By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Pace Vikings’ season came to an end at Hornet Stadium in Corpus Christi after losing to Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 56-27 on Friday.
The Vikings (4-2, 3-1) played better during the second half and scored 21 points against a solid Flour Bluff (9-1, 7-1) defense, but couldn’t overcome a slow start and three turnovers in the Class 5A Division I bi-district contest. The Hornets are moving on to face San Antonio Southside in the area round.
“We had great effort, we never have any problem with that. (Flour Bluff) just made us make some errors, and they kept drives alive when we couldn’t,” Vikings coach Danny Pardo said. “They’re a great team, and you can’t make mistakes and expect to win a game against a team like that. We were able to move the ball here and there, and defensively we slowed down some of their drives. It’s just that we made mistakes, and that’s what did us in.”
Senior quarterback Jose Banda ended his Pace football career with a solid performance. He connected with junior receiver Alexander Agado for a 15-yard touchdown for Pace’s first score in the second quarter, but the PAT was missed, making it 14-6 in favor of Flour Bluff. Banda hit senior receiver Dominick Morales with a 3-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter after a fourth-down conversion kept the drive alive.
Pace scored twice during the final quarter. After the Vikings’ defense forced a turnover on downs, senior running back Marc Garcia took a carry 37 yards to the end zone. Banda added the final Pace score of the night on a 6-yard keeper to make it 49-27.
“(In the second half) we took better care of the ball, made some catches here and there, ran the ball well. If we would’ve done that the whole game, it would’ve been a much closer game than it was,” Pardo added. “Banda played very well, and so did Marc Garcia. Dominick Morales did good. On defense, overall we did OK. They were pretty good offensively, and we just spent a little too much time on the field. It took a toll on us.”
Banda, a three-year starter, headlines a talented senior class that reached the playoffs every year of its high school career. Pardo said it was difficult to say goodbye to the veterans, but he was proud of the way they led the squad — especially through this unique season by making sure their teammates stayed healthy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We thanked them for their leadership, and they did a great job leading this group, to be honest with you,” Pardo said. “It’s pretty hard, some of these seniors have been playing for me for four years, three years. They grow on you, so it’s hard to say goodbye football-wise, but like I always tell them, Pace will always be home whenever they want to come back and visit.”