MERCEDES — Sharyland High twins Alan and Alek Gonzalez made their varsity two years ago in front of their father at Tiger Stadium in Mercedes, falling to the Tigers in overtime.
Prior to the start of the 2021 campaign, their father died, making their return to the Tigers’ home field an emotional one.
The pair went into Friday’s contest looking to erase the bitter taste from their 2019 overtime loss to Mercedes, while dedicating the game to their late father. The playmaking twins delivered a standout performance, scoring the final two touchdowns for the Rattlers en route to a 28-21 upset over RGVSports.com’s No. 2-ranked team, the Mercedes Tigers.
“It felt amazing,” Alek said. “The whole time I was doing this I was looking up to the sky. I play this game for my father. This is all for my father. This is where we played our very first varsity football game. Us together, as freshmen. We lost in double overtime. Now to come back and beat them like this, it feels amazing.”
Facing a fourth-and-1 from the 9-yard line, Sharyland High head coach Craig Krell decided to roll the dice, keeping his kicker on the sideline.
Krell put the ball in the Alek’s hands from the wildcat formation and he rumbled in for the go-ahead score with 4:56 left in the game.
“We knew with the offense we were facing, we needed to put more points on the board,” Krell said. “They weren’t going to give up. They have a heck of a football team over there. We knew we needed to come away with a touchdown. Our line was doing a good job of pushing. Our twins, we weigh on them a lot. So we knew we were going to give them the ball and go get the touchdown.”
Three plays later, Alan delivered the final nail in the coffin, picking off Mercedes quarterback Michael Cisneros and returning it 59 yards for the touchdown, putting the Rattlers up 28-14 with 3:42 left in regulation.
Alan finished with 109 total yards on offense and one rushing touchdown, while adding one interception for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Alek added 41 yards and one touchdown, while also coming away with an interception.
Sharyland High kicker Kali Nguma chipped in a pair of field goals from 41 and 47 yards to help the Rattlers secure the win.
The Tigers added a touchdown on a late drive on a 13-yard scamper by Cisneros, cutting into the deficit with 1:17 left.Cisneros finished the night with 203 passing yards and two touchdowns, adding 102 yards and a score on the ground.
The score made little difference, with the Rattlers securing the victory on a 3-yard run for the first down by Alan.
With that, the Rattlers keep their district title hopes alive, improving to 3-1 in district play while handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.
“We talked about this,” Krell said. “We needed this win. We can possibly work back into the district championship now. That’s what we want to do and we got it done.”
The Tigers (6-1, 4-1) return to action Thursday, taking on the PSJA Southwest Javelinas (0-6, 0-4) at PSJA ISD Stadium in Pharr. Meanwhile, the Rattlers (4-2, 3-1) look to build off the win, hosting the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks (4-2, 3-1) on Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission.
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