By ROY HESS
Staff Writer
Without a doubt, last Friday’s 31-7 victory over the Lopez Lobos in the “Battle of Southmost” was a long time coming for the Porter Cowboys.
The win at Sams Memorial Stadium brought an end to a 25-game losing streak while providing relief and joy to the entire Porter Nation.
Before Friday, the last time Porter had emerged victorious on the football field was Oct. 8, 2011, with a 38-27 win over Rivera at Sams, so it was something long overdue.
Even with all the good feelings that their win has evoked, the Cowboys remain determined to not dwell on it too much as they move forward with the mindset that they want to make sure it’s not the only victory they get to enjoy this season. Still, they’ve found out this week that it’s a whole lot more fun preparing for their next game coming off a win than a loss.
“Winning that game makes us want to work harder because we want to win more games,” said Aaron Aguilera, a 5-foot-11, 240-pound senior defensive tackle. “More hard work can help us a lot after getting that win.
“There was a good crowd (for Porter) there at the game, and I think they may have been a little surprised because for three years (that the streak has existed) we’ve been losing,” Aguilera added. “We were all pretty happy (after the game), but we still knew we had to come to practice (early) Saturday (morning). We celebrated (among ourselves), but not that much.”
Added teammate George Gutierrez, a 5-8, 180-pound junior running back, “Because of our 25-game losing streak, we were very emotional when it was over (and realized we had won). We didn’t like having that streak. After it was over, we had a really good time together as a team, and that was about it. We all just hung out there together (on the sideline) as a team.
“Actually, we’re not even (completely) satisfied with that win,” Gutierrez added. “You can never be satisfied for just one win. All of us as a team want to get more things accomplished. We want to do better as the season moves on and District (32-5A) begins.”
Porter’s chance to capture win No. 2 comes at 2 p.m. Saturday at Sams when the Cowboys play host to another non-district opponent, the Tigres of Universidad Autonomade Nuevo Leon from Monterrey, Mexico.
Coach Tom Campos, now in his second season directing the Cowboys, got to experience his first win as Porter’s coach on Friday. But just like his players, Campos didn’t allow himself very much of a celebration, either, knowing as they do that there is still a lot of work necessary for Porter to be where they all would like it to be.
“Actually, I didn’t even want to think about winning until after the game,” Campos said. “Considering our game (the week before) against Progreso, I thought we played an outstanding game in that one, but we came up short (7-0). I didn’t really think about us winning too much (against Lopez) probably until there was a minute or two left. It was 31-7 and (at that point near the end) I knew they couldn’t come back on us, so it was a pretty exciting feeling to realize we would come out on top.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t really celebrate,” Campos added. “I sat there and watched film (of the game) until about 1 o’clock in the morning, went home and I was back in the office by 6:30 (a.m.), so there wasn’t much of a celebration at all. To be honest, the best part of it for me was watching the players as they went through the victory line to shake the fans’ hands. It was a chance for the fans to say ‘Thank you’ to these players, but we should have been the ones thanking them for showing up (to support us). That was really nice, especially for the fans because they’ve been through hell and back just like the program.”
Campos said while none of his current players were on the varsity when Porter won 38-27 over Rivera back in 2011, there are three coaches who were on the staff at that time, and being there on the sideline to witness Friday’s victory and the end of the losing streak was quite a thrill for them. The three are defensive line coach Hugo Salinas, assistant offensive line coach Ricardo Salazar and receivers coach Luis Garza.
“We’ve always gone into every game thinking that the streak should end now,” said Salinas, who has coached and taught at Porter 15 years. “Like every other team, we prepare (to win) and our kids work very hard every week. When we saw (Friday) that the ball was bouncing our way, Lady Luck was on our side and everything was falling into place with our players executing like we’ve been asking them to do, it was just a great feeling. We couldn’t help but start thinking (before the game ended) that we were due.
“To have the satisfaction of seeing these players tear up because of a victory like they had Friday, it’sway different than seeing those tears come down because of a defeat,” Salinas added. “It’s a new experience for us (to win). Coach Campos brings a lot to the table, and he expects a lot from the coaches and the players alike. If we keep up with those expectations after this victory, and seeing our numbers (in the program) gettinga little bit better, it shows that we’re growing and going in a positive direction.”
Added Salazar, who has coached and taught at Porter 14 years, “The motto for our program this year is ‘Rebirth,’ and with that win, I think it’s a classic sign of rebirth. The victory really belongs to our players. They went out there and they played better than Lopez for four quarters, and they deserved it, so it was just a tremendous feeling.
“About the end of the third quarter we started to realize that we were going to win,” he added. “I could see the players reacting to that and the fans, too. People were crying, and everyone was getting pretty excited. It was something very good for all of us, especially for our athletes. I hope we can become a better team and better individuals now because of this win.”
BATTLE OF SOUTHMOST SERIES (Lopez leads series 9-8)
2014 — Porter, 31-7
2013 — Lopez, 39-0
2012 — Lopez, 20-10
2011 — Lopez, 45-34
2010 — Porter, 31-30
2009 — Lopez, 35-28
2008 — Porter, 51-28
2007 — Lopez, 28-14
2006 — Lopez, 24-14
2005 — Porter, 21-13
2004 — Porter, 34-31
2003 — Porter, 52-13
2002 — Lopez, 34-13
2001 — Lopez, 25-20
2000 — Lopez, 25-14
1999 — Teams didn’t play
1998 — Teams didn’t play
1997 — Porter, 38-7
1996 — Porter, 27-0