By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
DONNA — Hanna’s defense was solid for the first two games, but Donna High found some holes in the armor.
The Golden Eagles’ defense was stout and had given up a total of 233 yards through two weeks to start the season, but Donna High nearly had that at halftime as Amonte Bowen rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Redskins to a 28-27 victory over Hanna on Thursday in Week 3 at Bennie LaPrade Stadium.
“(Amonte’s) just special. You can’t coach that. That’s instincts that God has given him,” Donna High coach Ramiro Leal said. “He can get some coaching and he knows where the holes are going to be, but a lot of it comes on his own. He’s a great back. He has a very good offensive line that really helps. They really block for him, they believe in him. It’s not just him. It’s the offensive line, the receivers. It’s the whole group, but he’s a special guy.”
Bowen had a steady diet of carries as Donna High amassed 404 yards of offense — 346 on the ground.
Hanna nearly made the comeback, scoring three touchdowns during the second half, but failed on a pass for a two-point conversion that would have give it the lead late in the fourth quarter.
“No guts, no glory, right?” Hanna coach Rene Medrano said. “That’s the way it goes. Would we do it again? We probably would. Everyone knows that’s how we play the game. With a few minutes left in the game, you try to win the game. We didn’t come for a tie, we came to win the game.”
The Eagles’ Nathan Escalera scored on a 4-yard run during the third quarter, and Andy Lopez hit Joe Cavazos on a 27-yard strike for another touchdown midway through the fourth.
Later in the fourth, Lopez scored on a 5-yard run. Instead of kicking the extra point to tie the game at 28, the Eagles opted to go for two. The pass from Lopez went through the hands of the receiver and Hanna trailed 28-27 with three minutes to play.
Medrano didn’t second-guess himself or the call for a second.
“We knew what we were going to do,” he said. “The receiver was more of a safety valve that we did throw to, but it’s designed for a couple of guys.
“It’s not a big deal, I would do it again if I had to right now.”
Donna High got on the board first as Edson Alvarado scored on a 6-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead during the first quarter. Hanna evened the score early in the second quarter after Roel Arreola ran it into the end zone from 2 yards out.
Bowen then scored on the next two Donna High drives. He scored on a 22-yard run and later on a 35-yard run to give the Redskins a 21-7 lead at the break.
Bowen scored his third touchdown of the game during the fourth quarter on a 16-yard run to give Donna High a 28-14 lead.
But on the strength of the Eagles’ defense during the second half, Hanna’s offense scored twice in the fourth to nearly complete the comeback.
It was the Redskins’ first win of the season. And Leal was happy with the way his team played against non-district opponents.
“I think the biggest thing is we had some tough (non-district) opponents,” he said. “They were all 6A teams, and we knew we wanted to get better. That’s why you play high-caliber teams. To play better you want to play high-caliber teams. It’s two-fold, you might have to take some defeats, but it’s getting you better. Playing a less-caliber team, you get a win but not might not know your potential.
“It’s hard, everybody wants to win, but you have to look at the big picture and get ready for district.”
Medrano was pleased with the second half despite falling short.
“The second half we came out and did what we did,” he said. “You can’t be happy after a loss and we’re not, but we knew we were going to play to win it all the way through. I’m not disappointed at all. The kids aren’t disappointed. We came here to win a game, and we were in position to win the game.
“We weren’t going to settle for anything but trying to win the game, and that’s what we did.”
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.