By the Numbers: Right place, right time

HARLINGEN - Lorenzo Rodriguez scored once last season.
Actually, the former Harlingen South receiver scored only once in his entire high school career.
But that lone touchdown is one he or every South faithful won't soon forget.
Trailing 35-28 with two seconds left in a Week Eight game against PSJA Memorial last season, Rodriguez scooped up a loose ball near the end zone and jumped in for the TD.
With two seconds left, South quarterback Sean Messick tossed a prayer into the end zone.
Memorial cornerback Armando Flores picked off the pass, but instead of taking a knee and ending the game, the senior ran it out.
That's when a South receiver ran after him and stripped the ball.
Rodriguez just happened to be at the right place at the right time and saved the day and the perfect season for the South Hawks in what is now known as the Tri-City Miracle.
"I just wanted to hit the guy that ended our perfect season," Rodriguez said of tackling Flores. "When I saw the ball on the ground, I just wanted to pick it up and go. I went down and when I looked up, I saw all our guys with their arms up. I'd just scored."
The score capped off a furious rally that saw South erase a 21-point deficit as time ran out. That's the focus of the Valley Morning Star's latest installment of the "By The Numbers" series.
"It was awesome," said Rodriguez, now a prospective nursing student. "My dad missed that game and I called him from the bus and told him I scored the game-tying touchdown. I wish he could have been there."
As it turns out Rodriguez's father wasn't the only one not there.
South was the consensus No. 1 team in the Valley for about six weeks straight at that point and were 7-0 on the season.
So when the Wolverines raced out to a 35-14 lead late in the third quarter, many South fans left.
Had they given up? Maybe. But not the team.
Quarterback Sean Messick scored from one yard as the third period ended to cut the Memorial lead to 35-21.
Later in the fourth, running back Phillip Fruge turned a short pass into a 23-yard score to make it 35-28.
By now hopes of winning the game crawled back onto the fans in the stands.
South's defense gave Harlingen the ball back with a few seconds left setting the stage for the Tri-City Miracle.
South went on to win in overtime and remain undefeated when Messick and Fruge connected again for a 22-yard score.
South's defense was also huge in overtime stopping the Wolverines.
The Hawks went on to beat Edinburg Economedes and PSJA to remain undefeated and win the District 31-5A title.
South went 12-0 before losing to Smithson Valley in the third round of the playoffs.
As for Rodriguez? He's moved on. But his only career touchdown wil remain part of Harlingen South and Valley football lore for years to come.
"I was just at the right place at the right time," Rodriguez said. "That's why you're supposed to go all-out all the time."