By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Emotions were running high as crosstown rivals Harlingen High and Harlingen South faced off in the 28th Bird Bowl, won handily by the Cardinals 27-0.
Each team had one player disqualified during the first half as numerous scuffles broke out and several unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were issued. The Cardinals kept things in check enough to run an efficient offense and dominate defensively to earn the District 32-6A zone win.
“It started getting out of hand a bit, but it’s a game of emotions. Nobody likes to lose, and it’s part of it, unfortunately,” Harlingen High coach Manny Gomez said. “We knew that’s not who we are, so we emphasized that (at halftime), fixed it, and came out and finished the game. They knew we didn’t play our best first half, we left some points on the board. We give credit to South. We have a lot of work to do still, and bottom line is our plan was to be Bird Bowl champions, and that’s how we ended up so we’re super excited and happy.”
Harlingen High senior quarterback Joe Zuniga connected with a number of targets, including tight end Ian Solis and receivers Justin Galvan, Tristan Vasquez and Zach Sauceda to challenge South’s secondary and get downfield.
In red zone situations during the first half, sophomore running back Izaiah Bell took over at quarterback. He scored on two 3-yard rushes and tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Galvan to make it 20-0 in the first half. Kicker Joseph Garza made all PATs on the night, except one he didn’t attempt due to a bobbled hold.
Trailing by three scores, Harlingen South found some momentum on its final drive of the first half. The Hawks reached the red zone for the first time in the half with help from two penalties against the Cardinals.
Junior quarterback Chase Roberts broke off a big run, and then a pass to senior AJ Flores got South to the 20-yard-line. Junior Xander Casarez took over under center, and the Cardinals’ defense held to force a turnover on downs.
Roberts and Casarez shared reps at quarterback during the second half, and they found some success with their legs and with running back Enrique Mabulay. But the offense couldn’t find a tempo to sustain drives after good gains, in part due to a plethora of penalties. The quarterbacks targeted receiver JonAdam Bustamante often, but most passes fell incomplete due to tight coverage and overthrown balls.
“We just had a rough start, penalty wise. Some that were composure related and some that were just anxious, false starts and things like that,” Harlingen South coach Brian Ricci said. “Got terrible field position to start drives. You can’t do that against a good team, and Harlingen’s got a good team, so we put ourselves in a situation that was too hard to get out of. When it’s a big football game you have to find a way to execute even though you’re excited, keep your composure and control those emotions and execute. That’s what we struggled with.”
One of South’s more exciting plays was a fake punt during the fourth quarter. Senior Leo Torres lined up to punt on a long fourth down and instead ran for 16 yards and a first down. A sack by Christian Luna as the Hawks went on fourth-and-1 later in the drive forced a turnover on downs.
The Hawks defense tightened up during the second half and kept Harlingen High off the board until the fourth quarter. Zuniga scored on a 6-yard rush, leaping over defenders at the goal line to make it 27-0.
Harlingen High got into a first-and-goal situation in the third, but senior safety David Cortez, junior linebacker Levi Ince and junior defensive lineman Isaac Torres stepped up to make the stop. Cortez and fellow safety junior Jeremiah Rivera played well for the Hawks. Cortez intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
Cardinals junior defensive tackle Nathan Huerta made his presence known early and often, and manhandled the Hawks’ offensive line all night. He got into the backfield to make tackles on run plays, pressure the quarterbacks and record two sacks.
Luna put together a strong defensive effort as well. He made several tackles and forced a fumble on a sack that Huerta recovered to set up a short field and a Cardinals touchdown.
“It feels great because everybody has been talking smack all week, saying we were going to lose. But we came out victorious, fought to the end and shut them down,” Huerta said. “I felt great tonight. Ever since the first play, I just felt like I was on go. Me and my team were unstoppable tonight. We did our job, we did more than we were asked, and I feel like we still made some mistakes but we have a whole season ahead of us to get better.”