Coogs romp past RGC, 50-14
EDINBURG — The Edinburg North Cougars revealed two things on Friday night — they have a pretty good defense and an outstanding passing game.
Quarterback Matthew Munoz hooked up with wide receiver Andrew Partida for three consecutive touchdown passes during their first three possessions of the game to give the Cougars all the momentum they needed in their 50-14 win over Rio Grande City Friday at Cats Stadium.
The Cougars amassed 160 yards in the first quarter alone and finished the game with 356 total yards.
“These guys executed really well tonight,” Cougars coach Roy Garza said. “Overall, I’m very impressed on how we played tonight. We were able to score real early and that changed the complexity of the game.”
The Munoz-Partida connection was overwhelming for the Rattlers defense as they scored on passes of 54, 21 and 16 yards in the first quarter. Partida caught eight passes for 184 yards with four touchdowns. He was quick to praise the offensive line.
“We did a great job but I think our O-line deserves a lot of credit,” Partida said. “Our quarterbacks stepped it up today as well. I was just fortunate to get good looks on the ball and come up with them.”
On the other hand, the Rattlers could not find their offensive rhythm as the Cougars shut down their potent running game. The Rattlers recorded only 105 yards rushing between their three standout running backs.
“They only ran three main plays that they loved to run and we were able to stack the line and stop their running game,” junior linebacker Robert Rodriguez said. “We specialized our defense to prepare for that kind of running offense.”
The Cougars put away the Rattlers for good after the defense caused a turnover on the Rattler 29, which was followed by a TD pass from Raul Monsivias to Partida with 9 minutes remaining in the third.
“Offensively, we were not ready,” RGC coach Jesus Lozano said. “We can’t turn the ball over especially against a team like Edinburg (North). You just can’t. But I do take my hat off to North. They played outstanding defense. But I have to go back and watch the film to find out what was going on. It’s kinda hard to tell from the sideline. But we’ll be alright. We’ll fix the mistakes.”
