NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — A collection of the Valley’s best football players from the 2018 graduating class took the field on Saturday at Bobby Lackey Stadium for the RGVCA All-Star game. Both teams scored early, but the game tightened into a battle reminiscent of a late-fall playoff game. The East won via fourth-quarter touchdowns from Mercedes’ Marc Ledesma and San Benito’s Tyrone Harper, coming out on top 25-21.
The All-Star game was a final chance for outstanding seniors to suit up and play in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
The game was special for players like Mission Veterans’ Giovanni Grimaldo and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Joseph Valdez, who missed time due to injuries this season.
“When I broke arm, it was a really down time for me,” Valdez said of his midseason injury. “I had played four years my hardest, just to go my senior year to do my greatest. When I broke my arm, it was a really bad time for me. I was depressed for like three or four weeks. It’s a real great feeling to come back, play, suit up again. Especially with all these great athletes.”
East’s skill players came out hungry on the first drive. The San Benito Greyhounds’ one-two punch of Tyrone Harper and Erick Retta, which lead the team into the third round of the 6A playoffs last season, was noticeable.
The West’s first drive was aided by three penalties as the team marched into the red zone. Eventually, Edinburg Vela’s Nate Garcia pitched the ball to his teammate Brandon Guzman, who went in for the score.
“Chemistry’s a big deal,” Guzman, who had four other Vela teammates in the game, said. “You saw me and Nate. Then you saw the Ledesma family over there on the East side. It was just money with both of them.”
The 7-all tie held until 3:28 before halftime, when Lopez soccer star and kicker Jose Echevarria put the East up 10-7.
Garcia didn’t let the second quarter end quietly, driving downfield and finding Hidalgo‘s Marco Bella all alone in the corner of the end zone for a score.
The first West drive of the second half finished in the end zone. Garcia found Guzman for the Vela receiver’s second score of the night.
Midway through the third quarter, with the East backed up close to midfield due to a penalty, the duo of Vela’s Ian Sarmiento and Valley’s View’s David Torres came together to sack Retta. The West did not turn that momentum into another score, punting the ball away.
The aforementioned Ledesma twin brothers put their stamp on the game.
Mercedes quarterback Marc Ledesma had a solid night. He hit his brother Matthew for a 35-yard gain in the third quarter before using his legs to score on a keeper a few plays later. Marc found Matt on the two-point conversion.
“I threw it to him four times,” Marc said. “The second time, on the slant, I missed him, but I knew I had to make it up on the following drive. It’s a great time connecting with him. Since we were little kids, we’ve always had a connection. We just had to bring it out today.”
On the ensuing drive, the East defense swarmed West quarterback Garcia. Brownsville Veterans defensive tackle Rey Salazar wrapped him up for a sack, and on the next play, Garcia nearly threw a pick while evading pressure.
The San Benito offensive duo became a trio when Isaiah Treviño got in on the action for the East. The team wearing blue powered the ball in with Harper to push the lead to 25-21.
The West had trouble moving the ball, and San Benito defensive end Ryan Reza put an exclamation point on the win with a sack on Garcia in the last minute.