Bobcats stun Eagles late

In some ways, it has been a magical run for both Hanna and Edinburg High. In dramatic fashion, the Bobcats kept their story alive for at least one more game.

Edinburg High quarterback Steven Guerrero hit Steve Treviño with a 4-yard touchdown across the middle of the Hanna defense with seven seconds remaining to give the Bobcats a shocking 18-14 win Friday night at Sams Stadium.

In a second-half stalemate,　Edinburg High faced a fourth-and-10 on Hanna’s 40-yard line with just less than four minutes to go when it looked like coach Joey Caceres was going to give the green light to go for it.

After a timeout, the Bobcats changed their mind and punted the ball, and they pinned the Golden Eagles at their own 4-yard line.

"Deciding to punt the ball with big," Caceres said. "We pinned them back and put ourselves in position to win the game. It’s a great feeling for these kids who have worked so hard and put in their blood, sweat and tears. Our mind frame going into the game was that we were going to win."

Hanna’s offense continued to struggle and decided to give up a safety to cut their lead to 14-11 with 1:31 remaining in hopes of making Edinburg High’s final drive a little longer.

Unfortunately, the plan backfired when Aaron Sifuentes took the free kick back to the Golden Eagles’ 39.

Four plays later on second-and-goal from the Hanna 4-yard line Guerrero hit Treviño for their fifth connection of the night with 7.8 seconds in the game.

Sifuentes scored the opening points of the game, picking off Randy Rey for a 55-yard touchdown return with 6:37 in the first quarter. Rey left the game on the following drive with an ankle injury.

Anthony Garza had three receptions for 23 yards and a first-quarter touchdown that tied the game at 7 with 3:06.

Both teams combined for only 15 first downs and 11 punts in the game.

"We got into a bind with Rey going down," Hanna coach Tom Chavez said. "That eliminated our receivers, but these kids fought to the end and the defense kept us in it. Nobody expected us to do what we did and win the district championship undefeated this year, and no one can take that away from us. They should be proud."

Hanna took its first lead when Kevin Reyna picked off Guerrero and returned it 55 yards with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter.

A high snap in the Eagles’ end zone over punter Luis Garcia gave the Bobcats a safety to go into halftime down 14-9.

Hanna running back Enrique Saldaña was held to 85 yards on 15 carries. Backup quarterback Angelo Quadalquivir completed 5 of 14 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown.

Edinburg High’s Treviño ended the game with five receptions for 112 yards.

Louie Vera covers District 32-5A football for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via e-mail at lvera@brownsvilleherald.com.