With San Benito trailing 3-0 and its offense looking for its footing, defensive lineman Matthew Torres returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown to ignite the Greyhounds and send them to a 56-37 win over Laredo Alexander in their Class 6A Division II area-round playoff game at Calallen’s Wildcat Stadium on Friday night.
After the game-changing play, the ‘Hounds (10-2 overall) certainly burned the turf with big plays abound to earn a date with Schertz Clemens next week in the regional round at a site to be determined. The area championship and berth in the third round are the first for San Benito since the iconic team of 2004.
“It’s all about Greyhound Football, being there for each other, and tonight was a perfect example of that,” San Benito head coach Dan Gomez said. “One side of the ball was going while the other was trying to get its footing and then it just got rolling after that.
It’s great for the kids. I tell the kids the trophies are not about the coaches. They’re about them,” Gomez added of the win. “They’re the ones that win them and they (trophies) go in their locker room. We just help ‘em get ‘em and all we wanna do is help our kids succeed.”
Torres set off an eight-turnover (six interceptions) defensive domination by coordinator Mike Mull’s defense. After Torres’ gem with 6:12 left in the first, defensive back Mario Valdez and Carlos Estrada each snagged two sensational picks while Emilio Garza had the other. In addition, John Alvarez was Johnny-On-The-Spot, recovering two fumbles.
“They’ve been tremendous. Early on in the season, we had a young defense and we knew it would take games for them to get experience to get better,” Gomez said. “Our defense rose to the occasion tonight and they both (offense and defense) complemented each other very well along with our special teams.”
With the defense bending, but not breaking against a high-octane Alexander team, San Benito wide receiver Mando Medrano took the baton for the offense and posted a career-high 211 yards and four touchdowns receiving while tossing in a 22-yard TD run for good measure.
After Torres’ gem, Medrano caught the first score, a 39-yarder from quarterback J.R. Gaitan, to give the ‘Hounds a 14-3 edge with 7:21 left before half. Alexander closed to 14-10 before intermission. Sophomore quarterback Zeke Coss attempted 65 passes on the night, going for over 475 yards, however, was under duress for most of the evening.
Early in the third after Valdez’s second INT of the night, Gaitan connected with Medrano for a 24-yard pitch and catch and a 21-10 SB lead with 7:09 in the quarter.
“We’ve had that connection since freshman year. It’s nothing new; it’s like backyard football to us,” Medrano said before being asked if he’s playing his best ball. “I’m getting there. Not yet.”
Scary indeed.
Later, Edward Alvarez ran in a short score while John Alvarez’s second fumble recovery led to Medrano’s TD run for a 35-10 cushion with 3:50 still left in the third.
Garza’s pick set up Medrano’s 66-yard TD bomb early in the fourth. After a Jonathan Gutierrez rushing score, Medrano’s beautiful 57-yard burn of the Bulldogs closed out the scoring and ultimately Alexander.