Pace struggled during the first half of its game against Donna High but found its rhythm in the second to earn a 17-9 win.
The Vikings aim to continue their success when they face district-rival PSJA Southwest at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Pharr.
Despite its slow start in Week 3, Pace had a strong second-half showing that saw the Vikings find the end zone twice during the past two quarters and leave the Redskins scoreless.
“We needed this win (because) Donna is going to be one of those teams that is going to vie for one of those playoffs spot,” Pace coach Danny Pardo said. “Even though we didn’t play very quick the first half, we played very well the second half, especially defensively.”
At halftime, the Vikings were trailing Donna High 9-3.
The win over the Redskins helped improve the Vikings to a 2-1 overall record and 2-0 in District 16-5A Division I, leaving Donna High 2-1 and 1-1.
Pardo said Pace will have its hands full when it takes on the PSJA Southwest Javelinas this week, but the Vikings will be ready.
“(PSJA Southwest has) been able to move the ball with a lot of teams,” he said. “They have our respect, and we’re going to work as hard as we can to go out there and play this game against them. They’re not as bad as their record indicates. They’re pretty good.”
REGROUPING
The Lopez Lobos were in a fight against the Rio Grande City Rattlers during their Week 2 matchup but, ultimately, fell due to one-too-many offensive errors.
“It was a tough one, tough one for everybody, but when you turn the ball over and make critical mistakes, that’s kind of what happens,” Lobos coach Armando Gutierrez said. “We won’t give up on each other, and we won’t give up on plays.”
On Saturday, the Lobos’ defense delivered as usual. However, the Lopez offense was unable to capitalize on several occasions to hit paydirt as much as it could have.
The Rattlers and Lobos went back and forth throughout the game, trading turnovers, fumbles and touchdowns. Yet, during the last seconds of the game, Lopez was not able to find the end zone from its half of the field.
Lopez has lost two games in a row. Gutierrez said regardless of what the Lopez has faced up to now, the team is ready to overcome any obstacles in front of it.
“That’s part of what football teaches us in life,” he said. “Our boys have that mentality at heart and we’re going to bounce back, so I’m not worried about that.”
The Lobos will aim to turn things around Saturday when they face the Porter Cowboys in the Battle of Southmost at 7 p.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium.
BATTLE-TESTED
This week, Brownsville Veterans Memorial will face PSJA Memorial at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Although both teams suffered losses in Week 2, the Chargers had a strong defensive performance early on in their game against Mission Veterans Memorial. Offensively, however, Brownsville Veterans only mustered 250 yards, 223 passing and 27 rushing.
Both teams went scoreless during the first quarter.
The Chargers’ Damian Maldonado passed the football to Mauricio Garza for a 64-yard gain and the first touchdown for Brownsville Veterans. Liam Longoria did the same with Elijah Masten to put give the Chargers more points during the third, that time for 41 yards.
Longoria once again found the end zone after a 14-yard rush in the final quarter of the game.
MOVING FORWARD
The Porter Cowboys fell 35-27 to the La Joya Palmview Lobos during their Week 2 battle.
Porter led Palmview by three points at halftime but was not able to stop the Lobos’ flurry during the second half.
La Joya Palmview controlled the ball, for the most part, during the second half, eating up the minutes and giving little room for Porter to capitalize on.
The Cowboys are 1-2 overall and 0-2 in district.