By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
KINGSVILLE — The Rivera Raiders were right there early on.
But after Rivera tied the game at 7, San Antonio Northside Brandeis took control with two quick touchdowns late in the second quarter, and the Broncos defeated the Raiders 42-14 in the Class 6A Division II regional game Friday night at Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Javelina Stadium.
Rivera (7-6) tied the game on 9-yard pass from quarterback Danny Elizondo to tight end Edward Rubio during the second quarter after the Broncos connected on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Paul Lozano to Peyton Hall to end the first quarter.
But Brandeis (12-1) took less than 3 minutes to move down the field and grabbed the lead on a 30-yard scamper by Jaylon Dukes.
Rivera seemed poised to answer, but Elizondo was intercepted moments later by Driton Salihu for the second time on the night. Salihu returned it 27 yards to the end zone to give the Broncos a 21-7 lead that they took into halftime.
“We just lost some momentum, and the interception got us all messed up,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “We got in a rut and couldn’t get out of it. The (game) seemed a little closer, but we made some mistakes. And you can’t make mistakes in a big game like this playing a good team.”
The Rivera defense struggled at times, but the three Rivera turnovers made it even tougher, often giving Brandeis a short field with which to work.
“We were having some trouble getting off the field, and the credit goes to Brownsville(Rivera),” Brandeis coach John Campbell said. “That extra possession on that turnover turned out to be the main momentum shift in the ballgame, and it took off from there.”
And the Broncos took advantage, scoring three times during the second half. Tommy Woods had a 2-yard touchdown run, Lozano hit Hall for a 35-yard score and Eduardo Olvera finished a late drive with a 1-yard run for Brandeis.
Lozano completed 12 of 21 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns, both to Hall. Hall finished with seven catches for 164 yards and the two scores, and Dukes finished with 87 yards on 11 carries and onetouchdownfor Brandeis.
“We expected a really good game from a well-coached football team, and that’s what we had,” Campbellsaid. “We’ve been very fortunate on defense to have got a lot of turnovers this year. We got the (interception) on the first drive, and the other one happened at the right time.”
Rivera added a late touchdown during the fourth quarter when Elizondo hit Sammy Orive on a 70-yard catch and run, but the offense struggled after the break with just 109 yards.
Elizondo completed 10 of 27 passes for 203 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, most of it in the first half, and ran for 73 yards on 16 carries to lead the Raiders. But in the end, it wasn’t enough offense.
Chavez said Elizondo and the other seniors have set a precedent for the program going forward.
“They were leaders, and all the contributions they made to the whole program,” Chavez said. “We want these other guys to follow it up and they have a little taste of it, so that really helps (the program). They know that we’ll never quit. We’ll pick it up, and everybody learns from this.”
The Raiders’ season ends with a loss in the regional round of the playoffs for the second time. But Chavez said players on his team had no reason to hang their heads.
“These guys were focused and ready to play,and I think we played a good game,” he said. “We showed we can play with these guys from San Antonio. We made just a few mistakes and it got out of hand for us, but our kids never quit and I’m proud of them.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.