BROWNSVILLE — With 5:45 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Grulla running back Jason Vega broke three tackles and weaved by defenders for a 27-yard touchdown, his third of the night, and the final score in a dogfight with Brownsville Lopez.
The Gators (1-3) would stop the Lobos (0-4) on Lopez’s next drive and run out the clock to take the 42-35 win Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“I am extremely proud of these kids,” Grulla head coach Abel Gonzalez said. “We have played some good football these past four weeks. We have been really close, lost some leads in the fourth quarter, today we were down again and our kids continued to fight. They deserved it, I am proud of my kids and coaching staff.”
Lopez tied the game at 35 with a 4-yard touchdown by sophomore running back Eddie Slovak. The sophomore gave the Lobos great field position after he returned a kickoff to the Grulla 48-yard line. Slovak would set up his fourth touchdown on the night with an 18-yard run.
Vega scored from eight yards to put Grulla up 35-28 and also scored a 13-yard touchdown to tie the game at 28. Slovak had put Lopez up 28-21 with a 7-yard touchdown.
“We ran the ball a whole bunch, our offensive line took care of business up front,” Gonzalez said. “Our running backs, receivers all had great games on the ground. We really relied on our offensive line. I am extremely proud of them because they never gave up.”
Grulla quarterback Andrew Sanchez scored the Gators first three touchdowns. His 6-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the second half tied the game at 21.
Lopez went into the half with a 21-14 lead. Lobos senior quarterback Jacob Cortinas dropped a dime to Gabriel Rios for a 30-yard touchdown. Rios, Alan Chavez and Julio Compian made big plays offensively for the Lobos throughout the night.
“This was a very tough loss because we had a lot of opportunities to win and take control of the game,” Lopez head coach Shaun Tarantola said. “When those opportunities came, we did not have enough and fell a little short. Our players are really playing hard. I want them to get that opportunity to get that first win. I think when that happens, we will keep getting them.”
Slovak and Sanchez traded touchdowns before Cortinas’ long touchdown pass. Slovak scored his first from a yard away and his second was a 15-yard run. Sanchez took scored his two touchdowns from 27 yards and nine yards.