Economedes holds on for 20-13 win over Brownsville Porter

After Porter defeated Edinburg Economedes during last year’s season opener, Jaguars coach Oscar Salinas warned Cowboys coach Roberto Valdez that doing it again would be difficult.

Sure enough, the Jaguars came to Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville and avenged their 2008 loss to Porter by winning Friday’s season opener between the two teams 20-13 in The Brownsville Herald’s game of the week.

Porter triumphed 35-21 over the Jaguars last season in Edinburg and went on to make the playoffs for only the second time in school history.

The two coaches are friendly rivals because one decade ago Salinas served as offensive coordinator for Valdez, who was then the head coach at La Feria.

"It’s not even about that (coaching rivalry)," Salinas said. "It just feels good to get a win. It isn’t about us (coaches), it’s about getting this win against a good Porter team and what it does for the confidence of our kids. It’s a great competitive situation between our teams, and I have a lot of respect for Coach Valdez, but I’m so happy that our players hung in there and pulled out the win."

The Jaguars built a 13-0 first-quarter advantage and led 20-0 at the half.

Gary Rodriguez’s 4-yard touchdown run capped an 11-play, 80-yard march on Economedes’ first possession to give the Jaguars a 6-0 advantage after a missed extra point with 4:13 showing in the opening period. Less than two minutes later, Nelson Hampton fielded a Porter punt and returned it 55 yards for Economedes’ second TD. Rogelio Ramirez’s kick made it 13-0 with 2:44 to go in the first quarter.

Hampton’s 6-yard TD run with 2:23 left in the first half capped a five-play, 28-yard drive after a Porter punt to midfield was returned 25 yards to give the Jaguars a prime scoring opportunity. Ramirez’s kick provided the Jaguars with a 20-0 lead.

Matthew Bullock’s 7-yard keeper up the middle with 1:07 left in the third period and Simon Flores’ kick pulled the Cowboys to within 20-7. Porter made it 20-13 on the first play of the fourth quarter when Robert Vidal darted 19 yards around right end to the end zone. But the Cowboys could come no closer.

"Our players fought back after we could have easily folded, so I’m proud of them for doing that," Valdez said. "They fought back down to the finish of the game. We have a young team that has to learn how to play hard. We came out soft against a team that was fired up to beat us."

The Cowboys continue their non-district schedule at La Joya Palmview next week, while Economedes will play host to McAllen Memorial.

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.