By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Porter has waited for the day to end their lengthy losing streak that has spanned over the last few seasons. What better opponent to end the streak against than its Battle of Southmost rival, Lopez.
Porter snapped a 25-game losing streak dating back to Oct. 8, 2011 when the Cowboys beat Rivera 38-27.
The Cowboys were sharp in all phases of the game, highlighted by 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 21-7 halftime lead.
Porter used the halftime advantage to carry them to a 31-7 victory on Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“To do it with no mistakes, a damn near perfect game by these kids, they did a great job.” Porter coach Tom Campos said. “That’s what we preach, we knew it was going to take all three phases to win this game, there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t work on special teams.
“I asked the coaches this week to give the kids more, more mentally. Work on the situations, work on all the little things.”
The Lobos struck first in the first quarter on a 9-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ivan Olivo. It gave Lopez its only score in the opening quarter and a 7-0 lead.
Porter was on the move and during the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Frank Alvarado found Zyrone Reed on a 13-yard strike for a touchdown and to tie the game at 7.
Less than two minutes later, Olivo misread a route and Armando Payan stepped in front of a Lopez receiver with nothing but daylight in front of him. Payan returned the interception 25 yards for the score to give the Cowboys a 14-7 lead.
The momentum shift was all the Cowboys would need as it turned out.
“We knew Starkey had a good team on the field, they didn’t make too many mistakes,” Campos said. “The one they did, we capitalized on it. I give all the credit to our kids and our staff, it was unreal.”
The Cowboys offense continued to move the chains with their ground game and George Gutierrez found the end zone after a 5-yard carry to give Porter a two-touchdown lead at the half.
Porter continued to score in the second half. Alvardo seemed to be stopped on a broken play, but found a seam and took it 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Cowboys a 28-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Later in the fourth, Brandon Flores kicked a 26-yard field goal to put the game out of reach for the Lobos.
Porter racked up 205 yards on the ground, led by Gutierrez, who had 69 yards on 21 carries and the one touchdown. Alvarado was stellar under center; he finished 6 of 8 for 50 yards through the air and had two carries for 55 yards and a score on the ground.
“I got outcoached tonight, Campos deserves this,” Lopez coach Jason Starkey said. “A product of all the hard work and dedication, he’s faced a lot of adversity on the coaching staff, with the program. But tonight I want to join in the celebration with my buddy having a good win.
“I give a lot of credit to Porter, to those kids. They came out and executed their game plan very well.”
Olivo was 7 of 13 for 47 yards, plus a costly interception and gained 39 yards on 11 carries and a score for the Lobos.
Campos wore a proud smile as fans and players alike basked in the sweet taste of victory all around him.
“I tell you what, it’s awesome and to know how far we came from last year,” he said. “It’s a good feeling, a really good feeling. I’m proud of these kids, they did a great job.”
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.