By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Rivera’s goal is to get a little better every week. After the second scrimmage of the season, the Raiders are doing just that.
Rivera fell short in the controlled session of the scrimmage 7-6 to Donna High, but tied the Redskins in the live action portion with a touchdown apiece Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Raiders looked a little more comfortable this week and played much better at times than they did against Mercedes last week.
“I think we did all right,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “I told the guys we have to have a better attitude and play with heart. We just have to play a little bit better every week. We did get better from last week.”
During the controlled session, Rivera scored on its first drive, an 18-yard run for a touchdown to take a 1-0 lead.
As the Raiders failed to score on their next two drives, Donna High took advantage, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead. The Redskins scored on three straight drives on the ground, on 1-yard, 40-yard, and 3-yard runs to take advantage.
Rivera scored on five more drives, two passes (18 and 20 yards) and three run plays (three 5-yard runs), but didn’t completely close the gap against Donna High.
The Redskins scored on seven straight drives and on seven of nine drives during the controlled session. Donna High converted six times on the ground and just once through the air, on an 18-yard pass play.
“We played a little better in the controlled part,” Donna High coach Ramiro Leal said. “In the live part we pulled some of the starters.”
Rivera was much more efficient during the live action session.
The Raiders stopped the Redskins’ first drive on a three-and-out and two plays later threw a 53-yard catch and run pass for a touchdown to take a 7-0 during the first quarter.
Donna High went to the air and completed a 46-yard pass for a touchdown to tie the scrimmage at 7.
Each teams held its own during the next quarter and a half and finished the live action session tied at 7.
“I think we did much better than last week, I think we learned some things,” Leal said. “We learned some key things on some position players, both offensively and defensively. I think we just need to regroup and figure out the best scenario for the kids we got, and come out and get ready to play next week.”
In Week 1, Donna High faces Brownsville Veterans Memorial at Sams Stadium, and Rivera travels to face Weslaco East at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
Chavez was pleased with what he saw through two scrimmages, especially against two teams that made the postseason last year.
“We’ve had two good scrimmages against two good teams,” he said. “It’s going to make us better down the road. We just have to keep working and improving every 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.