FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
LA FERIA — One way or another, Oscar Salinas’ halftime message was heard loud and clear by his La Feria Lions: relax.
After squandering a 14-0 first-quarter lead, Salinas simply told his team at the half to “take a deep breath and relax, you have done this before, it’s just another game.”
The words resonated with the Lions (6-1, 1-0) as they came out in the second half and scored 28 unanswered points to defeat the Kingsville King Brahmas (3-4, 0-1) 45-14, and start their District 16-4A DI schedule at 1-0.
“It’s very important to start off (district) on the right foot, especially when you have a five-team district,” Salinas said. “Last year we were on the other side of it, and we really preached getting off to a good start this week. Kingsville was a co-champion last year, so we knew we were in for a good game.
“But we played really well in the second half.”
After last week’s 14-7 defeat to Rio Hondo, it was crucial that the Lions come out and start the district on the right foot, and for the most part, La Feria did. Junior quarterback Dorian Hernandez found wide receiver Caleb Flores for a 10-yard touchdown to start the scoring (7-0) with 3:33 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Lions recovered a Brahmas fumble and add to the lead at 14-0, as Avishai Dickerson found paydirt from 9 yards out.
Then just as quick as the Lions scored, the lead was gone. Two uncharacteristic turnovers from La Feria gave Kingsville two touchdowns during the second quarter. A late 25-yard field goal from Arnold Gonzalez gave the Lions a 17-14 lead heading into halftime.
“(At the half) I told the kids that we need to stop hurting ourselves,” Salinas said. “Let’s just play some football, keep them in front of us, and play with more effort. We’ve been there, but I’m really proud of them because I know they’ve had some struggles, but they did a good job in practice this week. Defensively we’ve played well all year in the second half, and we gave a championship effort tonight.”
During the second half, the Lions’ offense quickly found its groove and responded as Dorian Hernandez found Eric Alegria for a 37-yard touchdown to give the Lions a 24-17 lead early in the third.
Afterward, Angel Garcia (1-yard TD run) and Darius Hernandez (69-yard TD run) found the end zone to give the Lions a comfortable lead.
“Tonight we just made the plays that we hadn’t been making, and we ran the ball well tonight,” Salinas said.
Next week, the Lions hit the road and take on Zapata.