VEGA – It wasn’t pretty by any means, but what fans will remember in the end is the final score and that was in favor of the home team as the Vega Longhorns ran away from the Shamrock Irish for a commanding 52-20 Homecoming victory at Longhorns Stadium on Friday night during a non-district contest.
The win continues the Longhorns hot start to the 2026 season with Vega moving to a perfect 3-0 for the first time since 2019.
“It’s a good feeling and it’s exciting,” Vega’s veteran head coach Jason Porton said. “There is a lot of work to do and a lot of things to work on with this team, but when you are 3-0 that makes it easier to work through. The community is excited right now, the coaches and the players are having a blast during practice and during the games. What I love the most, is this team is very coachable. They are fun to be around and they all do what they are suppose to do to get better. It’s been a great start.”
Through the first two weeks of the season senior running back Omar Segovia has been getting most of the attention for Vega and deservingly so. Segovia has gone over 160 yards rushing in the Longhorns first two victories against Clarendon and Sunray.
While Segovia was once again solid against the Irish (1-2), it was unsung hero Johnathan Snow sparking the Longhorns on Friday night.
In a sloppy start with teams trading turnovers on the opening possessions, Snow snagged an interception on Vega’s third defensive play. Later in the first quarter, and leading 7-0, the senior helped the offense find their groove when quarterback Kasyn Fetterman hit receiver Snow on a quick screen. Snow slipped a tackle and took off down the sideline 30 yards for a score putting the Longhorns up 14-0.
Snow was back at it late in the second quarter. Up 14-6, following a Shamrock touchdown pass from Jace Moon to Braylen Skelton, the Longhorns went back on the move.
Sitting inside the Irish 30 with under four minutes to play in the half, Fetterman rolled right and pumped faked. That allowed Snow to get open across the middle of the field where Fetterman hit Snow on a perfect strike. Snow did the rest dragging a defender the final few yards and then diving into the endzone for a touchdown that gave Vega a 21-6 lead heading into the break.
“This is the best game Johnathan (Snow) has had this season,” said Porton, who picked up his 83rd career win at Vega in 14 years. “We know he’s always had the talent and he proved that. He’s one of those players that’s waited his turn and he is doing a great job for us.”
In the second half, Vega continued to roll going up 33-6 to pull away. Snow contributed to a second half that saw the Longhorns post 31 points with his third INT of the game that was a 50-yard pick-six. Snow finished his stellar night with 56 receiving yards, three total touchdowns and had five tackles on defense, including two for a loss.
Segovia got things going in the second half after a very quiet first half. Shamrock did an excellent job of keying on the talented senior forcing Vega to find other weapons in Snow. However, as the game went on Segovia started chewing up the Irish toting the rock 17 times for 115 yards with a pair of TDs.
“Omar is not only a great player but he’s a tremendous person,” Porton said. “He doesn’t care who gets the touchdowns or the yards. He just wants us to win. He’s the ultimate teammate. He’s gone over 1,000 yards the last two years but he is unselfish and just cares about his teammates and getting it done in the locker room and on the field.”
Fetterman was efficient going 8-of-10 for 182 yards and totaled three touchdown passes. Teammate Colten Genn led all receivers with 109 yards receiving and Keegan Brorman racked up 10 tackles.
Shamrock’s Cross Stambaugh did have four catches for 114 yards with a touchdown with teammate Skelton leading all receivers with 172 yards on six catches and a score.
Photo gallery by Roy Wheeler:
