Tigers use big plays to top Tarpons in preseason scrimmage

PORT ISABEL - Mercedes' Alex Treviño won't bust a long one every time he touches the ball.
But the ratio's still pretty good.
Treviño scored four times, including three on big plays, as the Tigers topped Port Isabel Friday night at Tarpon Stadium in the final scrimmage for both teams.
Mercedes won the controlled portion of the night 4-2, while coming out on top again in two live quarters, 14-0.
Treviño scored on a 42-yard touchdown and 50-yard reception from Albert Chavez, each during the controlled scrimmage.
In the live quarter, Treviño dazzled on a 55-yard run and later a one-yard plunge.
The Tarpons, meanwhile, struggled, but showed some signs.
After being blanked last week at Harlingen, PI got on the board for the first time when backup quarterback Alex Herrera hit Brian Rudnick on an 11-yard TD pass.
Later, still in the controlled portion, the Tarpons' Joe Vega, who ran tough all night, dashed up the gut for a 25-yard scoring romp.
"We came to practice, they (Mercedes) came to play," PI head coach Monty Stumbaugh said. "Mercedes is a good football team. But I was disappointed with our effort tonight. That's what bothers me the most."
Each team showed signs of sloppiness, however.
PI had trouble on the center exchange on several occasions and also coughed up a couple of fumbles in addition to some missed tackles.
Mercedes also shot itself with penalties and a couple of giveaways of its own.
"If you can't block or tackle, then you're not going to be very good," Stumbaugh said. "But I saw some positives. We're just trying to get better each and every week."
The Tarpons must regroup quickly, as they'll host likely-state ranked West Oso next week. Mercedes faces Port Lavaca Calhoun at the Alamodome Saturday night in the Texas Football Classic.
RIO HONDO 6, VALLEY VIEW 1: At Hidalgo, the Bobcats earned a win over the 4A Tigers, winning the controlled portion of the scrimmage 3-0 and the game part 3-1.
"It was a lot better of a scrimmage. Valley View has gotten a lot better. They were a lot better than they were last year," Rio Hondo coach Rocky James said. "This scrimmage was a tuneup and I think we got a lot of work in."
The Bobcats got good nights from Joseph Vela, (two rushing touchdowns), Jacob Martinez (one rushing, one receiving) and Trevor David (one rushing, one receiving).
The Rio Hondo defense was once again stout.
"Defense played good, and  they (Valley View) scored on a broken play," James said. "But they're a much better football team."
Rio Hondo opens the season when it travels next Friday to Robstown and Valley View travels to Progreso to open its 2008 campaign.
HIDALGO 23, TULOSO-MIDWAY 14: At Corpus Christi, Hidalgo continued its maturation process with a good showing against the 4A Warriors.
"We did well," Hidalgo head coach Jorge Peña said. "We're a young team and we still made young mistakes. But this is a team that's going to get better each week."
The two squads went four quarters of game-like conditions with the first units.
The Pirates got two scores from quarterback Steve Pedraza, who ran one in and threw another to Victor Davila.
Hidalgo also recorded a safety and scored a defensive touchdown.
"Our young offensive line took major steps today," Peña said. "And our box in defense shut down their run. They did a really good job. So I was pleased."
LA JOYA-PALMVIEW 1, LA FERIA 0: At La Joya, the Lions and Lobos played eachother tight in an abbreviated scrimmage.
Each team got 20 plays with the starters and another 15 with backups before officials called it off due to lightning in the area.
Palmview got the night's lone score with the second group.
Despite not scoring, La Feria head coach Elifonso Esquivel liked what he saw in the Lions' first scrimmage.
"For the most part, we got what we wanted from the scrimmage," Esquivel said. "We did some things that are correctable, and we looked very promising."
La Feria's first group tallied 146 yards offfensively, while the Lion D was solid, holding Palmview to a paltry eight yards with three sacks.
Standouts for the Lions on defense included Bruce Bauer, Jonathan Medrano and linebacker Stephen White.
On offense, quarterback Raul Bowman connected with Enrique Oviedo for a 60-yard bomb. Fellow QB Colie Long was also solid.
"Both did a good job and both threw the ball well," Esquivel said.
La Feria will scrimmage La Joya's other new team, Juarez-Lincoln, next Thursday night at home.
SANTA MARIA 4, MMA 1: At Harlingen, Santa Maria continued its upward trend with solid play against the Leathernecks.
Santa Maria took the controlled scrimmage 1-0, while coming out on top in the live scrimmage 21-7.
The Cougars got another solid night from quarterback Andy De La Rosa, who connected on a 45-yard bomb with Robert Ramos. Ramos later added a 1-yard dive.  Fullback Martin Lugo scored on a 20-yard jaunt.
"We looked good. We made some mistakes, but overall, we got good effort again," Santa Maria head coach Lupe Perez said. "The kids came out and got after it. I think this group has the makings of a playoff team."
The Coogs are slated to host the Edinburg Economedes JV next Thursday night in the regular season opener.
LYFORD 4, FALFURRIAS 0: At Lyford, the Bulldogs turned in another good performance in a win over the Jerseys.
Lyford won the controlled portion 1-0 while coming up victorious in the live quarters 20-0.
The Bulldogs were on the heels of their solid outing against Valley View last week, a 6-1 win. In that game, Lyford passed for over 400 yards in a solid outing.
Coach Jaime Infante's squad will travel to Hebbronville next week to open the regular season.
SANTA ROSA 2, BRO. ST. JOE 1: At Brownsville, Santa Rosa got an improved effort from its young squad in a win over the Bloodhounds.
Santa Rosa  mounted a 10-play drive to score on the intial 15 play set with the starters, and got another score during the live quarters.
"We moved the ball all right, and we've absolutely improved," Santa Rosa head coach Joshua Gonzalez said. "We're still looking at people."
Gonzalez said the Warriors got great nights from linebacker Ryan Villarreal, the Warrior defensive line and z-back Josh Watrons, who had three carries for 75 yards. In addition, Juan Gonzalez and Andy Gonzalez each performed well at quarterback.
Santa Rosa takes on new Corpus Christi school John Paul next week in Corpus.

Armando Garza covers sub-4A football for Valley Freedom Newspapers. He can be reached at armandog@valleystar.com.