RGVSPORTS.COM
KINGSVILLE — Sharyland High will advance to the regional quarterfinals for a third consecutive year after beating Calallen 28-0 on Friday at Javelina Stadium.
The Rattlers (11-1) will face the winner of Cedar Park (9-3), which beat Boerne Champion, at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
Lance Madden had a hand in each of the Rattlers’ four touchdowns Friday, throwing for two and rushing for two.
Sharyland won its eighth consecutive game. The Rattlers did it by neutralizing Calallen’s run game and forcing it to pass.
The Wildcats (7-5) weren’t successful on either fronts. Quarterback Gaige Lamb never completed consecutive passes, and Calallen failed to put together big plays, despite controlling possession in the third quarter.
Madden, however, scored on runs of 2 and 41 yards, while connecting with Seth Carter and Loredo Guerra for scores.
Both occurred in the final 1:23 of the opening half. The more impressive strike came when Madden heaved a pass into the end zone, broken up by Miguel Cantu but recovered by Carter.
Penalties played a big factor, too, for the Wildcats, who gave away 93 yards on 12 infractions.
LOS FRESNOS’ DEFENSE HELPS OVERCOME DEL RIO
CALALLEN — Raul Lopez scored on a 47-yard touchdown run with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter to give Los Fresnos a 13-12 lead and the defense did the rest as the Falcons defeated Del Rio 13-12 in the Class 6A Division I area round game on Friday night at Wildcats Stadium in Calallen.
The Falcons defensive unit held Del Rio in check, intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble after continuing to harass Rams quarterback Walt Ashley, who felt the pressure all night long.
The Los Fresnos offense took advantage.
After the defense forced a fumble at the Del Rio 25-yard line, the Falcons’ offense used a steady diet of runs, capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Pierce Ruiz to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Los Fresnos would take the 7-0 lead into the break, but Del Rio wasn’t done yet.
Ashley scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Cesar Escajeda scored on a 1-yard run for another touchdown to give the Rams a 12-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons’ defense did its job late and gave the offense another possession after the first interception by Christian Campos.
The offense didn’t waste the opportunity and Lopez scored on a reverse to give the Falcons the lead.
The Los Fresnos defense stopped the final Del Rio drive with an interception by Fabian Rodriguez to seal the victory.
BROWNSVILLE RIVERA DOWNS McALLEN HIGH IN OT
The Rivera Raiders’ Danny Elizondo scored the lone overtime touchdown to defeat the McAllen High Bulldogs 36-29 in the area round Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
With the game tied at 29 with seconds remaining, the Bulldogs’ Adrian Rodriguez missed a 22-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime.
Behind 29-21, the Raiders were given the chance at a tying drive after McAllen High missed a 40-yard field goal with just over four minutes remaining.
A one-handed grab by Edward Rubio on a pass from Danny Elizondo and a two-point conversion by Elizondo knotted the game, prompting a 17-play drive by the Bulldogs that ended in the missed kick.
The teams were tied at halftime, and McAllen High jumped ahead with a 17-yard pass from Fred Hover to Ricky Rodriguez, but the Raiders outscored the Bulldogs 14-7 during the fourth quarter to clinch a chance at overtime.
The Bulldogs started fast, forcing Rivera into a three-and-out on its first possession. McAllen High drove downfield on the ensuing drive, scored on a 10-yard pass from Hover to Mike Garcia and followed up with a two-point conversion to set the tone.
Elizondo answered, though, and he capped a six-play Raiders drive with a run from 10 yards out.
Rivera took command near the beginning of the second quarter when Elizondo’s 29-yard pass found Edward Rubio on fourth down. Kicker Chelin Martinez successfully executed the fake PAT by racing to the pylon, putting his team ahead 15-8.
The Bulldogs’ Rodriguez returned the favor, though, running for a 7-yard score also on fourth down and the teams ended the half knotted at 15 points apiece.
ROMA DENIED STORYBOOK ENDING
LAREDO — Roma head coach Max Habecker summed up the Gladiator’s evening in fitting fashion Thursday night at the Bill Johnson Student Activity Center in Laredo.
“It wasn’t a storybook ending,” Habecker said. “But that’s why it’s called a storybook.”
What was a record-breaking season for Roma’s football program, which made the postseason for the first time in the school’s 24-year history, came to a heart-breaking conclusion in a 28-24 area round loss to Gregory-Portland.
“Our kids played good enough to win,” Habecker said. “We had the lead, we just made some mistakes, critical mistakes.”
The Gladiators faced a 21-17 deficit with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. On a third down-and-five to go, senior quarterback Robert Garza found receiver Aldo Ramirez in the back of the end zone to put Roma up 24-17 with 1:46 left.
Roma, though celebratory, didn’t think the game was a gimme by any means.
“I thought we still had a lot of game left to go,” sophomore running back Ramon Espinoza said.
The ensuing kickoff was botched, however, giving the Gregory-Portland Wildcats the ball on their own 45-yard line.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Garza said. “I had faith the defense would come through.”
Garza’s wishful thinking unfortunately couldn’t translate to reality. A Gladiators defensive unit, which had been otherwise stout for much of the evening, gave up yardage at the game’s most critical moment. After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Roma gave the Wildcats a first down on the Gladiator’s 12 yard line, running back Eric White punched the ball in from five yards out for what would be the game-winning score.
There was a controversial moment on the Wildcat’s final drive when running back Steven Starcher fumbled the ball on the 30-yard line. Though a Gladiator crawled out from the bottom of the pile, the ball firmly in hand, the officials awarded Gregory-Portland possession.
“We had three bean bags on the ground,” Habecker said. “And one referee said it wasn’t our ball after three referees saw it was a fumble. I don’t know, man. We still shouldn’t have made those mistakes.”