Bobcats top Panthers for first win of the season

WESLACO — Edinburg capitalized on two Weslaco turnovers to pick up its first win of the season, 18-6, on Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium.

Aaron Sifuentes picked off a Nathan Alvarado pass and returned it 85 yards as the first half came to an end to give the Bobcats a 12-6 lead at halftime.

Weslaco received in the second half and drove the ball 78 yards to the Edinburg seven-yard line chewing up 6:59 of the third quarter.

But a fumble recovered by the Bobcats ended the Panthers hopes of at least tying the game at that point.

Edinburg took advantage driving the ball 93 yards the other way and scoring when Josh Mariscal recovered a teammates fumble in the end zone to go ahead 18-6.

“Our defense made some big plays and came up with big turnovers,” Edinburg head coach Joey Caceres said.

“They drove the ball on us (to start the third) but we got that fumble and went the other way. We chewed up the clock and ran it down their throats. That’s Bobcat Football and that’s what we love to do.”

Offense was definitely at a premium this game.

Edinburg got on the board first when Luis Guajardo scored on a 15-yard run early in the second to give the Bobcats a 6-0 lead after the PAT was missed.

Weslaco’s offense finally showed signs of life late in the second quarter when John Rojas broke free for a 41-yard score with 1:45 left in the first half. The PAT was blocked leaving the game tied at six.

The next sequence of events created some excitement in the game.

Following Weslaco’s score, Edinburg QB Isaac Escobar drove the Bobcats to the Panther 40 but threw an interception to Omar Pena, who returned it 47 yards from the Weslaco 20 to the Edinburg 33.

The Panthers took over and faced a first and 10 from the 20 after a 13-yard run by R.C Cervantes.

That’s when Alvarado threw his second pick of the game this one more costly than the first as Sifuentes took it the other way for the score.

“Edinburg made some big plays,” Weslaco head coach Tony Villarreal said. “But I thought our kids played well despite everything they went through this week.”

Escobar completed 11-of-18 passes with one pick for 111 yards. Deandric Maxwell led the Bobcats with 61 rushing yards on 15 carries.

John Rojas led the offensive attack for the Panthers once again.

The junior ball carrier gained 108 of Weslaco’s 231 offensive yards. Rojas carried 13 times and the Panther had zero passing yards.

Eladio Jaimez covers District 31-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers.