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DONNA — Port Isabel and Donna North held their first scrimmage of the season Friday morning at Bennie LaPrade Stadium in Donna.
The Chiefs took advantage of takeaways to grab a 3-1 victory during the controlled portion of the game, while the Tarpons brought their run-heavy offense and controlled the live game portion for a 13-0 win.
Defensively, the Chiefs snatched three interceptions, two of which resulted in touchdowns during the controlled portion.
“We are going to be fast and get to the football defensively,” Donna North coach Tommy Sauceda said. “We had some good stops and we’re running around for the football, and when you do that good things are going to happen.”
WESLACO EAST vs. MISSION HIGH: At Mission, the Wildcats beat the Eagles 5-0, scoring three times during controlled sets and twice during live sets. Weslaco East running back Emilio Tamez scored a pair of touchdowns, as did senior quarterback Ciro Rojas.
Wildcats coach Mike Burget said his offensive starters played roughly 40 plays, more than half of which saw the team throw the ball — a rarity for the run-heavy team.
“I think the scouts and the people in the stands were confused,” Burget said. “But I thought they played well. The offensive line held their blocks, the quarterbacks looked good and so did the receivers.”
Burget’s satisfaction doubled on the defensive side as well, a unit that struggled at times last year.
“They flew around and caused turnovers,” he said. “They had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. We were out of position a few times because we’re still pretty young, but they’re growing up and learning to play together.”
BROWNSVILLE VETERANS vs. LA JOYA HIGH: At Brownsville, La Joya High and Brownsville Veterans each scored once in the controlled session, while Vets notched the only touchdown in live action.
La Joya High scored on the final play of its third possession, when quarterback Irving Garcia dumped off a screen pass to Victor de Hoyos on the right side. De Hoyos sped down the sideline and avoided several tackles on his way to the end zone as he did most of the work in completing a 70-yard scoring play.
“It was the first scrimmage, and there were a lot of mental mistakes and things, but what I liked personally was that our players competed and they didn’t back down,” Coyotes coach George Espinoza said. “Our program is turning around. This is my fourth season (as coach).”
PSJA SOUTHWEST VS. RAYMONDVILLE: At Raymondville, Southwest and Raymondville tied 1-1 in the controlled version of their scrimmage, while Southwest won the live, two-quarters portion 3-0.
“We survived,” Southwest coach Jesus Reyes said. “We were sluggish in the controlled portion. It’s the first time going against somebody else, but as coaches we weren’t happy. We preach starting fast, and we didn’t.”
Reyes praised the defense, particularly the line that aligned better and “ran all 11 helmets to the ball.”
MERCEDES VS. BROWNSVILLE RIVERA: At Brownsville, Mercedes scored on three of its first four drives in the controlled scrimmage session, and went on to defeat Rivera 8-4 in the first scrimmage of the season for both squads.
Mercedes hit on long passes during each of those drives. The Tigers scored on pass plays of 37, 28 and 45 yards to take the lead early against the Raiders.
“I like the speed and intensity, they were flying to the ball,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame said. “The second part of the scrimmage, I felt we made some mistakes there. We had momentum going, going, going, but then we had an interception. We have some young guys and hopefully we can catch up to speed.”
VALLEY VIEW VS. LYFORD: The Valley View Tigers opened their first scrimmage under first-year coach Carlos Saenz with ties in the controlled and live portions of their scrimmage.
The teams tied 7-7 in the controlled and 1-1 in the live.
GRULLA VS. ROMA VS. LAREDO LBJ: In Laredo, Roma lost to Laredo LBJ 3-2 in the controlled portion of its scrimmage before beating Grulla 3-0. In live action, Roma beat Laredo LBJ 14-7.