BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
PHARR — In overtime, with his team down 3 and the ball 4 yards out, there was no one else who was going to get the ball. It was always going to junior running back Cristian Flores.
On first down, he got the ball to the 1. Then, on second down, a hole opened up in the A gap, and Flores made his move.
“I finally got in there,” Flores, who finished the night with 35 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns, said. “We kept on trying and trying. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. It worked on that play, and I got in.”
The score gave Edinburg North (4-5, 3-3) a 24-20 road win Friday over PSJA Memorial (2-7, 2-4) at PSJA Stadium.
“That was like a playoff atmosphere. It was awesome,” North coach Rene Saenz said. “My hats off to coach (Michael) Uribe and the rest of Memorial. They have done a tremendous job over there, and their kids played their butts off tonight.”
With the win, Edinburg North moves into sole possession of fourth place in District 31-6A with one week to play. Mathematically, the Cougars can still miss the playoffs, but their chances dramatically improved.
“It is a testament to the commitment that our guys have,” Saenz said. “We have lost a few games, but in the locker room, these guys have never really lost. They keep battling. They keep showing up and keep working to try to get better. I’m super proud of these guys that we are still in the hunt. It is going to come down to the final week, but we couldn’t ask to be in a better place right now.”
After Edinburg North first tried to pass in a goal-line scenario, Flores would not be denied the opportunity to help his team.
“He was begging for the chance,” Saenz said. “He was just like, ‘Give me the ball. Give me the ball,’ at the end. His time came, and I’m glad he had the opportunity to do it.”
The events that led up to Flores’ walk-off score were a whirlwind. Heading into overtime, Memorial got the ball first but failed to get a first down and had to kick a field goal.
“Heading out onto the field, coach asked us if we wanted it or not,” Flores said. “He told us to step up. We were the ones who wanted it the most, and we came out and executed.”
North’s drive looked to be headed in a similar direction. The Cougars were up against a fourth-and-goal from the 7. North coach Rene Saenz decided to play for the tie and send out his field-goal unit. Of course, consistently reliable senior kicker Frank Cantu nailed the chip shot, but what happened after the kick changed the course of the game. An over-eager Memorial defender bowled over Cantu, drawing a penalty, which gave the Cougars a fresh set of downs.
“I didn’t even see the flag,” Flores said. “Someone said we had a first down, so I said, ‘Let’s go punch it in.’ And we did.”
Flores started and ended the game’s scoring. On the opening play, junior quarterback Max Aguilar found senior wide receiver Alejandro Cardenas for a 39-yard pass, putting the Cougars at the 21. From there, Flores scurried 21 yards after a simple handoff to put Edinburg North up 7-0.
With about 3 minutes left in the first quarter, PSJA Memorial responded. The Wolverines got the ball on a touchback, which should have given them the ball at the 25. Instead, the referees marked it at the 20, but that was no matter for the Wolverines. On the second play of the drive, PSJA Memorial junior quarterback Orlando Muñoz unleashed an 83-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Michael Walden.
After those explosions of offense, the game started to slow a bit as both defenses clamped down.
Memorial took a 14-7 lead to the locker room after a long drive ended with Muñoz carrying the ball in from 2 yards out.
In the third quarter, Aguilar once again found Cardenas for a long pass, this one a 21-yard touchdown that put North up 17-14.
Aguilar got the call to start after sophomore quarterback Izaiah Rangel was unable to play due to an injury. Aguilar has seen spot duty this year, so Flores knew he needed to help out his quarterback.
“Max has never been in the fire,” Flores said. “Tonight was his first time in the fire. As a team, we all had to help him. Not having Izaiah hurt us, but we got it done for him tonight.”
Flores has watched his teams go through agonizing defeats this year, but this win gets his team right back in the mix and changes the attitude of the locker room going forward.
“There was some doubt starting to creep in,” Flores said. “With the loses and the injuries, it was tough. But tonight, we stepped up and got it done. … It feels great to be there. We would love to be undefeated and beating up on everybody, but things happen. All we can do is win, and we give ourselves a chance to get in.”