Ozona’s Villarreal Continues Chasing History With 296 Yards in District Opener

OZONA, TX — Ozona High School’s superstar running back, Christian Villarreal, continued his pursuit of the state’s all-time rushing record with a 296-yard, 6-touchdown performance in the Lions’ 96-14 win over  Reagan County on Friday.

As has been the case all season, Villarreal didn’t even have that many attempts. He piled up all that yardage on only 16 carries, an average of 18.5 yards per carry.

He also had one catch, which of course he took for a 45-yard TD.

Villarreal now has an incredible 2,068 rushing yards and 29 TDs through only six games, keeping him on pace to break Kenneth Hall’s record of 4,045 yards, which he set back in 1953.

Known as the Sugar Land Express, Hall died earlier this year at the age of 89. Will his 72-year-old record finally be broken this same year?

If Villarreal maintains this amazing pace, he would break the record in the second round of the playoffs, though even Friday’s 296-yard effort dropped the pace to 344.7 yards per game.

Villarreal and the No. 7-ranked Ozona Lions will continue chasing their first district title since 2016 when they travel to play the Sonora Broncos next week.

In a testament to Ozona’s strong offensive line, two other Lions had 90-yard rushing games against Reagan County. Jay Borrego had 10 carries for 91 yards and a TD, while quarterback Michael Preddy had seven carries for 93 yards and a TD.

Preddy was also 7-of-11 passing for 186 yards and three TDs. Rielee Barrera and Andres Quiroz each had TD catches.

Ozona’s defense also shined with a whopping five interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

JP Garza had a team-high 13 tackles, along with an interception, a fumble recovery and a defensive TD. He had two tackles for loss and a sack.

Nolan Martinez had eight tackles, three sacks and three tackles for loss. Andon Glosson had 10 tackles and an interception.

Tino Castillo, Fernando Pena and Quiroz also had INTs.