FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
SANTA ROSA — For the sixth consecutive year, the La Feria Lions did what they’ve done for much of the Battle of 506 rivalry: win.
During the past 26 years the Lions have come out on the right side of the score 24 times, and the Warriors have won just twice (1992, 2012).
This meeting was no different.
Avishai Dickerson rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns (from 47 yards and 5 yards), and Dorian Hernandez, Erik Algeria and Bobby Fraga each added one touchdown apiece as the Lions picked up a convincing 38-6 victory over rival Santa Rosa on Friday evening at Warrior Stadium.
With the win, the Lions improved to 2-0 on the season and the Warriors fell to 0-2.
“We played well but we still have a lot of work to do,” La Feria coach Oscar Salinas said. “We have to clean up our penalties, but overall I thought we played a lot cleaner this week than we did last week. It was a tough week for us, rain changed our schedule around, but our kids focused in and when they needed to play and get after it they did a good job.
“For whatever reason, when we play here on this field we just always start off slow and play a little tense and tighter than we should, but after Dickerson had that big run for us we loosened up and started playing.”
Dickerson let his talent do the talking on the field, as the sophomore broke loose for a 47-yard touchdown with 2:26 remaining in the first. The TD was the first of two for Dickerson, and it was offensive spark the Lions needed to get going.
“This is a big game that’s been played for a long time,” a modest Dickerson said. “All I could think about was getting into the end zone.”
The sophomore running back scored his second TD just before the half.
Another player with a good outing was starting quarterback Dorian Hernandez. The junior missed last week’s game against the Raymondville Bearkats, but there wasn’t much that was going to keep him out of this one.
“I’ve always dreamt of playing in games like this, and it’s fun having the bragging rights,” Hernandez said. “We started off slow but we huddled up in the sideline and talked about what we had to do. We had to pick up our tempo, dominate and execute on every play, and just go out there and give it 100 percent.
“When No. 28 (Avishai Dickerson) scored, it was a confidence booster and gave us motivation to keep pushing.”
On defense the Lions were almost perfect again. After allowing seven points last week against the Bearkats, La Feria followed it up with another shutdown performance.
“Defensively we’ve had two good games, which is good because we have a lot of young kids,” Salinas said. “Right now our defense is just playing really hard.”
For Santa Rosa, the only bright spot of the evening came in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jose Ruiz found Mike Bermea wide open along the home side to connect for a 43-yard touchdown with 1:52 remaining in the game.
The schedule doesn’t get much easier for the Lions. Next up, La Feria heads five miles east to take on rival Mercedes on Friday before returning home to play host to Port Isabel on Sept. 21.
Santa Rosa jumps from one rivalry to the next. The Warriors head to La Villa to take on the Cardinals in the annual Sugar Bowl before starting the District 16-3A Division II season at Hebbronville.