CHECKMATE

PORT ISABEL — The good teams make plays when they have to.

The good teams make stops when they have to.

And the good teams will win when they have to.

Spurred by some opportunistic plays and timely defensive stops, Rio Hondo staved off Port Isabel 31-20 at a sold-out Tarpon Stadium Friday night.

The Bobcats got huge games from quarterback Joseph Vela (126 rushing yards, two TDs; 70 yards passing, TD) and running back Jacob Martinez (118 yards rushing, TD) to push past the Tarpons and run their record to 3-0 in 32-3A and 9-0 overall.

“For the last couple of years, that’s been our forte,” Rio Hondo head coach Gus Cavazos said. “When we need a big third-down play, we had to come through and it just happened again in this game.”

Rio Hondo outgained Port Isabel 344-305.

“We were very confident with the coordinators and their game plans,” Cavazos said. “They had us on the run a little bit in the second half. But when our offense needed to step up big, they did and they did a great job.”

The ‘Cats shot out to a 14-0 lead in the first half and never trailed the Tarpons (3-1, 6-3).

“We knew we had to stop them, and we didn’t do that,” Port Isabel head coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “We made the mistakes you can’t make against a good football team. But the credit goes to them (Rio Hondo) and my hat’s off to them. That’s a good football team.”

After forcing a three-and-out for PI on the game’s opening possession, the Bobcats got to work.

Vela marched the offense down the field and orchestrated a pictureesque 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive that ended with a four-yard run by Martinez. A huge 15-yard pass to Shane Eizember (four catches, 44 yards) on a third-and-nine kept the drive alive. Wilson Caal then added the point after for the 7-0 lead.

“That was big,” Cavazos said of the defensive hold and subsequent score. “Moreso than getting that first touchdown, I thought it was more important that we got that (defensive) stop. It was extremely big for us.”

After forcing another Tarpon punt, the ‘Cats were back at it on their next possession.

Vela capped a nine-play drive with an eight-yard scoring scamper to put Rio Hondo up 14-0 with 7:29 left in the first half.

But ever the fighters, the Tarpons got right back in it.

After Nolan Nunez reeled off a 45-yard run to get to the one-yard line, quarterback David Alaniz dove in from a yard out to cut the deficit in half with 2:28 left in the second. Nunez was once again brilliant for PI, churning out 222 yards rushing and a TD.

But a 33-yard kickoff return by Eizember gave the Bobcats good field position and and Jack Chavez boomed a 43-yard field goal to make it 17-7 just before intermission.

There was still drama as PI’s Nunez ran back the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a would-be touchdown, but a holding penalty against the Tarpons negated the score. Eizember then intercepted a long heave by Alaniz to end the half. The play would come back in a different form later.

Port Isabel showed its resiliency in the second half as the tide started to turn somewhat.

After the ‘Cats turned the ball over on downs, PI got back in the game.

An impressive 12-play, 71 yard march ate up 5:47 off the clock and ended with a pretty 17-yard TD reception by Rolando Alaniz to cut the Rio Hondo lead to 17-14.

“We moved the football well,” Stumbaugh said. “Everytime we got something, they responded. That’s incredible.”

A Rio Hondo punt gave it back to PI, but a promising drive stalled and they were forced to punt it away.

Then Joseph Vela time started for the Bobcats.

On a third-and-14 from the Tarpon 26, the junior QB rolled out to his left and heaved a pass that just went over the outstretched arms of PI’s James Delgado and right into the bread basket of Isaiah De La Cruz for a 26-yard score.

That gave the Bobcats a 24-14 edge with exactly six minutes left in the game.

“We were hot and we weren’t slowing down,” Vela said. “The offensive line did a heck of a job.”

The Tarpons refused to go down and two plays after dashing 54 yards, Nunez scored from 12 yards out to inch PI closer at 24-20 with 4:03 to go after a missed PAT.

But then Vela showed why he’s one of the area’s most amazing athletes.

As Rio Hondo kept the ball on the ground and chewed up game clock, Vela put the proverbial dagger in the Tarpons’ collective hearts with a dazzling 36-yard run up the gut after shedding several would-be tacklers. The PAT made it 31-20 and served as the nail in the coffin with 1:42 left.

“I trust my boys up front with their blocks,” Vela said.

The Tarpons had one last gasp, but Alaniz was intercepted on the last play by - guess who - Eizember.

“This is huge, but we only have a piece of that (district title) trophy,” Vela said. “We want to bring it all home.”

Indeed, Cavazos said his team would enjoy the win briefly before preparing for next week’s regular season finale.

“It’s big right now, but we still gotta play next week,” Cavazos said of next week’s home date with La Feria. “But we don’t expect anything less than to win anymore. It’s a big victory but it’s just one win. Ultimately, the big prize is in the playoffs.”