By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
PHARR — Rivera Raiders senior quarterback Danny Elizondo just keeps stepping up in big moments.
Elizondo threw four touchdown passes, including the game-winner to Oggy Martinez with 40 seconds left in the game, and he ran for three others in a 49-42 victory over the PSJA North Raiders in their Class 6A bi-district matchup Friday night at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
Dylan Montemayor scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give PSJA North its first lead of the game, 42-41 with 1:16 to go in the fourth quarter. But North left too much time on the clock for Elizondo and the Rivera offense.
“With 1:16 left (on the clock), we had to sweat a little,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “I told the team, ‘Our backs are to the wall, we just got to keep on going,’ and these guys never quit.”
Elizondo told the offensive players it was their time to shine.
“Let’s go win it. Let’s go take it. It’s up to us,” he said. “The defense didn’t have its best game, so we had to step it up and back them up this game.”
Elizondo completed 10 of 22 passes for 237 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, and he ran for 177 yards and three scores on 27 carries. Martinez caught four passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns for Rivera.
Rivera had the game under control during the first half despite a back-to-back turnovers.
Elizondo found Edward Rubio on a 9-yard touchdown strike and later found Sammy Orive on a 62-yard catch and run for another score. Elizondo kept the defense honest by sticking to the ground game, and he scored on a 1-yard run right before halftime to give Rivera a 21-7 lead.
PSJA North scored on its first drive during the second quarter, capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by Joey Torres.
The Rivera defense was stout, forcing North into second- and third-and-long situations during the first half. But PSJA North found its offense in the second half.
PSJA North scored a touchdown on three straight possessions — a 2-yard run by Montemayor, a 25-yard run by Torres and a 13-yard run by George Olivarez — during the third quarter to tie the game briefly at 28.
But once again, Elizondo stepped up when Rivera needed him. He hit Martinez on a 16-yard strike for a touchdown late in the third quarter to give Rivera the 35-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
PSJA North tied the game at 35 on its next possession with an 8-yard run by Torres. Elizondo answered with an 8-yard TD run to give Rivera a 41-35 lead after the point-after attempt was missed.
That set up PSJA North’s drive to take the lead, but the defense couldn’t contain Rivera (6-5) on its game winning drive in the victory.
“We got behind, and we had to catch up. It looked like a track meet going back and forth (in the second half),” Chavez said. “Anything could have happened at any time. The boys didn’t stop and never quit.”
Torres led PSJA North (5-6) with 254 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 37 carries, and Olivarez completed 6 of 15 passes for 108 yards. He also ran for 101 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.
Chavez said Elizondo and Edward Rubio were vital to help move the offense down the field during the final drive.
“Whatever we needed to do, we got it done,” he said. “You got to give those guys a lot of credit.”
The Rivera coach was relieved after the team’s sixth straight win, which earned them a spot in the area round.
“We didn’t play our best game,” Chavez said. “But good enough to win the game.”
PSJA North coach Jorge Pena was unavailable for comment.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.