DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Cardinals’ offense had been sputtering in their last couple of outings.
Against Weslaco High two weeks ago, the Cards scored only 13 points and against Weslaco East last Friday they put up 24, but 14 of those came at the very end of the game.
However, on Friday night against Los Fresnos in the Valley Morning Star’s Game of the Week, Big Red got the offensive tuneup it needed and routed the Falcons 56-21.
The win improved the Cards to 6-2 overall and, more importantly, 5-0 in District 32-6A to keep them on pace with undefeated San Benito, who also won on Friday.
“We watched what they (Los Fresnos) did and we exploited their weaknesses tonight,” Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez said after the victory. “I’m extremely excited for these kids and for these parents. Tonight we had an opportunity to celebrate Parent’s Night tonight and we can’t do this without them. Tonight was definitely a team effort.”
Early on, the game remained close as Harlingen opened the contest scoring first but Los Fresnos (4-4, 2-3) immediately answered to knot thing up at 7-7.
The Cardinals pulled ahead 14-7 with 2:54 left in the first quarter after quarterback Jesse Castro scored on a 5-yard romp into the end zone.
Harlingen increased its lead to 21-7 with 7:09 left in the first half after Castro hooked up with Sam Duffy for a jaw-dropping 91-yard score that left the large Los Fresnos contingent completely silenced.
The Falcons, however, battled back and cut the lead to 21-13 after quarterback Mark Mata connected with Nicholas Valencia for a 14-yard TD.
But the Falcons’ joy was once again quelled when on their next possession, the Cards drove the ball 71 yards on 13 plays and finished the series with Castro hitting Kaynon Fuentes for a 6-yard score to put Big Red up 28-13 at the half.
In the second half, the Cards simply took over on both sides of the ball.
After pushing their lead to 35-13 at the 6:36 mark of the third period, the Cards gave up a score as the Falcons cut the lead to 35-21 when Mata hooked up with Mark Rodriguez for a 7-yard TD strike combined with a 2-point conversion pass to Sebastian Gonzales.
But that was all the Cards’ defense would allow as they shut down the Falcons the rest of the way, intercepting Mata twice including a pick-6 with 2:03 remaining in the contest that sealed the deal.
Meanwhile, the offense continued to hum as running back Abel Castaneda scored a 5-yard TD late in the third and backup QB Nathan Martinez scored on a 13-yard scamper with 3:54 left in the game.
“We executed what we had been practicing all week and that’s just great to see,” said Gomez.
WHERE WAS LEO?: Cardinals running back Leo Tienda did start Friday’s game, carrying the ball for 7 yards on the third play of the contest that ended with him leaping over a defender to extend the run. Afterward, he didn’t return.
“It’s a stinger with a slight separation in his shoulder, but it was all preventative. He wanted to come back in, but we were fine so we’ll let him heal and go from there,” said Gomez.
HOUNDS LOOMING LARGE: The Cards have just two games remaining in the regular season. Next Saturday they play at Brownsville Hanna at 2 p.m. then in host San Benito in what could be an all-out war to determine the 32-6A championship.
Gomez said his team is well aware of what lies ahead but is focused on the immediate future.
“We understand what’s ahead of us, but we know that you can’t take care of tomorrow if you don’t take care of today. We just take it a day at a time,” Gomez said.