Brownsville Porter rally stuns Weslaco High
WESLACO — Quarterback Matt Bullock accounted for four touchdowns — two running and two passing — and the game’s final 16 points, leading Brownsville Porter’s furious 36-28 comeback win over Weslaco High on Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
Porter (1-6 season , 1-3 District 32-5A) trailed 28-12 in the fourth quarter before it came up with three touchdowns in the final 4:22 to pull off the stunning victory.
Josh Garza hauled in an 18-yard pass from Bullock in the corner of the end zone with 25 seconds remaining for the game-winning score.
Weslaco seemed to take control of the game when Ryan Flores scored from 1 yard out to put the Panthers in the lead, 28-12, with 11:18 in the fourth quarter.
However, Porter answered on the next drive — one that went 14 plays and 76 yards — and was capped by Mike Resendez’s 6-yard run with 4:22 remaining to pull the Cowboys to within 28-20.
Porter’s Luis Alvarez recovered a Panthers fumble on Weslaco’s 9-yard line on the ensuing drive and Bullock scored on the next play. Bullock tallied a two-point run to tie the score at 28.
The Cowboys held Weslaco to a three-and-out on the next series, setting up the game-winning drive that started at the Panthers’ 48. Bullock hit Garza on the drive’s sixth play.
Bullock accounted for four touchdowns — two rushing and two running.
Porter receiver Jose Luis Barcenas was taken off the field in an ambulance with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Barcenas was hit following an incomplete pass. The hit was clean, and Weslaco was not penalized. Barcenas was Porter’s leading receiver to that point with five catches for 38 yards, which included a score from 6 yards that made the score 7-6 in the first quarter.
The Panthers scored two of their three touchdowns in the first half via the big play. Running back John Rojas scored a 78-yard TD run on the game’s second play.
Weslaco took a 21-6 halftime lead on a 36-yard pass from Nathan Alvarado to Joe De Leon with 5:27 remaining in the second quarter. That score came one play after Weslaco’s Michael Saenz blocked a punt.
David Hinojosa covers high school sports for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via e-mail at dhinojosa@themonitor.com.
