Cards hunt down Bears

PHARR — Nothing like a little challenge to spice things up.

PSJA’s challenge? Move the ball against Harlingen’s Cardinal Crush defense.

Harlingen’s challenge? Stop them.

The Cardinals’ defense yielded more yards than their Valley’s best average of 148 but Harlingen still stopped the Running Bears enough to pick up a 45-12 win on Friday at PSJA Stadium and remain perfect at 7-0 for the season.
Harlingen’s defense also held PSJA bruiser Gilbert Espino to only 55 yards rushing.

Espino was averaging 173 yards per game in six contests.

“Our focus was stopping the run,” Cards head coach Manny Gomez said. “We understand that we have the best defense statistically and they have one of the best offenses in the Valley statistically. We just put a challenge out there for the guys and I’m pleased with their effort tonight.”

PSJA gained a total of 236 including 152 passing yards. Prior to this game, the Bears had thrown for 245 yards in six games. PSJA QB Johnny Lopez was 13-25-1. That’s the most passing attempts all season.

“We had to,” Mel Rios said of throwing the ball. “We knew they were going to challenge our offense with Espino. So we came out and threw the ball. It was a tale of two halves for the Cardinals (7-0, 4-0).

Harlingen didn’t take long to get on the board.

After holding off the Bears on their opening drive, the Cardinals needed all of two plays to get in the end zone.
Cards QB Mack Sanchez hit receiver Anthony Reyna for a 36-yard pass followed by another 36er to Luke Lucio for the first TD of the night. After defensive lineman Peter Casas picked off PSJA QB Johnny Lopez on the 22 and returned it for the score, Harlingen scored on its next three possessions.

First Sanchez hit an open Sean Hernandez for the 27-yard scoring strike. On the next Bid Red drive, Sanchez found a wide-open Reyna for the 29-yarder. Lucio ran in the two-point conversion to make it 29-0 with 9:27 left in the first half. Sanchez wasn’t done yet as he hit Lucio, again, this time from 12 yards for the 36-0 lead. This after a Sanchez five-yard TD run was called back on a hold.

PSJA scored at the end of the first half when Lopez hit A.J. De La Cerda on a five-yard TD pass to get on the board. Harlingen only scored nine points in the second half on a 38-yard field goal by Grant Gorman and a one-yard run by Sanchez. PSJA (1-6, 1-3) added a TD on a five-yard Lopez run.

Harlingen gained a total of 425 yards including 231 passing yards by Sanchez. Sanchez completed 12-of-17 passing attempts. He was eight-for-eight in the first half and completed his first 10 attempts.

Sanchez tossed four TD passes on the night and rushed for one more.

“That’s a tough ball club right there,” Rios said. “That’s a three-deep or more ball club.”

Harlingen played without the services of running back Pablo Garza and safety Tyler Armstrong in the first half. Defensive lineman Tipper Ramirez sat out the first quarter. The three were reprimanded for their part in a brawl last week at the end of the game against PSJA Memorial.

“It was a little in-house discipline,” Gomez said.

Eladio Jaimez covers District 31-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers.