BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — Ethan De Luna wasn’t supposed to start, but that didn’t stop Weslaco High’s senior defensive back from making the most important play of the game.
Midway through the second quarter of Friday’s Class 6A bi-district contest against Los Fresnos at Bobby Lackey Stadium, De Luna collected the first of his two interceptions against Falcons quarterback Rene Ortega. The turnover signaled the start of a strong defensive showing from the Panthers, which helped propel them to a 49-28 win.
Weslaco High (9-2) advances to the area round and will face Laredo United, the same team that eliminated the Panthers from the playoffs a season ago, handing the team a 40-28 loss.
Though Weslaco found its way to the end zone seven times, the focus for the Panthers was on defense where they looked to slow a high-paced Falcons offense that averaged 404 yards and 35 points per game.
“We had a lot on the table for our kids to learn,” Weslaco defensive coordinator Russ Moore said. “This week, we kept it simple. We went back to the fundamentals. We told the kids, ‘We’re going to do what we do. We’re going to stay in our base defense.’”
That base defense appeared to be in trouble during the first quarter, wherein the Falcons (9-2) took a 14-7 lead after scoring on their first two possessions.
To open the game, Los Fresnos went 55 yards in six plays before Ortega found the end zone on a 3-yard keeper. Though Weslaco would respond with a 6-yard score from Major Free to cap a 13-playdrive that lasted six minutes, the Falcons burst down the field once more before Fabian Rodriguez punched the ball in from 1yard out.
“We try not to panic in situations like that, especially that early in the game” Moore said. “We just buckled down and let the kids know that we had a lot of game left. The kids listened, we made a few adjustments in the secondary, and we started getting our hands on receivers more.”
Major Free would score again at the beginning of the second quarter on a 35-yard run down the sideline to tie the game at 14. As the Falcons looked to regain the lead, the Panthers’ ability to jam and frustrate receivers manifested in De Luna’s timely pick.
“We just wanted to stay close to their receivers the whole game,” De Luna said. “We didn’t want to give them any room. We watched a bunch of film and guys were playing 12 yards off of them the whole time.”
Luna’s interception set up a six-play drive that went 45 yards. Senior fullback Jonathan Martinez scored from the 3-yard line to put Weslaco up 21-14 with 3:50 left in the first half. It was a lead the Panthers would never relinquish.
Weslaco would go on to score three touchdowns on its next three drives, including a 41-yard zip down midfield from senior back Brian Guerra, who finished with 102 yards. Weslaco led by as many as 21.
Los Fresnos’ defense, which allowed just 258 yards per game during the regular season, began aiming for highlight hits instead of fundamental tackles. But Panthers backs were unfazed and often continued to bulldoze their way down the field while Falcon defenders picked themselves off the turf.
FREE’S KNEE
Free finished the game with 100 yards and three scores on 13 carries despite injuring his left knee during Weslaco’s win over Weslaco East last week.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play this game after that,” Free said. “But I told myself, it’s my senior season. I want to go out there and give it my all.”
Weslaco High coach Tony Villarreal said Friday was the strongest he’d seen Free run all season.
“During the second quarter when we were down, (Free) told me to give him the ball,” Villarreal said. “He knew he was going to be able to score.
THE OTHER QB
Though Ortega entered as the Valley’ most productive passer with over 2,300 yards through the air, Weslaco quarterback Desi Rodriguez displayed his talents as well, completing all of his three passes for 79 yards, including an important 54-yard completion to receiver Erik Gonzalez.
“That was a difference maker for us,” Villarreal said. “When we started making some passes, it started to take away what they wanted to do to us defensively.”
Ortega began the game 5-of-5 for 106 yards, but stalled during the second and third quarters, throwing six straight incompletions. Ortega threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble.