Through the first half of the season, PSJA High fielded one of the best aerial attacks in the Valley. Nearly three-quarters of its offense came in that fashion, which is why it came as little surprise to coach Lupe Rodriguez that teams would begin to force the Bears to demonstrate a little more versatility.
That’s precisely what happened Thursday, as PSJA High scored two of its four touchdowns on the ground en route to a 28-6 victory over Edinburg High in both teams’ District 31-6A opener at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
Quarterback Myles Lopez accounted for three touchdowns, including one on the ground, as the Bears (4-2 overall, 1-0 in district) opened a 21-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back.
“Myles did a great job of taking care of the football, taking what they give him, just being patient tonight,” Rodriguez said. “He found open receivers and he ran the ball whenever he needed to.
“A lot of teams drop a lot of defenders back and try to take away the pass. So we’ve got to complement that with our runs and force teams to play us.”
Leading up to Thursday’s matchup, PSJA had averaged 323.8 rushing yards per contest and 95.2 yards passing. Trying to strike the right balance has not come without its challenges, given injuries. With Jorge Alanis — the team leader in carries and rushing yards despite sitting out the previous game due to a shoulder injury — sidelined, the Bears turned to another formidable back in Gabriel Ramirez to step in.
Ramirez scored twice during the opening quarter — first on a 4-yard pass from Lopez to make it 14-0, then on a 6-yard run for a 21-6 cushion.
Two scoreless quarters followed before Lopez connected with Aleksander Flores on a 7-yard touchdown for the final margin.
It was a decisive showing for the reigning district champion Bears, who lost to Brownsville Veterans 35-23 in their previous outing before a league-wide bye ahead of the district opener. Following the loss, PSJA dropped from No. 3 to No. 7 in the RGVSports.com Top 10 6A/5A poll.
Rodriguez was encouraged his defense held the opposition scoreless for the third time this season. In fact, the only touchdown the Bears allowed Thursday came on an 89-yard return from Oscar Jasso in which the sophomore running back found the end zone seemingly untouched.
“Defensively, they had a lot to prove, giving up a lot of yardage (lately),” said Rodriguez, whose team yielded a combined 59 points the previous two games. “They were playing with a chip on their shoulder.”
PSJA faces Edinburg Economedes in another short week next week, before taking on Weslaco High, Edinburg North and La Joya High, respectively.
Edinburg (3-3, 0-1), which lost 38-14 to Los Fresnos in Week 5, looks to avoid a three-game skid next week when it takes on La Joya High. Remaining on its district schedule is Edinburg Economedes, Weslaco High and Edinburg North, respectively.