NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — For the second straight week, one of the game’s biggest plays for McAllen Memorial was the opening kickoff. And that’s not a positive.
After receiving the opening kick, Mustangs return man Ethan Bazan had the ball stripped while heading to the turf. Los Fresnos pounced on the loose ball for a turnover — the first of many mistakes Memorial had to answer for.
Los Fresnos (2-1) capitalized on the opportunity and jumped out to an early lead it would never relinquish, knocking off Memorial 24-7 on Thursday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“We didn’t fire out as an offense,” Mustangs running back Campbell Speights said. “We didn’t start good. We usually do start good, but we didn’t this game. That allowed them to take the advantage and get up on us early in the game.”
Speights was held in check for a majority of the night. He was kept to under 100 yards for a second consecutive week, only averaging 2.8 yards per rush in 19 attempts.
The most dangerous running threat on the field was Los Fresnos quarterback Charles Chapa. The senior eclipsed the 100-yard plateau before losing yardage killing the clock in the waning seconds.
Chapa used his legs inside of Mustangs territory, punctuated with a short TD run to open the scoring. The early score foreshadowed Chapa’s ability to read plays in front of him and take off only when he knew it would be a positive play.
The first half continued as a defensive struggle. Memorial (2-2) had a pair of fourth downs deep in Falcons territory but couldn’t convert on ambitious rushing calls.
“Today, we clicked as a team,” Chapa said. “In the first half, we came out strong and then kind of hit a downhill slope. Second half, we stepped it up, produced our points that we needed. Defense continued to get big stops. It was a great game all around.”
In the second half, the Falcons played a more complete game. Robert Ramirez capped off a long drive right out of the locker room, extending the lead to 14-0.
The Falcons made the right adjustments at the break, and it showed.
“Revenge didn’t really play a factor in this, we just wanted to get a win,” Falcons coach Patrick Brown said. “The difference (between the first and second halves) was this: we didn’t want to put or defense in bad situations. They were playing so well that we actually thought if we could get two or three first downs and change the field, that would be great. Let’s get out of the first half 7-0, let’s make some adjustments that I think you saw that we did, and we came out smoking.”
Memorial QB Sean Skaugen tried to ignite the Mustangs offense and a silent crowd on the team’s next drive. He found room and turned on the burners for a 64-yard quarterback keeper for a score.
The comeback momentum for Memorial was short-lived. Similar to a week ago, they shot themselves in the foot with costly turnovers.
Fumbles, stalled drives and a late pick were no help for Memorial’s offense. The Mustangs passed the ball slightly more effectively than in last week’s loss against San Benito. Speights and Josh Sanchez got involved in the passing game, but eight incompletions deterred more attempts.
In the fourth quarter, Falcons running back Albert Banuelos was rewarded for his hard-working evening, finding the end zone and helping the visitors pull away. Adrian Torres added a field goal, while the Mustangs couldn’t sniff the red zone in the fourth.
Speights was still not ready to panic or overreact about the Mustangs splitting their tough non-district slate.
They still boast big wins over Sharyland Pioneer and Weslaco East in hostile venues, but clearly have room for improvement.
“We’ll be fine,” Speights said. “We learn from this. This is why we play such hard teams, because we’re preparing for district and the playoffs. We want to know where we are right now and what we need to fix so when that time comes, we’re ready for it.”
The most meaningful games of the season are still on the horizon, and they begin next week. Memorial will open District 30-6A play on the road and hope to pick up steam against a struggling La Joya Palmview team.