Week 10 Live Running Roundup

Keep checking this article for the latest stories as the games end.

PORT ISABEL 41, PROGRESO 35, OT: SANTA ROSA — Joe Vega scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to give the Tarpons a victory over the Red Ants in the season finale for both teams.

Vega ended up with two touchdowns and Kyle DeMoss added two more for Port Isabel (4-6, 3-4 District 32-3A), which trailed 35-21 in the fourth quarter after being tied at 14 at halftime.

"We played great," P.I. coach Monty Stumbaugh said. "We challenged our kids at halftime. I don’t think we played real well in the first half. A lot of that was they had a lot of speed, and they beat us on speed passes."

C.J. Barrera and Travis LeBlanc also tallied for P.I., which scored all of its touchdowns on the ground.

"Our kids never quit, you know, both teams," Stumbaugh said. "It was a heck of a football game. Both kids, Progreso kids, our kids, they all played their tails off. It was just a good high school football game."

Progreso, which scored in each quarter but overtime, was led by running back Armando Pintor, who scored two touchdowns. Quarterback Juan Treviño found Joey Garza and Steve Medrano for long touchdown passes, and Medrano added another TD run for the Red Ants (2-8, 0-7).

"They played awesome," coach Elvis Hernandez said. "We went up by two touchdowns, and give a lot of credit to Coach Stumbaugh over there, he did a great job coming back and tying the ballgame, but our kids never gave up and they showed a lot of resilience, and that’s what they’ve been doing all year long.

"Our record doesn’t really reflect how well the kids played."

SANTA DIEGO 19, SANTA ROSA 7: SANTA ROSA — It was Cowboys vs. Indians Friday night at Warrior Stadium, with a potential playoff spot at stake for Santa Rosa if they won by at least ten points. But chronic turnovers, particularly in the second half,  spoiled any hopes for such a victory, and the Warriors lost 19-7 to the San Diego Fighting Vaqueros.

"We gave it our best effort," Warriors head coach Joshua Gonzalez said afterwards. "I love these kids to death.  It just wasn't meant to be tonight. But I'm proud of these kids for what they did this year. We've had some key injuries [this season], but I’m not making excuses. San  Diego did a great job."

 Indeed, the Vaqueros defense dominated the second half, limiting the Warriors to 49 total yards, and collecting 4 turnovers, three of them interceptions on consecutive fourth-quarter Warrior drives.

The Vaquero offense, held in check by the Warriors during the first half, perked up in the second. Eating up time and yards on numerous drives, the offense scored on a 6-yard run by Mario Madrigal at the end of the third quarter and an 11-yard pass from quarterback Albert Lopez to tight end Ned Luna midway through the fourth to put the game out of reach.

In the first half, the two teams were virtual mirror images of one another, with each team scoring on their first possession and later missing a field goal after long drives.

Santa Rosa scored first on a 30-yard run by Josh Watrous three minutes into the contest. San Diego answered back quickly, with Joe Gallegos running it in from 28 yards out, notching it at 7-all.

But in the second quarter, Santa Rosa began turning the ball over.  Orlando Gonzalez picked off Warriors quarterback Miguel Ledesma at the San Diego 30 yard line, and, on their next possession, Tristian Salinas fumbled at the 28 yard line after making a catch in which it was questionable whether he had possession or not.

Even with the first half turnovers, the Warriors defense kept them in the game, but they weren't able to sustain such play in the second. Too many turnovers created too many opportunities and momentum swings in San Diego's favor.

PSJA NORTH 21, PSJA HIGH 20: Pharr- Up 14 with eight minutes to play in the game, P-SJ-A North (9-1, 6-1 district) thought the game was over against rival P-SJ-A High (3-7, 3-4 district) Friday night at P-SJ-A Stadium.

The Bears had other plans as they rallied to score two touchdowns back-to-back, but instead of tying the game on a field goal, Bear coach Mel Rios told his players they didn’t come all the way back just to tie it.

Going for two with six seconds left, Johnny Lopez threw for the end zone but was picked off by Danny Gonzalez giving the Raiders the 21-20 win.

“I never really felt we were going to lose it. I knew somehow we were going to pull it off and luckily I got that pick,” Gonzalez said. “It was a hell of game. I thank God for the way I performed and I’m happy we won.”

J.J. Rodriguez stepped it up for the Raiders scoring two TD’s while rushing for 156 yards in 21 attempts.

Three interceptions that were capitalized with Raider TD’s in the first half plus a fumble made it difficult for the Bears to get any momentum going.

The Raiders got on the board first on a Mario Guerrero ten yard run. The Bears only score in the half came in the next series with a Gilbert Espino two yard run at the 3:51 mark of the first quarter. Rodriguez’s two second quarter TD’s gave the Raiders a comfortable 14 point lead throughout the second half.

The Bears looked to cut the deficit to seven before the half but the Raider defense stopped them cold in the red zone forcing a fumble. Raider head coach Bruce Bush admits even though his defense gave them the win, his team could of done more.

“We shot ourselves in the foot when we could of made things a little more comfortable. We were real conservative. Really we had the opportunity to put them away and we didn’t,” he said.

Bear coach Rios admits his teams performance in the first half was forgettable but was pleased with the character in the second half.

“We played really well in the second and almost surprised them. We went for the win because we wanted it. It was there for the taking and we went for it,” coach Rios said.

RIO GRANDE CITY 42, LA JOYA 21: RIO GRANDE CITY – The celebration began with 3:48 remaining when the Joe R. Sanchez public address announcer reported the score:

Donna 24, McAllen Memorial 21.

Those words send the Rattlers’ faithful into a frenzy because that Donna win, coupled with Rio Grande City’s pending victory on Friday against La Joya, meant one thing:

Playoffs.

The Rattlers’ 42-21 victory against La Joya was a foregone conclusion. The Rattlers had gained full control of their contest by halftime. La Joya lost four fumbles, and the Rattlers scored touchdowns off three of them.

The only drama remaining was whether Donna could find a way to climb out of a 21-0 hole.

“I’m still in shock,” said senior running back Freddy Lopez, who rushed for 236 yards, scoring on runs of 30 and 86 yards on 13 carries. “I can’t believe Donna pulled it out. My mind is blank. This feeling is indescribable.”

Rattlers coach Jesus Lozano was getting text updates from the Memorial-Donna game.  He kept the updates to himself, leaving his players in the dark.

 “We didn’t say anything,” Lozano said. “Right before half, I heard Memorial was up 21-0. We didn’t worry about it because we needed to focus on what we had to do first.”

In order to gain the fourth and final available playoff spot from District 30-5A, Rio Grande City (5-5, 4-3 district) needed to beat La Joya, and Donna needed to defeat McAllen Memorial by at least 10 points.

Word spread quickly among the Rattler faithful at the 5:38 mark that Donna had tied the score at 21. Several fans gave each other thumbs-up signs and several others began a “Rio” chant.

“This just feels good for the kids and the community,” Lozano said. “We’ve had an up-and-down year. We started off with a lot of injuries, but things came together for us.”

Lopez’s two long runs gave the Rattlers a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Rio Grande City added another score, a 5-yard TD reception by Javier Pena to make it 21-0 early in the second quarter.

The Coyotes (1-9, 0-7) cut that lead to 21-7 on a 14-yard TD run in the second quarter by Lee Ramirez, who engaged in a good rushing battle with Lopez. Ramirez finished with 183 yards on 17 carries. He added a 30-yard TD run in the third quarter that pulled La Joya to 28-13.

Rio Grande City answered with big-play touchdowns on two of their next three series, including a 39 yard run by Cris Guerra (his second score on the night) and a 31-yard TD catch by Arnold Chapa.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the playoffs,” Lopez said. “We wanted to finish off the game first. It’s a great feeling. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”

DONNA 24, McALLEN MEMORIAL 21: DONNA – Ivan Estrada kept shaking his head.

“I can’t believe it,” Donna’s junior defensive back said after his team’s stunning 24-21 come-from-behind win on Friday in The Monitor’s Game of the Week at Bennie La Prade Stadium.

Estrada picked off Memorial quarterback Matthew Kaufmann, who threw an uncharacteristic four interceptions in the game, with 55 seconds left, setting up a game-winning 27-yard field goal as the clock expired by Fernando Sanchez.

At halftime most wouldn’t have believed Donna (7-3 overall, 5-2 district) was going to win. The Redskins trailed 21-0 at intermission to a team that had everything to play for. Memorial needed to win by 10 points to advance to the playoffs. Instead, Rio Grande City will be the fourth District 30-5A representative.

The Redskins, who already clinched a playoff spot last week, and their proud tradition stood strong in the second half as they scored 24 unanswered during the final two quarters to make sure there wouldn’t be a Mustangs celebration on their field.

“We just told ourselves this is our home town and this is our homecoming,” Redskins quarterback Alahn Yanez said. “We just kept telling each other to believe.”

Donna insists it was not concerned by what Memorial needed to do to get in the playoffs. Yanez said the team could have cared less about their role as spoilers but instead wanted a full steam of momentum heading into the postseason.

“We played to have no regrets at the end of the year,” Redskins coach Manny Moreno said. “It had nothing to do with the motivation of (Memorial) of what they had to do. We have been working hard since last November to get to this point.”

Whether Donna admits it or not, it played the role as spoiler well. The Redskins, who had only 41 yards of total offense at halftime, controlled the clock in the second half and limited the Mustangs to only 95 second-half yards and only 65 yards passing in the game.

The Redskins tied the contest on a 27-yard TD pass from Yanez to Erin Perez with 2:25 left in the game. On the ensuing possession, Estrada came up with his pick, helping to end what was suppose to be a playoff season for the Mustangs.

Memorial (6-4, 3-4) was picked by many to win the district but could not win the close ones, losing their four games by a combined 22 points.

“It is very disappointing,” Mustangs coach Bill Littleton said. “We expected to be in the playoffs. We expected to be contending for a district title. Yeah, it is disappointing.”

LOS FRESNOS 75, BROWNSVILLE PORTER 34: The Los Fresnos Falcons punched their ticket to the playoffs in impressive fashion.

Los Fresnos racked up 631 yards of offense while the defense held Porter in check as the Falcons crushed the Cowboys 75-34 on Friday night at Sams Stadium.

Coach Scott Ford and the Los Fresnos Falcons will play host to Edinburg North at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Leo Aguilar Stadium.

“It feels good,” Ford said. “We knew we needed a win to get in and our goal is to compete for championships, and we get that opportunity next week.”

Quarterback Eric Castillo had 294 yards of offense and four touchdown passes, completing 6 of 7 throws for 113 yards. The junior quarterback also ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns and had runs of 74 and 62 yards late in the second quarter to give the Falcons a 49-7 lead.

Falcons senior quarterback Emilio Hernandez was efficient through the air, completing 9 of 16 passes for 169 yards and two scores, including the final touchdown of the game for Los Fresnos. He completed a 7-yard toss to Krisitan Martinez for a 75-28 advantage with 7:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Martinez also had a solid game for the Falcons, running for 103 yards on six carries. It included a 64-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage in the second half.

Porter scored its second touchdown of the game two drives later, when Luis Alvarez recovered a fumble from Castillo in the end zone. Porter’s Charlie Quintero led the Cowboys in rushing with 176 yards, which included a 44-yard touchdown for Porter’s final points of the season.

McALLEN ROWE 35, McALLEN HIGH 21: McALLEN – McAllen High will play in a Class 5A, Division-II bi-district game next Friday night. If the Bulldogs play the way they did in their season finale Friday night against McAllen Rowe, that matchup with Southwest will certainly end their season.

After falling behind by seven, Rowe scored 28 of the next 35 points and cruised to a 35-21 win over the Bulldogs. Rowe ends its season with a .500 record of 5-5 and 3-4 in District 30-5A. The Bulldogs, who were without star wide receiver Nick Garza and quarterback Austin Griffith, fall to 7-3 and 5-2 in district play.

The Warriors led 14-7 when, with 10:44 left in the second, Rowe’s Darrylle Garza blocked a McHi punt, with Manny Pena recovering in the end zone for a touchdown. Rowe was led by QB Daniel Navarro, who finished with 134 rushing yards and two scores, plus one passing TD.

Without Garza, the Bulldogs’ offense struggled, needing 30 passing attempts to gain 194 yards.

SAN BENITO 31, BROWNSVILLE RIVERA 13: SAN BENITO — The San Benito Greyhounds are back in the Class 5A state playoffs after a one-year absence thanks to Friday’s 48-21 District 32-5A victory over Rivera at Bobby Morrow Stadium.

The Greyhounds (6-4, 5-2 district) advance to next week’s bi-district playoffs and possibly will face Harlingen High.
San Benito broke open the game with three touchdowns in the final 6:30 before halftime to lead 28-7.

The Greyhounds went up 7-0 at the 4:34 mark of the first quarter on Tommy Herrera’s 11-yard run. Rivera evened it at 7 on a 9-yard scoring run by Nate Nevarez with 9:35 showing in the second period.

San Benito quarterback Brandon Marquez then gave his team a lead it didn’t surrender by first rushing 31 yards for a TD with 6:30 left until intermission. He then threw a 66-yard scoring pass to a wide-open J.C. Guzman on a deep route for a 21-7 lead. Marquez’s 5-yard run with 20 seconds left in the half provided a three-TD lead after Julio Martinez’s fourth extra point.

San Benito preferred to keep the ball on the ground for the most part in the opening half as Marquez and Herrera gained 133 and 92 yards, respectively, during the first two quarters. On the night, Marquez finished with 217 yards rushing with two rushing TDs and a pair of scoring passes, while Herrera wound up with 201 yards rushing and three TDs. Josue Govea rushed for 110 yards for Rivera.

The teams traded scores during the third quarter as Govea tallied a 5-yard TD run to pull the Raiders to within 28-14 before Herrera’s TD runs of 13 and 4 yards put the Greyhounds ahead 41-14 by the end of the period.

After winning only one game in each of the past three seasons, Rivera (3-7, 3-4) showed definite improvement this year and went into Friday’s regular-season finale with an opportunity to return to the postseason for the first time since 2003 with a victory at San Benito. But it didn’t happen Friday against the Greyhounds.   

When the Raiders and Greyhounds met one year ago in Brownsville, San Benito came away with a 41-13 victory.