By Jesus Sanchez | The Brownsville Herald
On a damp Saturday night, Rio Grande City and Lopez were locked in a back-and-forth battle that ultimately saw the Rattlers triumph 26-21 over the Lobos at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“I’m really proud of our team,” Rio Grande City head coach Aaron Garcia said after the game. “It wasn’t a really pretty win, but we needed to get a win and that was the objective coming over here.
“Quite honestly, you know, we’ve lost some close games based on some of our mistakes. Tonight, we didn’t play a mistake-free ball game, but we made less.”
Rio Grande City kicked things off with an 11-yard run by running back Johnathan Huerta to give the Rattlers a 6-0 lead.
Lopez responded with a successful 55-yard drive that culminated with wide receiver Rafael Campos rushing for 2 yards and scoring the first touchdown for the Lobos.
From there, both teams kicked it up a notch.
After Lopez and Rio Grande City traded three turnovers each, it was a 14-yard pass from Rattler quarterback Mario Garza to fellow running back Angel Galvan that put the visiting team on top in the second quarter.
The Lobos responded with a 10-yard pass from quarterback Jose Cruz to wide receiver Jesus Galvan to make it 14-13.
With 27 seconds left in the first half, Angel Galvan rushed for 1 yard to give the Rattlers a 20-14 edge against the Lobos.
“Our offense did good,” Angel Galvan said. “Our line, of course, I have to give them credit; they really did good and blocked for me. I just need to keep on moving, keep motivating myself to get more yards, more touchdowns. My coaches always tell me to keep my head up and keep moving forward.”
The second half saw both teams’ aggressiveness increase as they each traded one touchdown; Lopez scored on a 96-yard drive and the Rattlers went 59 yards in five plays.
Campos, who finished the game with 13 carries and 101 yards, said he knows the team made several mistakes in the second half, but the Lobos will be ready to move forward despite the loss.
“We just have to get back to work next week and we’re just going to have to work hard again,” he said. “Focus on Porter next week. That’s it.
“I know what we’re capable of. I know we can go back to the playoffs just like we did last year. We’re trying to go back deeper than round one and I know we can do it.”
When it seemed the like the Lobos were going to secure a win on a quarterback keeper, the Rattlers forced and recovered a fumble on their own 8-yard line.
The Rattlers coach said he thought the Lobos were going to find the end zone in the last 15 seconds of the game, but he is happy and proud the Rio Grande City defense was able to stop them.
Garcia said the team will cherish the win tonight and rest Sunday, but come Monday, the Rattlers will focus on their next matchup.
“We got Mission Vets (next), but we’ll take it one day at a time,” he said. “We’re playing to win. (Tonight) was a hard-fought win. It’s really special when you come on the road and get a win like this.”
In the last seconds of the game, Lopez, with no timeouts remaining, was only able to rush for 16 yards and ran out of time before it could spike the ball to stop the clock.
“It was a tough one, tough one for everybody, but when you turn the ball over and make critical mistakes, that’s kind of what happens,” Lobos head coach Armando Gutierrez said. “We (won’t) give up on each other and we (won’t) give up on plays.
“Regardless of the situation, we can overcome obstacles. That’s part of what football teaches us in life. Our boys have that mentality at heart and we’re going to bounce back so I’m not worried about that.
“Whenever you’re out of a ball game, like I told the boys, at the end of the day, it’s who you are to overcome these obstacles, but these boys never quit.”