Defense, four turnovers guide Falcons past Pace

There have been some question marks about the Los Fresnos defense this season, but the Falcons delivered their best performance of the season against Pace.

Los Fresnos forced four turnovers and held Pace to 223 yards of offense while Eric Castillo ran for three touchdowns as the Falcons dominated the Vikings 35-13 on Saturday night at Sams Stadium.

"Tonight we played with that intensity and fire we’ve been looking for all year," Los Fresnos coach Scott Ford said. "I think circumstance can motivate sometimes more than a coach, so I’m proud of the kids."

The win puts Hanna in sole possession of first place in 32-5A, and the Golden Eagles travel to Los Fresnos next Friday night.

"I think we found the right ingredients to win football games, and they’re undefeated in district so in our eyes that’s for the district championship," Ford said. "And that’s what you coach and play for."

The Falcons got going with touchdown runs by Issac Nuñez and Castillo for an early 14-0 lead with 11:25 in the second quarter.

Pace’s first four possessions ended with two punts and two turnovers. Los Fresnos then went up 21-0 by scoring on its third consecutive drive when Emilio Hernandez dove in on fourth-and-goal with 6:16 left in the first half.

Pace put up its first points when Mike Trejo hit paydirt from 5 yards out with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter.

The Falcons came out of the second half determined not to let the Vikings back in the game. Estephan Wilson picked off Pace quarterback Rodrigo Tostado, a turnover that eventually led to another Falcons score when Castillo ran in his third score of the night five plays later to give his team a 35-6 advantage.

Alexis Tostado scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Soto with just under five minutes left in the game for the Vikings.

Rodrigo Tostado was limited, carrying 11 times for 42 yards and completing 4 of 14 passes for 29 yards and three interceptions.

Castillo led the Falcons in rushing with 118 yards. Hernandez was 7 of 12 passing for 163 yards and one interception.

Pace will play host to San Benito on Oct. 31 and try to keep up in the tight District 32-5A race.

"We were there in spurts," Pace coach Rene Medrano said. "We had some things not go our way, and it didn’t work out for us. The next games are going to be like this, a playoff atmosphere, so the quicker we put this behind us the better we’ll be."

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.