Rallying from a three-touchdown halftime deficit, the Rio Hondo Bobcats had a chance to tie their game with Orange Grove late in the fourth quarter with a two point conversion, but came up just short.
The missed conversion gave the Bulldogs a 28-26 win over the Bobcats at Bulldog Stadium and creates a logjam at the top of District 16-4A Division II in the process.
Coupled with Port Isabel’s win over Raymondville, Friday’s result puts Orange Grove, Rio Hondo and the Tarpons in a three-way tie for first place in the district at 3-1 heading into the final week. The Bobcats (6-3 overall) host Progreso, while Orange Grove visits Raymondville and the Tarpons are at West Oso.
On Friday, however, it was a tale of two halves.
The Bulldogs (6-3) surged out to a 28-6 first-half lead thanks to a quick-tempo offense. A short TD run preceded a long TD pass to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 with 42 seconds left in the first quarter.
Orange Grove went up 22-0 before Rio Hondo’s Josiah Ortega returned an interception to the OG 1-yard line, setting up a Tyler Bush TD plunge. Ortega had a second interception, but the Bulldogs found the end zone again later to go up 28-6.
After half, it was all Rio Hondo.
Bush added another 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter to spark a furious Bobcat rally.
In the fourth, Bush connected with Jesse Atkinson on a four-yard TD pass and to bring the Bobcats to within eight points.
Then with just over four minutes left, Atkinson scored again, a five-yarder, to bring the score to 28-26. The Bobcats went for two, but a reverse was stymied by the Bulldogs and eventually preserved the win.