Cougars respond to loss with last-minute win over Bears
PHARR – Edinburg North coach Roy Garza openly questioned his team’s desire after his Cougars served as Harlingen High’s whipping boys last week.
They responded on Thursday night with game-winning drive in the final seconds engineered by hobbled quarterback Matthew Munoz to give the Cougars a 31-28 victory in District 31-5A play against PSJA High.
Munoz hit Jordan Quiroz for a 14-yard TD pass with 15 seconds remaining to seal the game. Munoz missed most of practice this week recovering from a strained abdominal muscle sustained in last week’s 61-17 loss to the Cardinals.
He didn’t play in the first half, but came out in the second. Munoz saved his best for last as he led a near flawless drive that began at the Cougars 20 with 2:11 remaining in the fourth quarter after the Bears took a 28-24 lead on Ruben Garcia’s 17-yard TD run.
Munoz sprang off runs of 9, 15 and 17 yards during the final drive. His 17-yarder put the Cougars at PSJA’s 14. Following two incompletions, he hit Quiroz for the score.
"It was an ugly feeling," Munoz said of losing to the Cardinals. "(Our coaches) questioned our heart."
Garza said Munoz’s poise allowed the Cougars to stay calm.
"He made some good decisions," Garza said. "I think we were more excited on the sidelines than he was."
The teams traded leads five times. The Bears (1-4, 1-1) were hurt by two turnovers. A fumble cost deep in Cougars territory cost them a chance for points late in the first half. An interception led to a 13-yard TD catch by Quiroz from Munoz that put the Cougars in the lead 17-13 with 5:15 in the third quarter.
Munoz was 16 of 25 for 167 yards and two touchdowns, both to Quiroz.
PSJA High's Gilbert Espino rushed for 177 yards on 20 carries, but he was held to 19 in the second half after the Cougars pulled their safeties closer to the line.
Epsino scored on a 24-yard run on the game’s opening drive that put the Bears in the lead, 7-0. The Cougars cut that to 7-3 on the next drive with a 25-yard field goal by Alan Pacheco.
Edinburg North took a 10-7 lead on its next series with quarterback Michael Pacheco scored on an 8-yard keeper with 21 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
PSJA High regained the lead when Nacho Gonzalez hauled in a 12-yard pass from Johnny Lopez on a fade. Espino set up the score with a 50-yard run that took the Bears to the 16.
The Bears missed a chance to extend that 13-10 lead late in the first half when it lost a fumble at the Edinburg North’s 14 with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter. Espino had raced 43 yards three plays before.
