Vikings open district with resounding 48-21 victory
Pace slipped by Porter by only a point one year ago. This time it wasn’t nearly as close, although the Cowboys put up quite a fight.
The Vikings (3-1) opened District 32-5A action with a 48-21 victory over the Cowboys (0-4) on Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium. Pace edged Porter 23-22 at Sams to begin district in 2008.
"Our kids stepped it up and made a lot of plays tonight," Pace coach Rene Medrano said. "Our receivers made some big-time plays, and Rodrigo (Tostado) threw the ball well. That’s all you can ask for right now. We just took what the defense gave us. We took advantage of it, and it worked for us. You have to try to keep your momentum going now that it’s district. You have to do that because everybody’s going to play you tough.
"I have to give Porter a lot of credit," he added. "They played their hearts out, and they gave us quite a ballgame even though the score may not show it."
Pace didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard, scoring on its second and third possessions to take a 13-0 lead.
Vikings QB Rodrigo Tostado darted across the goal line on runs of 15 and 8 yards during the opening quarter. Porter pulled to within 13-7 with 7.7 seconds left in the period when Mike Resendez tallied a touchdown on a 7-yard run and Simon Flores added the extra point.
Mark Guerrero caught a 24-yard TD pass from Tostado with 11:17 showing in the second period to give Pace a 20-7 advantage after Robert Galvan’s second extra point. Porter battled back again and closed to within 20-14 as Jose Luis Barcenas broke into the end zone from 1 yard out with 8:07 left in the half. Flores added the conversion.
Pace restored its two-TD edge with 2:20 to go before intermission when Miguel Cardenas scored on a 2-yard run, and Galvan’s kick was true again for a 27-14 score.
The two teams continued to trade scores for a brief time in the second half until Pace pulled away. Resendez caught a 6-yard pass from scrambling QB Matt Bullock with 9:55 showing in the third as Porter rallied to within 27-21 before Pace scored on the very next play from scrimmage with a 72-yard TD strike from Tostado to Joseph Reyna just 20 seconds later to boost the Vikings’ lead to 34-21.
A 22-yard TD pass from Tostado to Alan Perez at the 3:44 mark of the third quarter gave the Vikings a 41-21 advantage. Cardenas added another TD on a 2-yard run with 10:40 remaining in the final quarter to make it 48-21.
Tostado rushed for 140 yards and a pair of TDs while throwing for 239 yards and three scores. Bullock rushed for 121 yards for Porter.
"We played a very explosive Pace football team," Porter coach Roberto Valdez said. "We came within six points there in the second half (27-21), but they took the fire out of us real quick with that long (72-yard) bomb. That’s football. Pace is a good, solid team, offensively, defensively and on special teams.
"My team fought hard, and that’s what I’m looking for," he added. "We still haven’t put a full game together yet, but I did see a spark from our players. We still have a long way to go, but this is just our first district game. We just have to regroup and get ready for the next game. Either way, if you win or lose, there’s still a next game to play, so we just have to get ready for it."
The Vikings, coming off last week’s 34-13 victory at previously unbeaten PSJA Memorial, next plays Oct. 3 at Weslaco High. The Cowboys, who were open last week, next face Hanna on Oct. 2 at Sams.
Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.
