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Edinburg North was down into the third quarter by 19 points to Los Fresnos on Friday night. But the Falcons got sloppy and turned the ball over four times in the second half and the Cougars took full advantage.
The Cougars completed the comeback with a 33-yard game-winning field goal from senior Diego Sanchez to give Edinburg North a 22-19 victory in the season opener for both teams at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium in Los Fresnos.
Sanchez was clutch, hitting on 3 of 3 with makes from 35 and 44 to go with the game-winner, all in the second half.
PROGRESO 7, BROWNSVILLE PORTER 0: At Brownsville, while each team came close to scoring at various times during the game, the contest turned on a play just before the end of the first half.
Apass by Porter quarterback Frank Alvarado thrown deep downfield was picked off by Progreso’s Danny Munoz, a junior cornerback, and returned 69 yards down the sideline to the end zone.
Ulysis Salinas’ extra-point kick with 26.2 seconds left until intermission gave the Reds Ants a 7-0 advantage that remained intact until the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Progreso QB Dagoberto Zamora was his team’s top rusher with 73 yards on 20 carries.
EDINBURG VELA 56, BROWNSVILLE PACE 21: At Edinburg, the SaberCats scored 42 second-half points as Vela defeated Pace.
As always, quarterback Ebher Lopez was key for the Vela offense.
“Ebher played well,” coach Michael Salinas said. “I thought he did a good job managing the ballgame. … During the second half, we had a great effort on special teams, defense and offense.”
PSJA NORTH 14, PSJA HIGH 7: At Pharr, Nico Jaime returned an interception more than 50 yards for a touchdown as PSJA North’s defense stifled PSJA.
“Our defense played gangbusters all night,” PSJA North offensive coordinator David Duty said. “The defense really kept us in the ballgame and shut down their offense.”
Quarterback George Olivarez, who took most of the reps in North’s new spread offense under first-year coach Jorge Pena, scored a rushing touchdown of about 20 yards with about 2 minutes remaining to give the Raiders the lead.
ROMA 14, LA JOYA HIGH 7: At La Joya, Peter Rodriguez scored two touchdown, including one in the fourth quarter, to lead the Gladiators.
Rodriguez capped off an eight-minute-long drive in the field period to put the finishing touches on their season-opening victory. In the process, three offensive starters for Roma went down with injuries.
“We had a lot of adversity tonight but the kids pulled through,” Roma coach Max Habecker Jr. said. “Our kids came through tonight. They grew up as a team tonight the way they pulled through. They could’ve folded but they didn’t.”
DONNA 28, BROWNSVILLE VETERANS MEMORIAL 24: At Donna, the Redskins, playing without do-everything junior QB Amonte Bowen, rallied to win their season-opener.
LA FERIA 35, DONNA NORTH 13: At La Feria, the Chiefs lost their first varsity football game in program history as the Lions ran away with a season-opening win.
Down 35-0, the Chiefs showed signs of life as David Martinez broke loose on a 79-yard rumble down the visitor’s side of the field, outrunning the entire Lion defense to score the first touchdown in the varsity program’s history.
INGLESIDE 41, RIO GRANDE CITY 14: At Ingleside, the Rattlers gave up 41 points at halftime before shutting out Ingleside in the second half and putting up two scores in their season opener.
“We made too many mistakes,” Rio Grande City coach Carlos Longoria said, emphasizing the 19 dropped balls. “We had too many turnovers. It was inexperience, and we’re young too. We were minus our two starting tackles, our running back, a tight end. We lost an outside linebacker in the Mercedes (scrimmage).
“Even with that, that shouldn’t be excused. We didn’t show up. They jumped all over us. By the time we realized it, we were down.”
SHARYLAND PIONEER 21, HIDALGO 10: At Hidalgo, the Diamondbacks won their first-ever varsity game, thanks in part to Alex Garcia, who rushed for 110 yards on seven carries, scoring two touchdowns in the win.
The speedy running back scored late in the opening half to put Sharyland Pioneer 7-3. The Diamondbacks never looked back.
“It was a good win,” coach Jason Wheeler said. “We made some mistakes. But we played pretty well defensively. It was a good test.
“It’s good for a young team. The kids are excited. We had a lot of things we have to correct. But anytime you can win your first game as a program, that’s a good thing.”
BROWNSVILLE ST. JOSEPH 38, RAYMONDVILLE 34: At Canales Field, the Bloodhounds rallied in the waning moments, erasing a 10-point deficit against the Bearkats.
Kai Money threw five touchdown passes and two 2-point conversions, ran for another 2-point conversion, kicked two extra points and provided the onside kick that led to the game-winning drive.
“I’m glad we got our first game under our belt, and I’m glad it’s a win,” SJA coach Christian Putegnat said. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”
Jorge De La Garza hauled in the winning TD, a 9-yarder, along with a 12-yard TD during the third quarter and a 2-point conversion. Bernie De La Garza, Jorge’s brother, caught TD passes of 9 and 1 yards, and Dave Lateyre added a 58-yard touchdown pass and a 2-point conversion.