Injuries too much for Bulldogs to overcome against Eagles

LAREDO — Playoff games are not the times you want to be experimenting with your lineup, but McAllen High was left with no choice and despite numerous personnel moves, the Bulldogs nearly pulled it off.

But Randy Garcia’s four touchdowns were too much for the Bulldogs, and Eagle Pass came away with a 28-21 victory on Friday in a Class 5A Division II bi-district playoff at the Student Activities Center.

The Bulldogs had a chance for a game-tying score in the waning moments after they drove the ball to the Eagles’ 4. But they came up empty following an illegal forward pass and three incomplete passes.

A rash of injuries forced the Bulldogs’ hands and coach Tony Harris pulled out all the stops.

McHi had defensive backs playing receiver, defensive lineman playing on offense, offensive linemen playing both ways and star running back Trey Dube was the starting quarterback.

“We brought every gun we had, and we shot at them the best we could,” Harris said. “There is not a prouder coach in the state of Texas than me. We had guys playing positions they hadn’t played since they were on junior varsity.”

And most of them had just a week to learn their new positions. Dube, Michael Riojas and Angel Mora switched out at quarterback. Dube missed a few series because he tweaked an ankle injury, but returned later.

“I thought we did some great things tonight,” said Dube, who rushed for 138 yards on 23 carries.

The Bulldogs had momentum when they took a 14-7 halftime lead. After Eagle Pass had a 7-0 first quarter lead on a 1-yard TD by Garcia, the Bulldogs tied it on Riojas’ 65 yard run on a keeper. It was his first carry of the season.

McHi took a 14-7 lead on a 99-yard drive that was capped by a 31-yard run by Dube. The drive started when Eagle Pass quarterback Tommy Galvan was stopped inches short of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Dube then spurned off a 54-yard run on the next play and scored five plays later with 3:30 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs got the ball first in the second half, but fumbled it away at Eagle Pass’ 49. That led to a 9-yard score by Garcia, who added a 52-yarder later in the third to put the Eagles in front, 21-14. A 21-yard Garcia score put the Eagles in the lead 28-21 with 11:30 in the fourth quarter.

An Eagle Pass fumble deep in their territory gave the Bulldogs some hope. Mora connected with Alan Lozano for a 19-yard score that pull McHi to 28-21 with 6:51 remaining.

The Eagles punted on their next possession and McHi took over with 2:18 remaining. But the drive stalled 12 plays later with six seconds left.

“We fought back and we had a chance to win it,” Harris said. “Our kids did a great job.”