By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — The Rio Hondo Bobcats seem to have the Port Isabel Tarpons’ number these days.
The Bobcats defeated the Tarpons for the third straight year Friday in a District 16-4A Division II opener at Tarpon Stadium.
This time, Rio Hondo (4-2 overall, 1-0) surged to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage and made the lead stand up the rest of the way in winning 21-7, handing the Tarpons (5-1, 0-1) their first loss of the season.
“We (try to) think of this as just one game, but playing Port Isabel is our big rival — everybody knows that — so this is a pretty big win,” Rio Hondo coach Rocky James said. “We’ve beaten them the last three years now. They beat us two in a row before that, so winning these last three against them is pretty special for our football team.
“I thought we played tremendous,” James added. “Holding Port Isabel to zero points in the first half (and leading 14-0 at intermission) was probably the first time we’ve ever done that against them. It was really important to have that two-touchdown lead. Port Isabel came out and scored in the second half and that made it a tighter ballgame until we got our third touchdown with a little more than a minute left. It was a hard-fought battle throughout the whole game.”
The Bobcats scored on their second and third possessions to go up 14-0.
Tyler Bush, Rio Hondo’s junior quarterback, broke loose on a 14-yard run around the right side and went into the end zone standing up as the Bobcats led 7-0 following Josse Alas-Meza’s kick with 4:25 showing in the opening period.
It became 14-0 on Rio Hondo’s next series when Albert Adames got open on a deep pattern and Bush completed a pass to him for a 70-yard scoring play. Alas-Meza’s kick with 1:54 left in the first quarter gave the Bobcats a two-touchdown edge.
Port Isabel marched to the Rio Hondo 4- and 12-yard lines in the first half only to come away with no points.
The Tarpons found the end zone in the third quarter.
Omar Silva, who led the Tarpons with 161 yards rushing, scored on a 44-yard reverse play that went down the right sideline as Port Isabel pulled within 14-7 at the 5:19 mark of the third quarter.
It continued to be a tight game until 1:39 remaining when Rio Hondo’s Danny Vasquez sprinted around right end and across the goal line from 8 yards out, accounting for the final score of 21-7.
District 16-4A Division II action continues next Friday as Rio Hondo plays at home against West Oso and Port Isabel travels to Orange Grove.