By ROY HESS
Staff Writer
PROGRESO — The Port Isabel Tarpons are finding out Cesar Aguilera is quite a productive quarterback as a runner and a passer.
The Tarpons opened District 16-4A Division II competition with a 46-9 victory against Progreso on Friday night at Red Ant Stadium.
Port Isabel improved to 4-3 on the season and 1-0 in district with games ahead against Raymondville and Rio Hondo. Progreso slipped to 3-5 and 0-1.
It was another solid victory sparked by Aguilera, the Tarpons’ senior QB. He passed for four touchdowns and rushed for a pair of scores against the Red Ants.
Coming off a 270-yard rushing performance with five TDs during a 48-21 win against Grulla on Oct. 5, Aguilera accounted for six TDs in all Friday while rushing nine times for 155 yards and completing seven of 13 passes for 110 yards with an interception.
“At first, during Week 1 and Week 2, we weren’t doing so well (because everything was new), and now we’re just picking it up,” Aguilera said. “I’m picking things up (myself in this new offense), and now I get it very well.
“We’re all in (with our first-year coach Jason Strunk), and everyone is playing well,” Aguilera added. “Everything is going fine. We just have to continue working hard together.”
Three of Aguilera’s TD passes went to wideout Sebastian Martinez on plays covering 9, 10 and 25 yards — one scoring strike during each of the first three quarters. Aguilera also threw a 20-yard scoring pass to running back Brayan Medina late in the second period.
The Tarpons’ QB broke loose on a 54-yard scramble to make it 12-3 early in the second period. He added a 14-yard scoring run midway through the final quarter to account for his six TDs on the night and boost the score to 46-9.
The Tarpons led 6-3 after one quarter and 32-3 at halftime. Port Isabel took a 39-9 advantage into the fourth period.
Also for the Tarpons, reserve running back Adrian Nino sprinted 30 yards down the left sideline and into the end zone during the second quarter.
Medina and Nino finished with 101 and 72 yards rushing, respectively, to go with Aguilera’s 155 yards on the ground. Martinez finished with four catches for 68 yards.
The Tarpons were intent upon showing multiple facets of their offense against Progreso.
“We came into this game with a pretty diverse attack with our (offensive) personnel groupings,” Strunk said. “We wanted to work on a lot of different things this week, and specifically in this game. They were things we needed (to do well with) moving forward, and we did that tonight.
“We worked on the run game, the pass game, and had some new formations,” Strunk added. “Our passing game has gotten better from Week 1 until now, and it’s becoming a weapon for us. We came in with some pretty diverse game plans, and we executed them tonight.
“The key to the whole thing with Cesar’s passing is our No. 2 (Sebastian Martinez). He’s a target. We have Cesar at quarterback, Brayan at running back and Sebastian at wide receiver. We have ‘The Triplets’ going right now, and they’re weapons.”
A 21-yard field goal by Progreso’s Marcos Gallegos closed the gap to 6-3 during the first quarter after Aguilera’s first TD pass to Martinez covered 9 yards at the 9:29 mark of the opening period.
The Red Ants found themselves behind 32-3 at halftime after the Tarpons’ 26-point scoring outburst during the second period.
Aguilera’s second TD pass of 10 yards to Martinez came with time expired in the half, as the Tarpons ran two plays with zeros on the clock due to back-to-back penalties (roughing the passer and pass interference) on Progreso, which gave Port Isabel a first down at the Red Ants’ 10-yard line.
Progreso put together a scoring drive near the end of the third period and recorded a touchdown thanks to QB Joshua San Roman‘s 1-yard keeper that narrowed the Tarpons’ lead to 39-9.
Both teams were coming off victories. Port Isabel defeated Grulla 48-21 on Oct. 5 before enjoying an open date last week. Progreso won 56-7 on Oct. 12 at Marine Military Academy.
District action continues next week for each squad. Progreso is at Rio Hondo and Port Isabel travels to Raymondville.
When the Tarpons and Red Ants played at Progreso last season, Port Isabel triumphed 54-30.