Espino's huge night lifts Bears past winless Hawks

HARLINGEN — On his first carry of the second half, PSJA High running back Gilbert Espino dashed around the left side and hurdled a Harlingen South defender drawing a roar from the Bears fans.

PSJA ended up punting the ball a few plays later but Espino continued making big run after big run.
Espino — the Jim Brown-like runner — finished with a career-high 241 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the Bears ran past the Hawks 24-14 on Friday at Boggus Stadium.

It was the District 31-5A opener for both teams.

“That’s the type of effort he’s going to give you every play,” Bears coach Mel Rios said of Espino’s amazing run in the third quarter. “We needed that first down to keep the drive alive. We don’t want him to be jumping like that but Gilbert did what he had to do tonight to help us win.”

With PSJA sporting their retro-type jerseys, the 6-foot, 215-pound Espino was a throwback to the days when the ground game ruled. Espino scored on runs of 53, 62 and 39 yards as the senior carried the ball 21 times for the Bears.

“The O-line opened up the holes,” Espino said. “We won as a team. We’re one team. It’s a good win … a good way to start district. But we have the (Edinburg North) Cougars next week and it’s going to be a good game.”

South coach Gilbert Leal was impressed with Espino.

“This one came down to their senior back (Espino) making plays,” Leal said.

“He was tough when it counted out there.”