By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — The Port Isabel offense knew the challenge it faced against the Valley View defense.
The Tarpons took advantage of a few breaks and grinded things out with their running game, holding on after a late Valley View score to defeat the Tigers 14-7 on Friday in a Week 4 non-district game at Tarpon Stadium.
The Port Isabel defense helped give the offense multiple chances as it forced six turnovers against Valley View, the last one sealing the win. Carlos Orduna had two interceptions, Omar Silva added another and the Tarpons recovered three fumbles.
“It was sloppy, not a good game. We didn’t play a good football game,” Port Isabel coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “Defensively, we played well. Their defense did a great job, they controlled the line of scrimmage, but our defense controlled theirs. We did enough to win.”
The game was a defensive battle during the first quarter, with each team taking turns punting.
Port Isabel finally broke the scoreless tie when Omar Silva took a 16-yard run into the end zone for a 7-0 lead during the second quarter.
The Tarpons had another chance to score late in the quarter, but the first half ended and Port Isabel took a 7-0 lead into the break.
Stumbaugh wasn’t impressed with his team’s effort early.
“(Valley View’s) kids played their tails off, they did a great job. They came out here to play football,” he said. “To be honest, I didn’t know if we came to play for a while. We didn’t come to play, and they did.”
Port Isabel opened the second half with a score, as Silva hit Javier Hernandez on a 23-yard slant for a 14-0 lead.
Valley View scored late in the fourth quarter when Jorge Aguilar hit David Gonzalez on a 20-yard TD pass to cut the deficit in half.
“We tried different kids at quarterback. We’re trying to find the right guy,” Valley View coach Carlos Saenz said. “We’re trying to run this high-tempo spread offense, and we tried to just stay in the game.”
The Tigers then recovered the onside kick but fumbled on the next play to give the ball back to Port Isabel. Valley View had one more chance with less than one minute to play but threw yet another costly interception, and the Tarpons ran out the clock.
“We went for the touchdown,” Saenz said about the late interception. “We went for it. I told the quarterback to chunk it, and maybe we’ll make a play. We knew we were running out of time, so I told them to go and make a play.”
Saenz and his team dropped to 0-4, but he feels the team is getting closer to a victory.
“When you’re going against a powerhouse like Port Isabel and you walk in and see all those championships, that intimidates you and it intimidated these boys,” he said. “When we finished I told them ‘You guys just went toe to toe with one of the best programs in Texas. We’re making giant steps.’ We’re on the right track and I’m happy for these guys, how hard they’re playing and their commitment.”
Stumbaugh felt his team had a little more luck on the night.
“We’re 3-0, but it’s not good how we played,” he said. “We got a few more breaks, and fortunately we were able to win. Hopefully we’ll learn from it and get ready for next week.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.