Rio Grande City upsets McAllen Memorial with late drive
RIO GRANDE CITY — The performances displayed by No. 5 McAllen Memorial and Rio Grande City Friday night are performances that will be remembered for a long time.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their performance is one that will be overshadowed by the Rattlers’ resiliency that drove them to another thrilling 42-35 upset victory of Memorial at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium.
For the second time this season at home, RGC quarterback Angel Alaffa hooked up with Arnold Chapa for the go-ahead score in the winding moments of the fourth quarter to give the Rattlers a perfect 2-0 home record, and more importantly their first district victory that could help them in the coming weeks.
“There was no doubt,” Rattlers coach Jesus Lozano said. “The media will probably say it was a shocker but it isn’t going to be a shocker. I knew we could beat these guys. We have a good team and we just have to play together. We’re coming together. We’re playing better as the season progresses.”
The Rattlers (2-3 overall, 1-1 in district) battled back twice in the second half to mount their memorable drive after the Mustangs quickly snatched RGC’s momentum it had built in the first half when the Rattlers held a 14-point edge (21-7).
RGC scored on runs of 54 and 7 yards from running back Freddy Lopez to tie up the ballgame at 28 and 35 in the fourth quarter, which forced Memorial to either run out the clock and play for overtime or mold its own game-winning drive with just under two minutes remaining.
The Mustangs (4-1, 1-1) were held to a quick three-and-out after two costly incompletions that stopped the clock. The Rattlers took over with great field position at the Memorial 39 and Alaffa’s 23-yard pass play to Chapa, who out ran a host of Mustangs defenders down the middle of the field, with 4 seconds remaining sent the home side into a frenzy.
RGC totaled 435 yards of offense with 380 yards coming on a bruising running game. The Rattlers’ offensive line, who Lozano gave much credit to, opened up gaping holes for its backs, who were led by Lopez with 194 yards on 18 carries and three TDs.
“It was an awesome game,” Lopez said. “Memorial played their hearts out. We played our hearts out. We just didn’t give up. Even though we were down in the fourth quarter, we came back to beat them. “
For Memorial, it has to be wondering how the game slipped after it clearly controlled much of the second half behind its power trio in quarterback Matthew Kaufmann and running backs Gabe Phillips (122 yards on 17 carries with two TDs) and Ben Garcia.
Kaufmann finished the night with 127 yards passing and 101 yards rushing, including a TD in the fourth quarter that gave the Mustangs their final lead of the game at 35-28. Garcia tallied 56 yards on the ground and hauled in two TDs on five receptions, finishing with 66 yards.
“Rio Grande City did a good job,” Mustangs coach Bill Littleton said. “We did a good job, but we just came up a little short.”
