By ROY HESS
Staff Writer
Sharyland High is moving on to the second round of the Class 5A Division II playoffs thanks to Friday’s 59-43 victory against Pace at Brownsville’s Sams Memorial Stadium.
It was the offensive shootout that all along was expected with the Rattlers setting the tempo early and the Vikings trying to catch up all night.
The District 31-5A tri-champion Rattlers (9-2) now advance to the area round of the playoffs to face the Alice Coyotes at 4 p.m. next Friday in Alice.
The football season is over for the District 32-5A fourth-place Vikings (5-6), who battled from behind pretty much the whole game Friday after Sharyland High scored on its first possession.
“The resiliency and fight our boys showed (was what stood out to me tonight),” Rattlers coach Ron Adame said. “The Pace players showed a lot of fight, too.
“I’m proud that our boys maintained the lead throughout the game,” he added. “We never trailed. I told our guys, ‘Hey, let’s enjoy tonight — we’re bi-district champs.’ We certainly have some things to fix (after giving up 43 points), and that will be our job to do as coaches as we get ready for our area-round game against Alice.”
The Rattlers led 7-0 after one quarter and 31-7 at intermission. It became 45-21 for the Rattlers by the end of the third period before Sharyland High held off Pace and walked out of Sams Stadium with its 59-43 bi-district triumph.
“It was a great season (despite tonight’s loss),” first-year Pace head coach Danny Pardo said. “It was great for these players. Our seniors are leaving with playoff experience. It’s great for the younger ones too because they know now what it takes to be in this kind of game (and win).
“Our offseason will start right after the holidays,” Pardo added. “Year No. 2 under me is going to start quickly. The players are ready to go and begin to improve. I’m really looking forward to it.”
There were offensive standouts for both teams.
Rattlers quarterback Edgar Longoria threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score. Pace QB Randy Aguilar came alive in the second half and kept the Vikings continually in the fight as they repeatedly tried to make it closer. Aguilar passed for a TD and ran for another score.
Still, Longoria’s chance to shine came first. He finished with 308 yards passing, having completed 19 of 24 aerials with no interceptions.
Longoria’s 38-yard scoring scamper with 7:54 showing on Sharyland High’s opening possession of the night set the tempo. After a 24-yard field goal by Erwin Von Nacher made it 10-0 at the 9:46 mark of the second period, Longoria threw TD passes of 62 and 23 yards to Gabriel Tamez to up the lead to 24-7 with 4:10 to go before halftime.
Sandwiched between Longoria’s initial pair of TD passes was a 33-yard scoring run up the middle by Pace’s Juan Jimenez midway through the second period that accounted for the Vikings’ first TD.
The Rattlers made things even tougher on Pace when Sharyland High’s Maximus picked off an Aguilar pass and returned it 82 yards for a score for a 31-7 advantage at intermission following Von Nacher’s fourth of eight extra points.
Pace narrowed the score to 31-14 with 7:54 showing in the third period when Matthew Cuellar went into the end zone from 2 yards out.
In response, the Rattlers went ahead 38-14 after Blake Klein caught a 23-yard scoring pass from Longoria with 5:50 left in the third before Aguilar threw a 21-yard TD pass to Ilijah Solis, making it 38-21 with 4:16 remaining in the period.
A 49-yard TD sprint down the left sideline by Klein with 3:30 left in the third quarter closed out the scoring in that period with the Rattlers up 45-21. Klein finished with 152 yards rushing on nine carries, while Longoria added 99 yards on eight carries.
Also, Klein caught seven passes for 108 yards, while Tamez finished with five receptions for 124 yards.
Pace began the final period by making it 45-29 on a 1-yard TD keeper by Aguilar with 10:46 showing. A pass for the two-point conversion was successful.
The Rattlers increased their lead to 59-29 in the fourth period on a 41-yard TD run by Diego Vela and a 34-yard TD pass from Longoria to Ruben Davila. The scoring pass came with 7:40 remaining.
From there, Pace’s Brandon Zapata scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards in the waning minutes to account for the final score of 59-43.
Aguilar passed for 279 yards (21 of 41) but was intercepted three times and lost a fumble in the first half. Zapata had seven receptions for 135 yards plus 39 yards rushing on seven carries.
Friday marked Pace’s first appearance in the playoffs since 2011.