By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Write
CORPUS CHRISTI — The Raymondville Bearkats won their third straight Class 4A bi-district game with a come-from-behind 48-47 victory against Devine on Thursday at Buccaneer Stadium.
It was the Bearkats’ second game of the season, and the first time in five weeks that they have taken the field. The Warhorses played a full 10-game season and looked like the more seasoned team during the first quarter.
Despite Devine jumping out to a 21-0 lead, Raymondville coaches and players knew they weren’t out of the game.
Senior ZaRaiVion Armendarez and junior Nathan Munguia made big plays to get the Bearkats going, and defensive adjustments implemented after the first quarter helped Raymondville contain the powerful Devine running backs. The Bearkats showed resilience throughout the challenging season and game to clinch their most meaningful bi-district title yet.
“It’s incredible. Another nail-biter. We knew they were going to be tough, but what a game,” Raymondville coach Frank Cantu said. “To not play, not practice, not even see each other for 14 days and then come out after not having a game last week, it’s something nobody can predict. All we can do is respond the right way, and these kids did. All glory to God. We were bi-district champions the last two years, this makes it three in a row, and this one was the toughest. So proud that we could move on despite everything.”
The Warhorses got on the board on the opening drive of the game behind a 1-yard run from senior Buddy Santos, and the running back quickly notched his second of four rushing touchdowns on the following drive after a 30-yard scamper. Senior running back Justin Contreras found the end zone on another 30-yard run to make it a three-score game with 2:26 in the first quarter.
Then, the Bearkats scored 20 unanswered points on two long runs from Armendarez and stellar defense from Munguia and sophomores Diego Gutierrez and Hunter Posas.
Armendarez scored on a 34-yard run early in the quarter, but the PAT was missed.
Gutierrez and Posas led Raymondville’s defensive front to force the first Devine punt of the game. The punt was tipped, creating a short field as Raymondville’s drive started on the Warhorses’ 38-yard-line.
Armendarez rushed for a 17-yard touchdown, and the two-point conversion failed. On the ensuing drive, Munguia intercepted Devine junior quarterback Brady Hackebeil and ran it back almost half the field for the pick-six. Raymondville junior quarterback Jayson Cantu ran for the successful two-point conversion, making it a 21-20 game with 5:45 remaining in the first half.
Raymondville’s sideline and large crowd were raucous as the Bearkats turned the game around, but the change in momentum didn’t stop the Warhorses. Devine senior return man Mason Burford took the kickoff almost 70 yards for a touchdown.
The Bearkats opened up the field on the next drive, and Cantu connected with Armendarez after a shifty move to beat tight coverage for a well-thrown 71-yard passing touchdown. Cantu again rushed for the two-point conversion, and the game was tied at 28 at halftime.
“My thing was, as a defensive coordinator, I said, ‘Hey, all we’re doing is not aligning right. Let’s settle down,’” Cantu said. “Once we settled down we did a better job, but then they returned the kickoff for a touchdown. They made adjustments and so did we, and at the end of the day our kids just battled and got it done.”
During the second half, it was Raymondville that quickly took control of the game. Senior Justin Smith had a huge return on the opening kickoff to set up a first-play, 18-yard rushing touchdown by Armendarez. Cantu then hit senior Braeden Robles for a 16-yard gain to set up another Armendarez rushing touchdown, this time from 7 yards out. Robles made both PATs to put the Bearkats on top, 42-28 midway through the third quarter.
“We knew that we hadn’t played in a while, so we knew we were going to be rusty,” Armendarez said. “Once we got the alignments, we felt like we could play with them and we started dominating in the second half. We knew we just had to keep on fighting back. We made a big stop last time we played, so I had faith, I always have faith that our team will come together and make that stop.”
Santos and Armendarez, the two top backs in the contest, swapped scores, then Hackebeil found the end zone on a 1-yard carry to make it 48-41 after a blocked PAT. Santos showed his speed again for a 14-yard rushing touchdown to give the Warhorses a chance to tie or take the lead.
Devine faked the PAT and the pass fell incomplete on the two-point attempt, but a penalty against Raymondville gave the Warhorses another shot. Hackebeil rushed to try and give his team the lead, but senior defensive lineman Jaden Brooks made the stop to keep his Bearkats on top, 48-47, with 4:40 to play.
Devine’s defense, led by senior Christian Gerlach, junior Jared Fernandez and junior Peyton Carr, stopped Raymondville to give their offense the ball with 2:43 remaining.
Munguia, Gutierrez and senior trio Arturo Sayas, Dylan Ramirez and Samuel Gomez played well all game, and stepped up to stop Santos and pressure Hackebeil to force incomplete passes and a turnover on downs, sealing the win.
“We started kind of slow, but the coaches did a great job readjusting and aligning us correctly, and we played with our hearts and thanks to God that we came out with the win,” Munguia said. “They’re a good team, they’re a tough team, but we proved we’re the better team today. This is my first game because I was hurt in the other game. It’s just a blessing to be out here and make an impact on the game.”