By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — The Edinburg Vela Sabercats are enjoying their view from the top.
Positioned at No. 1 in the Rio Grande Valley, the Sabercats protected their ranking for the second straight week of the 2019 season by slipping past the Hanna Golden Eagles 28-27 on Thursday night at Sams Memorial Stadium in non-district action.
It wasn’t easy for the Sabercats in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week.
Vela won despite Hanna attempting a 30-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining that sailed wide left.
Hanna coach Mark Guess still was upbeat about his team even though it lost.
“I’m so proud of our boys for never giving up in the second half (after trailing 14-0 in the first quarter and 28-7 in the second period),” Guess said. “They gave it their all in the second half.
“We went toe-to-toe against the team people say is the best in the Valley,” Guess added. “We had a chance to win it. We’ll grow from this experience.”
The defending District 31-6A champion Sabercats were coming off last week’s 51-46 season-opening road victory against Laredo United, so they’re now 2-0 with a matchup at home against McAllen Memorial to look forward to next week.
Vela coach John Campbell said his team would grow from the experience as well.
“This game was great for the fans and not so much fun for the coaches,” the Vela coach said. “We’re very fortunate to come away with the victory.
“We play the best that we can play for a reason,” Campbell added. “When Coach Guess and I decided to go into this two-game series (over this season and last), it was so the players for both teams could be exposd to this type of environment.
“Win, lose or draw, non-district play is about developing your team. This type of atmosphere and this type of game can only force you to get better.”
Hanna, coming off a season-opening 42-40 loss at McAllen Memorial, fell to 0-2. The defending District 32-6A champion Eagles next play a non-district game at Sams on Sept. 14 against Weslaco East.
Vela, which beat Hanna in Edinburg last year 35-20, built a 14-0 first-quarter lead and was ahead 28-14 at halftime.
During the initial period, Vela’s Kevin McKinney scored on a 1-yard run at the 5:29 mark of the period to make it 7-0. Teammate Matthew Luna returned a Hanna fumble 63 yards to the end zone to up the lead to 14-0 with 2:25 to go in the first quarter.
Hanna pulled to within 14-7 thanks to a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Victor Campos to Ernesto Mendoza with 11:01 showing in the second quarter.
Vela again went up by two TDs when Sabercats defender Joshua Garcia returned a Campos interception 46 yards down the sideline to make it 21-7 with 8:25 to go before halftime.
“We just made too many mistakes in the first half,” Guess said.
It became 28-7 when Kevin Rojas caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Vela QB Anthony Sotelo with 5:44 remaining in the half.
Campos broke loose for a 33-yard scoring run down the left sideline to make it 28-14 with 2:35 left before the break.
Campos threw a 35-yard TD pass to Mendoza with 11:48 showing in the final period to make it 28-21.
The Eagles’ comeback attempt continued when Hanna’s Diego Escovar intercepted a pass by Sotelo early in the fourth period and returned it to the Sabercats’ 26. From there, Campos added a 1-yard TD plunge on a QB keeper with 8:51 left to give the Eagles hope for a comeback win, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Instead of tying the game at 28, the conversion was botched, leaving Hanna down a point at 28-27 and setting the stage for a would-be game-winning field goal during the final seconds.
Campbell was impressed by Campos, who scrambled away from Vela defenders all night.
“The one thing I can tell you is No. 2 (Campos) for Hanna is a very special player,” the Vela coach said.