Cowboy pass attempts, narrowly intercepting two of them. On fourth down, Maysho faked a deep pass and turned to the sideline for a quick screen on the sideline to Ooka. Ooka managed to break off the first tackle, but was just short of the first down markers. With Ooka down, the Angels had secured the win and their lone spot at the top of the GNYFF Matua rankings.