NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
Everything almost went south for the Weslaco High Panthers in their opener. Luckily, they all look the same in the win column.
The Panthers escaped their season opener with the help of late heroics to secure a 27-21 win over San Antonio Marshall on Saturday at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
Even after two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns by sophomore QB Jacob Cavazos gave the Panthers a late lead, they weren’t safe.
In the waning minutes of the game, trailing 21-14 Marshall quarterback Matt Lejarzar broke a run up the middle. He nearly scored but was stopped at the 1-yard line.
Weslaco’s defense stepped up to the plate, making big stops and tackles for losses for three downs. But then, Marshall finally breached the line and scored, knotting the game at 21.
Enter Peyton Knaub.
The sophomore already had a 1-yard rushing TD under his belt when he fielded the ensuing kickoff.
With open space in front of him and a juke of the kicker, some 40 yards later he was celebrating in the end zone again. This time for the game winner.
“What was going through my head was just get that ball in that end zone,” Knaub said. “My coaches told us we were going to take it to the house on that one, and I just saw that hole. I don’t know. It’s crazy.”
The offense was fueled by contributions from not only youngsters Knaub and Cavazos, but also a senior duo of QB Marco Leal and RB Matt De Santiago.
New Panthers coach Michael Salinas and his staff seemed to have a positive impact on the team. The game was Weslaco’s first under the new regime after a cancellation last week postponed their season start.
“We just stayed composed,” Knaub said. “We didn’t falter in any way. Our coaches just told us if we’re up 21 or down 21, we’re going to fight till the end.”
Salinas, who joins the Panthers after a successful tenure as Edinburg Vela coach, was happy with the late effort.
“We know that it only takes one play on either side, offense or defense,” Salinas said. “We had to play hard and finish. Luckily, we talked to them about finishing, because it took everything we had at the end of the ball game to pull this one out.”
Salinas and his team might still have a perilous road in front on them this season. They return just two offensive starters, and Saturday proved Weslaco is still experimenting on offense. Leal and Cavazos split time under center, each finding success on occasion.
The younger of the two QBs felt that the split is a positive.
“We all have our own unique ways to contribute to this team,” Cavazos said. “I think it helps a lot with other teams having to come over here and figure out where we are. So I think it’s very beneficial.”
Weslaco will face a tall task next week when it travels the short distance to Mercedes.
Even if the Panthers need to find their way and find answers this season, they’ll have the opener to look back on.
“Today’s win is a great one because it’s the first one for us, obviously,” Salinas said. “Really just extremely proud of the effort of our kids and coaches. Hats off to our kids and coaches for being resilient.”
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