Cats top 'Kats in 32-3A clash

RAYMONDVILLE — Remember Trevor David?

Yeah, he can still run the football.

The Rio Hondo bulldozer had his best game of the season, going for 154 yards and a touchdown as the Bobcats ran past Raymondville 26-7 at Burnett Stadium on Friday night.

David, who also plays linebacker for the Cats (4-4 overall, 4-1 District 32-3A), took over the game with 149 yards after intermission as Rio Hondo and its superb offensive line gashed Raymondville for 291 yards on the ground.

“He’s had it tough because he’s been playing linebacker for us,” Rio Hondo head coach Rocky James said of David, a 1,300-yard rusher last year. “But he’s coming into his own and tonight was his turn to run the ball for us.”
Raymondville, which continued to kill itself with miscues, fell to 4-4 and 2-3 respectively.

“I just don’t have any words,” Bearkats head coach Alex Leal said. “Our kids played hard, but we’re still making rookie mistakes. We just self-destruct. But Rio Hondo played awfully well.”

Both teams were slow out of the gate, and a scoreless first quarter featured seven punts. It went the same way in the second stanza until a big penalty spurred a Bobcat scoring drive. Facing third and eight from its own 24, Raymondville stuffed Bobcat QB Isaiah De La Cruz (104 yards, 2 TDs) for just a yard. But a big personal foul gave the Cats new life at their own 38. And they capitalized.

De La Cruz and David alternated touches, with the speedy QB scoring on a 7-yard dash to put the Cats up 7-0 with seven seconds left before half.

“We actually passed a bit too much in the first half,” James said. “But at halftime we knew what we wanted to do and that was pound the football.”

And pound they did.

Rio Hondo moved the ball down the field thanks to a steady dose of David, but a fumble gave it to Raymondville.

The Kats went three and out and the Bobcats got another chance.

There was steadier running from David and De La Cruz, who scored his second TD of the night on a 19-yard run.

The PAT failed to give them a 13-0 lead with 2:57 left in the third.

The Bearkats mounted their best drive and B.J. Flores (20 carries, 107 yards) capped it with a 19-yard scoring scamper of his own. The PAT closed it to 13-7 with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter. It was the seventh-straight 100-yard game for Flores, who passed the 1,000-yard mark (1,057) for the season.

But back came the Bobcats.

After going for 11-yard run, David blazed for 50 yards and a score to put the Cats up 19-7.

The Bearkats continued to struggle with turnovers and their fourth and last miscue put them away.

Bobby De La Paz was dropped for a loss, the ball came out and Rio Hondo linebacker Maverick Hunter recovered in the end zone for a touchdown for the final margin.

The win is Rio Hondo’s fourth straight and sets up a showcase with Lyford next week.

“It’s a showdown,” James said. “We told the kids even when we were 0-4 that we were going to be fighting for a district title next week at Lyford.”