Vikings down Lobos 42-14, set sights on Falcons

It’s OK now. The Pace Vikings can start focusing on their much-anticipated showdown against Los Fresnos.

After defeating Lopez 42-14 on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium, next up for the Vikings (6-1, 4-0 District 32-5A) is an Oct. 24 matchup at Sams against the Falcons that will feature two teams who are among the top contenders in the 32-5A race.

This week, Pace coach Rene Medrano didn’t want his players looking past the hard-luck Lobos (0-7, 0-4) to Los Fresnos, and they didn’t.

"Lopez played us tough, and I’m proud of these players the way they came out in the second half (and broke open the game after leading 21-14 at intermission)," Medrano said. "We know we’ve got a big game coming up next Saturday night, that’s for sure. We’ll enjoy this win tonight and start preparing for Los Fresnos tomorrow."

The Vikings got off to a strong start in the first half after spotting Lopez a 6-0 lead. The Lobos scored on their opening drive as Lopez quarterback Danny Perez completed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Ricardo Hernandez with 9:05 showing in the first period. The extra point was blocked.

Pace rallied to score the game’s next three TDs on runs of 2, 1 and 12 yards by tailback Mike Trejo, a senior who made his first start of the season on offense. Robert Galvan booted the conversions after each score. The third of the three Trejo TD runs came with 8:59 left before halftime and gave the Vikings a 21-6 advantage.

Trejo, who also starts at linebacker on defense, rushed for 119 yards during the first half and finished with 185 yards and five TDs for the game. He played running back as a sophomore but has since played exclusively on defense until Friday’s game.

"I have to thank my offensive line for opening all those great holes," Trejo said. "I just ran through them. This is the first time I’ve had a game like this. It feels great."

A roughing-the-punter call against Pace gave Lopez new life and a first down at the Vikings’ 32-yard line late in the second quarter. From there, the Lobos marched to the end zone in nine plays and tallied its second TD with 53.3 seconds showing on a 4-yard scramble by Perez, who completed a two-point conversion pass to Pablo Torres to pull Lopez to within 21-14 at the intermission.

Trejo added two more TD runs within an 18-second span during the third quarter. The Vikings took their opening possession of the second half and scored on Trejo’s 9-yard run with 5:20 showing. After the Vikings recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Trejo tallied his fifth TD of the night two plays later on a 7-yard run with 5:02 to play in the period, giving Pace a 35-14 edge.

Miguel Cardenas’ 2-yard run for Pace with 1:05 remaining, and another extra point upped the score to 42-14.

Pace QB Rodrigo Tostado finished with 109 yards rushing as the Vikings preferred to grind out their yardage primarily on the ground against the Lobos.

When the Lobos and Vikings played one year ago, Pace came away with a 28-27 victory.

District action continues for the Lobos on Thursday when they face Hanna at Sams. After taking on Los Fresnos next Saturday, Pace still has key conference games remaining against San Benito and Hanna to close out the regular season.

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.