East finally puts an end to Edcouch-Elsa's district streak
ELSA — Adios to the historic 39-game district winning streak.
Edcouch-Elsa managed to get about six inches from extending the streak for at least one more weak, only to fall 11-8 to Weslaco East. With two cracks to punch it in from inside the 1-yard line, the Wildcats (4-0 overall, 1-0 in District 32-4A) defense did just enough to hold for a win at the Black Hole.
E-E (0-1, 1-3) backup quarterback Isaac Prado, who replaced starter Aaron Lopez to start the second half, orchestrated a 65-yard drive in eight plays to the Wildcat 1 with 43 seconds left in the game. Yellowjackets coach Joe Solis rolled the dice, electing to to go for the win instead of the tie. After a timeout, Solis called a sneak, but Prado couldn’t handle the snap but was fortunate enough to recover the ball at the same spot.
With no timeouts left, E-E hurried to the line of scrimmage and called a simple dive play to Roger Garcia only to have the ball mishandled again.
Lined up in a tight formation, defensive end Frank Ramirez cut through a gap on the left side and attacked Prado thinking it would be a sneak again, but saw Prado didn’t have the ball.
“We just knew we had to step up,” Ramirez said. “We didn’t want (the streak) to go to 40. They kept driving, but I kept telling my teammates to step it up.”
East quarterback Alonso Salinas (six-of-10, 44 yards, one touchdown) iced it with a quick 1-yard sneak, setting up noisy Wildcats celebration.
Before Friday, Harlingen South was the last team to defeat E-E in district at the end of the 2002 season.
“It’s got to end, nobody is invincible,” Solis said. “Give my kids a lot of credit. I think a lot of people thought we we’re going to get blown out. … I took my chances (going for the win), I didn’t want to take my chances on a first-year kicker. I told them they have nothing to be ashamed of.”
As for Wildcats Armando Cuellar, it was certainly one of the biggest wins in Wildcats history.
“It’s got to be, one of the all-times,” Cuellar said. “It’s a great win for the kids. They’ve been the ones working hard and making the commitment to get to this point.”
The Wildcats went up 11-8 when Michael Torres booted a 19-yard field goal with 2:23 left in the game. The points were set up after linebacker Ubaldo Candanoza picked off Prado’s pass and scampered to the Yellowjackets’ 23-yard line. East got to the 1-yard line, but Cuellar elected for the field goal.
The offensive production wasn’t the prettiest, but it was enough . Running back Bobby Gonzalez led the Wildcats with 99 yards on 19 carries while Bryan Guzman chipped in with 57. This marked the first time all season, East didn’t produce a rushing touchdown as Guzman scored the only Wildcats TD on a 4-yard throw from Salinas just before halftime for an 8-0 lead.
“All the hard work has paid off,” Salinas said. “The team was tremendous. We could play this game.”
