By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Porter has been looking to break into the win column and hoped to get going offensively against Donna High.
Unfortunately, the Cowboys didn’t help themselves with three fumbles — two before halftime — and fell behind early before succumbing 52-14 to the Redskins in a District 32-5A game Thursday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“We have to clean up it up and get better,” Porter coach Carlos Uresti said. “It’s like a broken record … all the credit to Donna, they did a heck of a job for Coach Leal, those kids play hard. We got a couple more injuries (Thursday) and they are starting to catch up with us, but no excuses … we have to get better.”
Porter stopped itself on three drives with turnovers and could never get into a rhythm offensively until the fourth quarter. The Cowboys scored both of their touchdowns in the fourth, an 86-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Kevin Garcia to senior receiver Bladimir Acosta and later Garcia capped off a drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The loss kept Porter (0-7, 0-4) winless while Donna High (3-4, 1-3) earned its first District 32-5A win of the season.
The Redskins piled up the yards in both halves — they finished with 448 yards and scored on all eight of their possessions — highlighted by senior running back Eliseo Alvarado, who finished with 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“We’ve lost four defensive starters (this season),” Uresti said among the eight players that have been injured on Porter this year. “So they’re struggling and (Thursday) we struggled offensively so we didn’t help the cause.”
Donna High scored on its first drive to open the game. The Redskins capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown run by Alvarado to take a 7-0 lead with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
After Porter fumbled, Donna High took advantage with a 1-yard run for a touchdown by junior running back Jayp Sandoval to push the lead to 14-0 with 8:30 to go in the second quarter.
After the Cowboys punted, the Redskins found the end zone again, this one a 1-yard run by Alvarado and a 21-0 edge with 2:35 to play in the first half.
“It’s been an up-and-down season,” Donna High coach Ramiro Leal said. “The biggest thing was getting our tailback back (Alvarado) … he brings a different dimension to our offense.”
Porter fumbled on the ensuing drive and Donna High capitalized with 19 seconds left in the first half. Sophomore quarterback Alex Sanchez hit junior running back Jose Guzman on a 3-yard pass for a score and a 28-0 advantage at the break.
Donna High’s defense finished with three turnovers and allowed just 245 yards of offense.
“Our defense has been stellar,” Leal said. “They bend but don’t break and that’s been our rock this year.”
In the second half, the Redskins continued their offensive breakout. In the third quarter, Carlos Bowen scored on a 7-yard run with 5:44 left in the quarter to extend the Donna High lead to 35-0.
In the fourth quarter, the Redskins found the end zone again after Sanchez hit Eddie Villarreal on a 19-yard pass with 11:14 left to play. Later, Guzman ran for a 2-yard score and Geronimo Fragoso hit a 25-yard field goal.
Leal was happy for his team’s first district win of the season, especially with several injuries on both sides of the ball.
“It’s finally coming together and we have to keep on building on it,” he said. “We have a lot of young kids. We’re taking one game at a time, but we’re going to build and build and when you’re young the only way you can get better is by experience … you have to take your lumps, but hopefully we can finish out on a good note.”
Sanchez finished with 113 yards and a pair of touchdown passes for Donna High.
Garcia finished with 143 yards passing and a touchdown and 48 yard on the ground and a score for Porter.
Uresti was glad his team finished strong, but their inexperience has been the detriment at times this season.
“The kids didn’t give up,” he said. “We’re young … but I hate saying that. We’re still learning, but injuries aren’t helping either. We (as coaches) have to get them mentally stronger. Turnovers shouldn’t cost us the game it should refocus us. Unfortunately, we’re not able to flip that switch.”
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.