PORT ISABEL — Port Isabel is still a work in progress as evident during its scrimmage against Mercedes.
The Tarpons struggled at times, especially offensively, as they couldn’t find a rhythm against the Tigers as Port Isabel was shut out in both portions of the scrimmage — 5-0 in the controlled part and 14-0 in the live part — Thursday morning at Tarpon Stadium.
Port Isabel, who has changed its offensive scheme with the arrival of new head coach Jaime Infante, is still ironing out the wrinkles, but that was to be expected in the early part of the season.
“It was day and night difference,” Infante said. “Mercedes is a seasoned, aggressive team and I thought they showed that. I think it showed our lack of experience offensively … it was evident with the scheme that Mercedes had they brought pressure.
“It showed us the weaknesses we needed to see.”
The Tarpons had trouble with Mercedes’ aggressive defense and its pass rush that led to a few quarterback sacks and couple interceptions during its possessions. Port Isabel was able to get the ball within the 5-yard line, but the Tigers’ defense held strong and didn’t allow it to get on the board.
“We did some good things, but there are some things we need to do a little better,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said. “I liked the energy the defense came out with … we preach come out with effort, come out with energy and doing that can make plays.
“They’re hungry and they want to play every week.”
Mercedes, on the other hand, looked ready for the start of the season, scored on three straight possessions before ending the controlled portion with two additional scores.
The teams followed up the controlled portion with two live quarters, but the result was the same.
The Tigers scored on its first drive in the first quarter with one play, a 70-yard scamper, to give them a 7-0 lead.
Later, Mercedes used consecutive plays of a 40-yard pass followed up with an 18-yard run to get inside the 5-yard line. The Tigers added a short run and found the end zone again to extend their lead to 14-0.
“Offensively, we started getting the ball going and once we got the ball going, we want to be explosive,” Adame Jr. said. “We’re good on certain areas, but we want to be great overall, put the whole package together. We saw the improvement from last week to this week.
Port Isabel had another possession, but fumbled on its final play of the second quarter and failed to get on the board.
The Tarpons had a tough test against a good Mercedes team, but their progression especially offensively, must ramp up with Week 1 beginning next week.
“Defensively, we’re where we need to be,” Infante said. “But we have a lot of work still to do. We’re young and it’s going to take us a while to mature offensively. Good teams show your weaknesses and they definitely did (Thursday). There are some fundamental things that we have to work on to prepare us for Lopez.
“It’s going to be a challenge to our kids … we have to step up and be ready for it.”
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.