BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — Weslaco High coach Tony Villarreal knew what he was getting his Panthers into when he scheduled Friday’s non-district game against Harlingen High at Bobby Lackey Stadium: strength, craftiness and speed.
And while the Panthers went muscle-for-muscle with the Cardinals and used just as many disguises, it was Harlingen’s quickness which ultimately downed Weslaco 21-14, handing them their second straight loss.
Harlingen’s junior running back Leo Tienda was the fastest on the field throughout the night. He gained 159 yards on 29 carries, including the game-winning touchdown from one-yard out with 30 seconds remaining in the game.
“I thought it was a tough, physical game,” Villarreal said. “I thought the defense played well, we just didn’t score enough points on offense. I think we just came out of the blocks too late. If we had a fifth quarter, we’d beat ‘em.”
But the Panthers (2-2) almost didn’t need a fifth quarter. Trailing 13-7 with just over 4 minutes left on the clock, senior running back Brian Guerra went 96-yards for a touchdown to give Weslaco the one point lead. But Guerra’s lightning-quick score left too much time.
On Harlingen’s final 10-play, 72-yard drive, the bulk of their production came from Tienda. A nine yard carry up the middle here, a seven yard gain down the sideline there. Finally, a 12-yard run to put the Cardinals (2-1) on the 6-yard line.
“I think we underestimated them and how fast they are,” junior safety Diego Rodriguez said. “Tienda was really fast. He was hard to bring down for as small as he is.”
Rodriguez was arguably the best defensive player for Weslaco. He intercepted Cardinals receiver Michael Gonzalez on a trick play after striping Gonzalez during the second quarter. Gonzalez caught a pass over the middle and ran down to the Weslaco 9-yard line before the takeaway.
“Getting a turnover was the last thing on my mind,” Rodriguez said. ‘I was just trying to tackle him, but the ball came loose, so I just ran with it.”
Offensively, Guerra led the team in rushing yards with 142 and a pair of scores, including a 31-yard zig-zag of a run near the midway point of the second quarter to put Weslaco on the board 13-7.
“That play worked exactly like it was supposed to,” Guerra said. “The big plays were there all night, we just couldn’t execute them as much as we would have liked to.”
Harlingen scored on their first two possessions. The first lasted a dozen plays for 84 yards and was capped off by a 12-yard pass from junior quarterback Jesse Castro to Kaynon Fuentes. A blocked extra point gave the Cardinals a 6-0 lead with 7:07 left in the opening quarter. The Cardinals would score again on the first play of the second quarter when Gonzalez ran from 9 yards out on a sweep.
THAT’S MAJOR
Major Free carried the ball just 11 times through Weslaco’s first three games. Friday, he touched the ball 10 times for 102 yards. At 6-foot-3, his size came in handy often. At several plays, he steamrolled Harlingen defender with a simple lowering of his shoulder.
“I wanted to go with a little something more down hill,” Villarreal said. “A lot of our other plays just weren’t there tonight. But the downhill game was there all night, so we stuck with it.”
Though Free gained more than 10 yards per carry, he fumbled the ball twice. One was recovered by Free, the other was called down-by-contact despite Free being airborne when the ball popped out.
‘INEPT’ PASSING
Under Villarreal, the Panthers have been known to run the ball with such frequency, it would be a farce were it not for the team’s nine playoff appearances in 10 years. Villarreal swears he’ll pass the ball so long as it’s something Weslaco can successful do on a regular basis. The Panthers will have to do better than they did Friday. Desi Rodriguez attempted seven passes, competing just one for 17 yards.
“We have to improve our passing game,” Villarreal said. “I thought it was a bit inept tonight.”
UP NEXT
Weslaco High opens District 31-6A play next week against PSJA North (1-3) at PSJA Stadium in Pharr. The Raiders won last year’s game 14-7.