By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — In their most recent game prior to Friday, the Los Fresnos Falcons had to rally from a 20-point deficit during the second half to win by one point on the road.
There were no such late-game dramatics this time as the Falcons went ahead early and cruised to a 62-0 victory over the Lopez Lobos during Friday’s District 32-6A opener at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.
“We definitely started (district) on a positive note,” said Falcons running back Eli Cruz, who sparked his team with a 134-yard, four-touchdown rushing performance. “We’re just going to try to keep this rolling and keep the momentum going.”
Los Fresnos (3-1, 1-0 district) led 20-0 after one quarter, 41-0 at intermission and 62-0 by the end of the third period.
The Falcons had trailed 34-14 before coming back to win 35-34 at PSJA North on Sept. 12 during their final non-district game of 2014. Los Fresnos had an open date last week, just like Lopez (0-4, 0-1).
Cruz’s TDs came on 3- and 7-yard bursts during the opening quarter, a 2-yard run in the second period and a 67-yard scamper during the third quarter.
Concerning his four-TD night with 134 yards on 15 carries, Cruz said, “I just can’t take all the credit myself. The line did an awesome job of blocking, and so did the fullbacks. We just performed well as a team, and I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to do what I did on the field.”
Cruz wasn’t the only Los Fresnos player to run well as backup halfback Isaac Moreno found the end zone on third-quarter rushes of 54 and 3 yards and finished with 83 yards on the ground. Teammate Raul Lopez, also a reserve back, added 89 yards rushing.
Also highlighting the win for the Falcons were Jordan Rojas, who returned a first-quarter pass interception 34 yards for a score, and teammate Jonathan De Leon, who pounced on a blocked Lopez punt in the end zone during the second period for a TD.
“I thought we did pretty good,” Los Fresnos coach Clint Finley said. “We’re still not perfect. We’ve still got some issues we’ve got to work out, but I was happy with the effort. We’ve just got to continue to get better.
“It was good to see a lot of our running backs getting some carries,” he added. “A lot of our guys got to see some playing time, and that’s always beneficial for your depth. We need all the depth we can get in this stout district.”
District 32-6A action continues for both teams Oct. 3 as Los Fresnos is at San Benitoand Lopez plays host to Harlingen South at Sams Memorial Stadium.
When Los Fresnos played Lopez one year ago at Sams, the Falcons came away with a 59-35 victory.
A bright spot for Lopez on Friday was running back Felix Nava, who finished with 91 yards rushing on 14 carries.