BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRTER
PHARR — An evening of steady rain showers wasn’t enough to dampen Weslaco East’s athleticism.
During a soggy contest that saw two of District 31-6A’s more explosive offenses duke it out, it was the Wildcats who made enough plays to overcome the elements to beat PSJA North 36-22 on Thursday at PSJA Stadium.
Though the Wildcats and Raiders combined to score eight touchdowns on 647 yards of offense, the game deviated from the script for both teams. While each unit prides itself on ball control, a total of seven fumbles were committed — three of those coming from East.
Wildcats coach Mike Burget didn’t want to hear excuses about the weather.
“This is our weather,” Burget said. “We’re a ground-and-pound, muddy-and-wet type of team. We should have loved it. We even practiced with wet footballs this week, and we didn’t have any fumbles in practice. But we’ll be OK.”
The bulk of the Wildcats’ ills occurred during the second half when they committed two fumbles which allowed the Raiders to crawl back into the game. From the opening kickoff until the middle of the third quarter, however, East demonstrated its offensive speed and defensive might to take a 36-7 lead.
The Raiders (4-5, 3-2) got on the board first. Running back Rene Ramirez carried the ball into the end zone from six yards out to cap a 12-play, 77-yard drive with 2:51 left in the opening quarter.
From there, East scored on five of its next six possession, racking up points in whatever fashion it pleased. Sophomore quarterback Richard LeFevre connected with multi-position athlete Ciro Rojas for a 20-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7 late in the first quarter.
Rojas accounted for four of Weslaco East’s five touchdowns. In addition to his receiving score, he notched a pair of rushing touchdowns and opened the second half with an 83-yard kickoff return. Rojas has scored 17 touchdowns this year, best in District 31-6A.
Rojas finished the night with 121 rushing yards on 7 carries, including a 94-yard burst down the field for a touchdown, and caught two passes for 46 yards.
Thursday marked the fifth-straight victory for Weslaco East (6-1, 4-0), which was coming off a bye. But Burget still sees room for improvement with two regular season games remaining.
“We played well for three and a half quarters,” Burget said. “From there, I don’t know, I think we started letting up a little bit. That’s on me as a coach. I didn’t do enough to get us prepared for four quarters.”
CREDIT THE LINE
East running back Emilio Tamez entered PSJA Stadium with a district-leading 750 rushing yards, and displayed his skillset once more to the tune of 168 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Tamez’s biggest carry came on a 64-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter to put the Wildcats up 21-7.
“I have to credit my offensive line,” Tamez said. “They’ve made holes like that for me all year. On that (touchdown) play, anybody could have scored. They set all of our runners up so well.”
RUNNING A FEVRE
Sophomore quarterback Richard LeFevre has seen the field sparingly throughout the season. Aside from a 250-yard performance against La Joya High during Week 4, the Ben Bolt transfer sees the field whenever the circumstance is favorable.
But during Thursday’s game, LeFevre spent much of the evening under center. Though he completed 2-of-6 attempts for 46 yards and a score, he routinely handed off to Tamez and Rojas.
“(Quarterback) JJ Garza has a hurt ankle,” Burget said. “He’s still hobbling around. We’d rather have him at 100 percent. LeFevre did a good job, he made a couple of sophomore mistakes, but he’s a sophomore. Him throwing the ball was great, him running the no huddle was great. He’s only going to get better as the years go.”
STAND IN PLACE WHERE YOU WERE
PSJA North quarterback Darren Fuentes started the game leaving the team’s Week 8 victory over Edinburg Economedes. Though Fuentes got the nod under center, he was moved to receiver during the second quarter and Bo Adams was installed at the QB.
“I know where I stand now with the quarterback position,” PSJA North coach Jorge Pena said. “Bo is a bit of a stronger runner. Darren plays well for us, but he’s small and gets beat up. We moved him into the open field so he won’t get hit.”
The Raiders will have two before their next game, as they take their bye in Week 10.