By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
Pace quarterback Jose Banda threw the ball sparingly during his team’s 28-14 win over District 16-5A Division I foe PSJA Southwest on Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
But the junior signal caller made each toss count, including a 97-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Marc Garcia near the end of the first half that put the Vikings (3-1, 3-0 16-5A DI) ahead of the Javelinas (3-1, 2-1 16-5A DI) for good.
The late bomb from Banda came as a pleasant surprise, even to Pace coach Danny Pardo.
“I thought we were just going to run the clock out,” Pardo said. “Then (offensive coordinator Rodney Morales) dialed up a pass. It was a heck of a catch.”
One of Banda’s most crucial completions came as an immediate response to a PSJA Southwest score — an answer to wide receiver Angel Hernandez, who put the Javelinas on the board first with a 35-yard rushing touchdown with 9:37 to go in the first quarter to give the Javelinas a 6-0 lead after the extra point attempt by Erik Malpica was wide.
On the ensuing drive, Banda hit tight end Chase Morales for a gain of 21 to set up first and goal for the Vikings.
Banda then punched it into the end zone himself from 3 yards out for a Pace touchdown with 5:50 to go in the first quarter to put Pace up 7-6. He later found Matthew Cuellar on a screen pass for a 16-yard touchdown to help the Vikings open a 14-6 advantage with 7:03 remaining in the second quarter.
Pardo said he was pleased with his running back tandem of Dylan Barron and Cuellar, who helped Pace dominate time of possession and methodically control the game clock during the second half.
“They’re both pretty good,” Pardo said. “When we go to a two-back set, they both can really run. Matthew is more of a power runner, and Dylan is more shifty and gets out in the open.”
PJSA Southwest running back Justin Hinojosa took the handoff from quarterback Ramiro Ramirez and burst into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. Hinojosa got the ball again and crossed the plane for the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 14 at the 1:09 mark of the second quarter.
On the first play of the following Pace drive, Banda went deep over the middle for Garcia, which put the Vikings ahead again, 21-14, with 39 seconds left in the first half.
The Pace defense also had a significant impact, shutting out PSJA Southwest on each of its four fourth-down conversion attempts. Most notably, the Vikings stopped the Javelinas on fourth-and-5 from the Vikings’ 47-yard line with 7:08 to go in the third quarter and fourth-and-17 at the Pace 37-yard line.
With 8:15 to play in the fourth quarter, freshman linebacker Andrew Gonzalez intercepted a Ramirez pass and returned it 73 yards for a Pace touchdown to double up the Javelinas 28-14. The play ultimately iced the game, as Banda and the Vikings ran out the clock to secure the victory.
“That was huge,” Pardo said. “That was big for him. He’s really going to grow from that and get a lot of confidence off of it.”