By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Rivera never got much going offensively and fell behind early against Harlingen High.
The Raiders moved the ball, but didn’t get any momentum as the Cardinal offense scored on its first four drives in a 62-7 victory over Rivera in the District 32-6A game Saturday night in Week 6 at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“It is tough, the guys didn’t quit,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “We have to keep talking about that. We need to score a lot more, but we need to keep working with our boys.”
Quarterback Jesse Castro led the way for the Cardinals as he completed 15 for 17 passes for 215 yards and five touchdowns and an interception, including 172 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. Harlingen High racked up 479 of total offense against the Raiders’ defense that struggled to contain the Cardinals big plays.
The Cardinals’ defense made it tough on the Raiders’ offense with pressure on the quarterback, finishing with five sacks and held them to 181 yards for the game.
The Harlingen High offense took advantage of its opportunities. Castro hit Ryan Villarreal on an 11-yard pass for a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead with 3:57 in the first quarter. On their next drive, running back Leo Tienda scored on a 10-yard run to give the Cardinals a 14-0 edge in the opening quarter.
Harlingen High (3-2, 2-0) increased its lead in the second quarter. Castro connected with three different receivers for touchdowns. The quarterback found Samuel Duffy on a 31-yard pass with 9:41 left in the second to give the Cardinals a 21-0 lead. On their next drive, Castro moved the offense down the field with three straight passes to Jeriel Cervantes and capped it off with a 2-yard pass for a score. And just before the break, Castro hit Kaynon Fuentes on a 6-yard strike for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead at halftime.
“We knew what we had to do against their scheme and we kept it really simple,” Harlingen High coach Manny Gomez said. “When you keep things simple, it tends to work out better.”
Harlingen High continued its offensive production as the Cardinals opened the second half with Castro’s fifth passing touchdown, a 15-yard connection to Kenneth Reininger and a 42-0 lead.
The Cardinals added two touchdowns on the ground in the third quarter, Abel Castaneda scored on a 6-yard run and later found the end zone after a 32-yard run with 4:45 left in the third. Harlingen High added a touchdown with 4:38 left in the fourth quarter when Daniel Ramirez hit Ethan Martinez on a 17-yard catch and run.
Rivera (1-4, 0-2) got on the board as quarterback Nicholas Blanco hit Michael Duran on a 13-yard strike for a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough after falling behind early on against Harlingen High.
The win gave Harlingen High momentum heading in Week 7, where the Cardinals face Weslaco High.
“That’s the thing about district play, we have to pick up the pace, so we were excited about starting fast and finishing strong,” Gomez said. “It gives us some more confidence. The bottom line is, we came out and did what we did and definitely had fun doing it.”
For Rivera, it needs to find some direction after suffering its fourth straight loss.
“I told them after the game and the same thing at halftime you can’t quit, the fans aren’t quitting on us,” Chavez said. “We’ve just got to keep working hard and hopefully build some character.”
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.