All the Hanna Golden Eagles wanted was a chance to play football.
They didn’t have that opportunity last week, when their game was canceled due to the threat of tropical storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico.
Given a chance to return to the football field on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium, the Eagles made the most of the opportunity by defeating Sharyland High 28-23 thanks to a remarkable comeback in a non-district matchup.
It almost wasn’t the result Hanna wanted.
The Eagles never led until 1:08 remained. Hanna wide receiver Ernest Mendoza caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Victor Campos to rally the Eagles to a 28-23 advantage after Miguel Payan’s extra point with 1:08 to go.
The Rattlers took over at their 16-yard line with 1:02 on the clock following the ensuing kickoff. What followed were two incomplete passes and two sacks by the Hanna defense that allowed the Eagles to regain possession at the Rattlers’ 5-yard line with 40 seconds to play. The Eagles ran out the clock with one kneeldown by Campos.
“These players try to do everything they can to win,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said of his team. “They play hard for each other. They’re brothers.
“We went through some adversity in the first half and just could not get things going,” Guess added. “In the second half we were able to move the ball with our normal offense.”
Sharyland High led 10-0 after the opening quarter and was up 10-7 at halftime. The Rattlers took a 16-14 advantage into the final period.
“We knew Sharyland (High) would be a real game opponent,” Guess said. “They have two good quarterbacks, not just one.
“We had to make a stop (defensively late in the game to give ourselves a chance to win), and we did,” Guess added. ”Everything ended well for us.”
Prior to Hanna’s late go-ahead TD pass, the Rattlers were up 23-14 following a 2-yard scoring run by backup QB Oscar Valdez with 7:33 left.
Campos threw a 19-yard TD pass to Cesar Mancias with 5:46 remaining to pull the Eagles to within 23-21, but they still had to rally to win with time slipping away.
After the Hanna defense made a crucial stop, Eagles running back Aaron Frausto made a big play. He beat the Sharyland High secondary on a deep route and caught a 56-yard pass down the middle from Campos to give Hanna a first down at the Rattlers’ 3-yard line. Three plays and a penalty later, Mendoza made his 8-yard TD catch to put the Eagles ahead for the first time with 1:08 to play.
Hanna, ranked No. 4 in the Valley by RGVSports.com, improved to 2-1, and the unranked Rattlers slipped to an uncharacteristic 1-3.
Guess said according to UIL rules, Campos had to sit out the first half of Friday’s game because he was ejected during the second half of the Edinburg Vela game on Sept. 7. Payan played QB for the Eagles during the first half as Campos watched the game from the sideline.
Mancias, the Eagles’ top rusher, also sat out the first half and returned to play during the final two quarters. When asked why Mancias didn’t play in the first half Friday, Guess said he had no comment.
A 34-yard field goal by Valdez and a 39-yard interception return to the end zone of a Payan pass gave the Rattlers a 10-0 lead during the opening quarter.
Payan threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Leigh Guevara with 3:12 left in the second quarter to make it 10-7 at intermission.
It became 16-7 when Sharyland High starting QB Edgar Longoria threw a 33-yard scoring pass to Adrian Solis at the 3:47 mark of the third period.
A 15-yard TD pass from Campos to Payan with 10 seconds left in the third quarter made it 16-14. The pass had been tipped by a teammate before landing within Payan’s grasp in the back of the end zone.
That scoring play set the stage for a wild, back-and-forth fourth quarter.
Hanna’s most recent game prior to Friday was a 35-20 loss at Vela, RGVSports.com’s top-ranked team, on Sept. 7. Sharyland High was coming off a 31-7 setback at home Sept. 14 against La Joya High.
The last time Hanna played Sharyland High prior to Friday was 2013, when the Rattlers defeated the Eagles 42-0 in Mission in a season opener.
The Eagles and Rattlers continue playing their schedules next week. Sharyland High begins District 16-5A Division II competition at home against Laredo Cigarroa next Friday, and Hanna will play a non-district game against Amarillo Tascosa next Saturday in San Antonio.