Govea, Rivera survive Porter rally

Any time two Brownsville schools meet anything can happen, and almost everything did in another District 32-5A thriller.

Rivera running back Josue Govea ran for 173 and four touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, as the Raiders held off a furious comeback by the Porter Cowboys in 39-33 nail-bitter on Friday night at Sams Stadium.

"When the kids go out there and lay everything on the line and play the whole game like that, good things happen and they did for us," Raiders coach Jim Helms said. "They hit the crossbar, and we were able to take it in for the score in overtime."

Simon Flores sent the Cowboys into overtime with a 33-yard field goal, but the result wasn’t the same in extra time.

Flores had another 33-yarder on Porter’s first possession, but this time it hit the middle of the cross bar and Rivera took advantage.

Raiders coach Jim Helms called Govea’s number six straight times, and on the final carry he dove over the goal line to keep Rivera’s hope for a 2009 playoff berth still alive.

"I can’t ask anything more from these kids," Porter coach Roberto Valdez said. "They played their hearts out, and it was a tough loss for these kids to take. We’ve got two games left, and we are going to play for Porter Nation and pride."

Nate Nevarez added 97 yards on the ground for the Raiders. Matt Bullock and Resendez combined for 22 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

"I knew Bullock was good, and it didn’t surprise me that they took it to overtime," Helms said. "They came back against Weslaco (High), and we knew it was going to be tough."

Robert Vidal led the Cowboys with six receptions for 104 yards and one score.

Porter is eliminated from the playoff race with the loss. Rivera remains alive but must win out to have chance.

Porter had a chance to win it late in the fourth quarter with 18 seconds left in the game. Vidal ran to the Rivera 1-yard line, but a holding penalty took the Cowboys back. Two plays later, the Cowboys had to settle for Flores’ field goal and overtime.

Before that, it looked like the wheels had completely fallen off for the Cowboys. They were down 33-14 after a 9-yard touchdown pass from J.J. Sanchez to Luis Mejia during the middle of the third quarter.

The Cowboys came alive after Charlie Quintero cut the lead to 33-22 with 1:08 left in the third with a 24-yard touchdown run. Bullock added the two-point conversion.

Porter’s defense held the Raiders during the fourth quarter, and Porter’s offense scored on its final two possessions. The first was a 24-yard touchdown run by Resendez and, following an onside kick recovery from Carlos Sosa, Porter booted in the three points it needed to reach overtime with seven seconds left.

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.