RGVSports.com
Last week, PSJA North coach Marcus Kaufmann made the decision to move the team’s leading rusher to linebacker. Senior Juan Elizondo made the plays last week to make the move stick.
This week, with the Raiders up by 6 and Edinburg North driving the ball with less than a minute to play, Elizondo came up with the biggest play of the game.
“They were looking at a middle-distance pass,” Kaufmann said. “Juan stepped in front of the pass and picked it off. He returned it up the sideline and went out at about midfield.”
The Raiders (1-5, 1-2) sent their offense out in victory formation, and PSJA North picked up its first win of the season 20-14 over Edinburg North (2-4, 1-2) on Thursday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
“Finally!” Kaufmann said. “The team was so excited. We just finally pulled one off. The kids finally made plays. They made plays when they needed to be made, at the end of the ballgame.”
Junior Arturo Beltran filled in at running back again, and he was again successful in the role, running for about 140 yards and catching a touchdown pass to open the scoring for the Raiders. Sophomore Rolando Coronado also caught a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Randy Reyna.
Coming out of the half, the Raiders were up 13-7, and Beltran got on the board again, this time with a rushing touchdown.
The Cougars did not go away quietly, though. They scored to bring the lead down to six points and had several promising drives in the second half. But the Raiders defense clamped down when it mattered most. The Raiders got two more interceptions in the game, along with Elizondo’s.
DISTRICT 32-5A
BROWNSVILLE LOPEZ 21, DONNA HIGH 7: At Donna, Donna High dropped to 2-4 on the season and 0-3 in district with a loss to Lopez.
The Lobos scored on passing touchdowns in the second, third and fourth quarters to build a 21-0 lead. Donna scored in the closing moments to avoid a shutout.
Donna has been held to 7 points in three consecutive games, losing 27-7 to Edcouch-Elsa on Oct. 6 and 35-7 to Mercedes on Sept. 29.
Donna will attempt to snag its first district win next Thursday against Brownsville Porter.