If the Rio Hondo Bobcats have done anything consistently during the past three games, it’s been having a strong second half, winning the turnover battle and, of course, winning games.
Against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, the Bobcats trailed 21-14 at halftime before scoring 27 unanswered points and grabbing a 41-21 victory over the Lobos.
Against Zapata, Rio Hondo allowed 242 yards, however, it did not allow any points on their way to an 18-0 win. And more recently, the Bobcats allowed just seven second-half points in a 59-33 victory over Brownsville St. Joseph on Thursday night.
“I don’t know what it is, but we’re just a second-half team,” Rio Hondo coach Rocky James said. “I don’t know if we’re just in better shape than the other teams, or our kids just figure out what is going on and are able to overcome anything that happened in the first half.
“My coaches and the kids have done a good job of adjusting for the second half. We let them know what is going on and how they can fix it, but it’s the kids figuring out what is needed by them.”
Despite finding success in second-half adjustments, the second statistic on which the Bobcats have been vastly superior during their first three games is the turnover ratio. Against their first few opponents, Rio Hondo has come up with an impressive 21 turnovers.
“We had a big night against St. Joe, getting 10 turnovers,” James said. “But we have gotten a lot of turnovers every game, I think the last game (against Zapata) we got six and the one before that we had five, so we’ve been coming up big in the turnover department.”
GROWING RAPIDLY
La Feria Lions coach Oscar Salinas knew the type of offensive weapons he had returning this season, however the defensive ferocity the Lions have shown this year has been a pleasant surprise.
What was supposed to be a young secondary comprised of three juniors and one senior has quickly made a name for itself. Evan Avila, Isaiah Vento, Jaden Torres and OJ Zuniga have all had to grow up in a hurry after having seen limited playing time last season.
“We’ve played really, really well defensively, but our young kids have also responded well,” Salinas said. “All four are brand new. We’ve been bending but we haven’t broken.”
Another spot on defense where the Lions have really played well this season is at the linebacker position. Together, Jacob Garza, Victor Luna and Bobby Fraga have combined for three pick-sixes this season, two from Garza and one from Fraga. In total, the Lions have five interceptions so far this season.
“I think the key has been our linebacker play,” Salinas said. “Our three linebackers that have come back from last year have all been playing really well.”
Garza intercepted one against Raymondville and one Thursday night against Mercedes, and Fraga returned an interception for a TD against Santa Rosa.