FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
In District 16-4A DII, Port Isabel climbed up a spot in the AP state high school poll for the fourth week in a row. The Tarpons received eight points and now sit at No. 14 after beating then-undefeated Brownsville St. Joseph 44-21 on Friday at Tarpon Stadium.
Alex De Los Santos led the team in rushing with 188 yards on eight carries, while teammate Jamie Gonzalez was close behind with 168 yards on 12 attempts. The dynamic duo has gained a combined 1,300 yards since the season began.
This week the Tarpons take a much-needed bye week and get ready to begin district play against the 1-4 Progreso Red Ants on Oct. 10 at Progreso.
NO TIME FOR BREAKS: Keeping in District 16-4A DII, Rio Hondo may be on a bye week, but that doesn’t mean that the Bobcats will be taking it easy. After shutting down Grulla 40-0 last week, Rio Hondo will begin its district schedule against Corpus Christi West Oso on Oct. 10.
Senior running back Marco Garate had a big game against Grulla, rushing for 247 yards on 21 carries helping the Bobcats top the Gators and start the season 4-1.
Garate has a total of 663 yards this season and will be looking to keep racking up the yards.
Another big reason why the Bobcats are 4-1 so far is the defense. Allowing an average of only 160 yards per game, the team leads the district and ranks third in the Valley.
SOUL SEARCHING: In District 16-3A DI, the Lyford Bulldogs are still looking for their first win of the season. After losing close games to Brownsville St. Joseph, Raymondville, and Mathis, Lyford had a bye week last week and takes on Hidalgo this Friday.
Hidalgo (1-4) comes into the game on a three-game losing skid, having lost to Port Isabel, Rio Hondo, and Santa Rosa in overtime.
The Bulldogs (0-4) have plenty of positives and they all begin with junior quarterback John Rivera, who has passed for 946 yards and eight touchdowns on 61 of 125 passing.
HOMECOMING FRENZY: In District 16-2A D1, Santa Maria lost a close game to Agua Dulce last week. The Longhorns rallied from behind and scored a touchdown in the final eight seconds of the game to win 28-26. The loss dropped the Cougars to 2-2 in the season.
“Give credit to Agua Dulce and its staff, they have a good physical team,” said Santa Maria head coach Mark Aguero. “We played hard and controlled the game early on and until the fourth quarter. Our mistakes truly hurt this team and the end result was a close last second loss.
“Our young men are more determined than ever to fix those mistakes and it starts this week against Lasara. The Loss is only going to make us stronger as we have seen our young men work harder than ever this week.”
This Friday the Cougars face Lasara in their homecoming match and begin district play at Corpus Christi London on Oct. 10.