MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Cardinal defense forced turnovers in the second half and their offense scored quickly and often as they rolled to 45-7 victory over the Brownsville Rivera Raiders on Friday night at Boggus Stadium to open District 32-6A play.
The Harlingen Cardinals had their sluggish moments in the first half, but eventually they took control in the second thanks to big plays on both sides of the ball.
“Rivera always plays hard, but we had a few busts offensively,” Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez said. “I don’t what it was, but we corrected it and you saw what happened the rest of the way. It was a challenge because we know we’re better than a 14-0 halftime lead.
“It was one of the things I challenged the offense with and we got things done.”
The Cardinals (3-1, 1-0) scored 31 second-half points and got in the end zone on four of their final six drives.
Leading the way for Harlingen was the play of quarterback Jesse Castro, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another.
For the Raiders (0-4, 0-1), their offensive struggles continued as the Harlingen defense, sparked by sacks in the first half from Edwin Gasca and Celo Luna, had another solid outing.
“We are still making mistakes, but I like the effort of the kids and what we got is what we got,” said Rivera head coach Tom Chavez. “We played a good Harlingen team, but we have to keep on working. We’re looking forward to our next game and putting this behind us and looking forward; it’s all we can do.”
The Raiders also turned the ball over four times. Two came on fumbles, and two came on Oscar Gonzalez fourth-quarter interceptions from Harlingen’s Robert Castillo and Logan Garza.
“Anytime you can win afootball game at home, it’s special,” Gomez said. “The bottom line is that our team rose to the occassion and finished strong.”
Castro’s long run in the first quarter put Harlingen up, but it was preceded by a three-and-out and followed by a missed 29-yard field goal and a muffed punt. Running back Leo Tienda put the Cardinals up two scores before the half, but fumbled away the ball on the Cards’ first second-half possession on a would-be 15-yard run.
On the ensuing Raiders drive, however, Harlingen’s Sam Gonzalez recovered a Joel Guzmanfumble and the Cards were off to the races.
Castro followed by scoring his second touchdown of the night on a 6-yard run, capping a five-play 1:33 minute drive.
Then, Harlingen continued its run by scoring two more touchdowns on its next three offensive plays. One included a 79-yard run by running back Michael Allen Gonzalez to put the Cards up 28-0.
Rivera scored early in the fourth, ending its nine-quarter drought without a score on a 1-yard QB sneak by Oscar Gonzalez.
The Raiders were set up on that score thanks to a Harlingen penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after disputing a call.
Harlingen’s Travis Barnes popped Rivera running back Angel Tolentino in the back field, forcing the ball to pop loose.
The officials called Tolentino down, forcing the Cardinal sideline to react.
That turned what would’ve been a third-and-four at the Harlingen 9 into a first-and-goal at the Harlingen 5.