Cardinals overcome slow start to cruise past Greyhounds

HARLINGEN — Mack Sanchez zigged and Mack Sanchez zagged.

He broke a tackle here and a he broke a tackle there.

Then he sprinted.

The run will officially go down as a 52-yard touchdown run. But really, Sanchez covered about 105 yards of field running what seemed like circles around San Benito defenders.

Typical Mack The Knife.

Sanchez tallied 301 yards of total offense, including that amazing 52-yarder in the third quarter, and accounted for four TDs as the Harlingen Cardinals defeated the Greyhounds, 41-21, for the second time this season on Friday at Boggus Stadium.

This time in a Class 5A, Division I bi-district clash.

Harlingen (11-0) moves on to play San Antonio Southwest (10-0) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Javelina Stadium. The Dragons defeated Rio Grande City (5-6) 58-29.

Sanchez did all this after missing most of the week's practice with the cold.

"I wasn't even thinking about being sick," Sanchez said. "But when I broke that long run, I felt congested like I couldn't breathe. But it was game time. I wasn't thinking of the flu."

Sanchez's run might have been the back breaker for San Benito (6-5). If not the spark Harlingen's offense needed after a sluggish first half.

The score gave Harlingen a 21-7 lead with 9:00 left in the third quarter.

"I'm just glad it's over," Cards head coach Manny Gomez said. "We hadn't faced adversity all year long and I'm glad we did tonight. I wanted to get challenged and I'm glad we did. And the kids responded."

Following Mack's score, Trevor Lyzak intercepted San Benito QB Brandon Marquez at the Greyhounds' 43 on SB's ensuing possession.

And after a pass interference call against SB, Harlingen needed all of five plays to score again as Sanchez jammed it in from one yard to give Harlingen a 28-7 lead and momentum that lasted the rest of the way.

Harlingen never looked back.

Sanchez rushed for 149 yards and the three scores on 22 carries. He also passed for 152 yards while completing seven-of-15 pass attempts and one TD.

"The seniors got together at halftime and decided to step it up," said. Cards receiver Anthony Reyna, who caught four passes for 82 yards. "We weren't playing like we know we could play. In the second half, we just brought it and executed."

Cards' RB Pablo Garza added a seven-yard TD run with 2:42 left in the third to cap off a 20-point third quarter for Harlingen.

Garza rushed for 98 yards and two scores on 13 carries. He also had a 12-yard TD run in the first.

"We had a lull there in the third quarter and that killed us," SB head coach Spencer Gantt said. "We have to play four quarters if we're going to win and we didn't tonight."

Sanchez added a six-yard scoring run in with 5:19 in the fourth to make it 41-14 at that point.

The game was close in the first half as Harlingen only led 14-7 at intermission on Garza's TD run and a 28-yard TD strike from Sanchez to Luke Lucio (three catches for 70 yards).

San Benito QB Brandon Marquez did all he could to keep the Greyhounds in the game.

The superb athlete gained 249 of SB's 312 total yards.

Marquez scored on a 15-yard run in the first to answer Harlingen's first score tying the game at seven with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

Then in the fourth, Marquez threw two TD passes. He hit J.C. Guzman from 32 yards to make it 34-14 then found an open Anthony Romero in the end zone with 2:36 left in the game to make it 41-21.

"You gotta give that kid credit," Gomez said. "He's a great player."

This is the third time in four years that San Benito loses to a team from Harlingen in a bi-district game.

Harlingen South defeated the Greyhounds in 2006 and 2007 in the first round as well.

San Benito's 312 offensive yards and 21 points were the most Harlingen has allowed in a single game all season.

Eladio Jaimez covers District 31-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers.