KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — The Porter Cowboys will enter the offseason on a winning note and feeling optimistic about their future.
Junior quarterback Kevin Garcia led the Cowboys with a pair of rushing touchdowns and the defense came up with two key stops to help fuel a 21-14 win over PSJA Southwest in the final game of the regular season in the Rio Grande Valley.
“This is a huge win. They scored and we scored,” Porter coach Carlos Uresti said. “We got down and turned the ball over towards the end, and our defense, they bent but did not break. All the credit to them.”
The Cowboys ended their season on a three-game win streak, finishing 5-5 overall and 4-5 in district. Under Uresti, the Cowboys have shown signs of growth and will return multiple players on both sides of the ball, including Garcia, who will be back at the QB position.
“I have had Kevin since his freshman year, and aside from the last three games (of his freshman year) he has started every game for me since,” Uresti said. “And I have seen him mature throughout the years, and not just this year but these last few years, and he has been a leader for us since his sophomore year, and he is only getting better and is learning how to lead better, and has one more year and I’m excited to have him back.”
With Saturday’s win, this Porter club became the fourth team to record a non-losing record in the 44 years of the program.
“We had a goal in mind, Porter has had three non-losing seasons, and this is the fourth,” Uresti said. “We talked to the seniors about it, and our goal was to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, we are not there, but we finished strong and the kids bought into it and finished strong, and I’m happy for the kids and the seniors.”
Porter broke the scoreless tie in the second quarter with a Garcia touchdown run on the first play of the frame. PSJA Southwest’s Erik Malpica answered with a QB keeper and tied the game at 7.
The second half provided some fireworks. A 34-yard touchdown from Angel Hernandez gave the Javelinas a 14-7 lead.
From there, Porter rallied behind Garcia and the defense. Garcia tied the game with his second rushing score of the night. Brian Foranco followed with the go-ahead touchdown that gave Porter a 21-14 lead with 11:24 left.
PSJA Southwest had two opportunities to tie the score late. The Porter defense came up with a stop on fourth-and-9 with 5:32 left. On the next drive, PSJA Southwest recovered a fumble and had one final drive with 2:42 remaining that ended with a turnover on downs.