By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — After the Weslaco Panther offense secured an 11-point halftime lead over Harlingen South, they spent a lot of the second half on the sidelines.
Still, the Panthers (1-0) bent but didn’t break on defense late and put the clamps on a South (0-1) rally, escaping with a 28-24 Week 1 win Friday night at Boggus Stadium.
The Panthers had an early fumble and a quick three and out to begin the half which changed the game’s momentum, but weathered the storm defensively.
“The fumble, a three-and-out, and a long South drive cooled us off. You have to give some credit to their defense, but a lot of it was that we didn’t have the ball. We had just one drive the entire third quarter,” Weslaco head coach Tony Villarreal said. “Our defense played amazing during the second half and only allowed seven points in the half. We had some chances to put the ball in during the second half and we didn’t, but South’s defense played way better in the second half.”
The Panthers had chances to put the game away in the fourth quarter, but an interception and a fumble by Panther back Brian Guerra into the South end zone gave the Hawks the ball back with a chance to take the lead.
The Hawks controlled the time of possession in the second half and cut a 28-17 lead to just four, but could not take advantage in their three fourth-quarter drives.
“Our guys tried hard and fought to the end, but we have to be able to finish games,” South head coach Lanny Wilson said. “We did a good job defensively in the second half, but we have to be better in the first half. Our guys are trying, but we have problems to fix like everyone else, but we’ll get them fixed and be okay.”
After Troy Jensen gave the Hawks an early 7-0 lead with a 59-yard touchdown pass to receiver Darren Perez, the Panthers got going.
They went on to score touchdowns on their next four possessions.
Usiel Gonzalez scored twice on runs of one and 36 yards, while starting running back Guerra scored on a 51-yard trot and racked up 138 first-half yards.
The Hawks kept it close at half with a 20-yard Fabi Miltos field goal and Jensen’s second touchdown toss of the night, this time a 34-yard pass to Joseph Alonzo in double coverage to make it 28-17 at the half.
South running back Steven Rodriguez had a quiet first half with only seven carries for 37 yards, but picked it up with a strong second half, which included a 7-yard touchdown to cap off an 11-play drive in the third quarter.
“We’re not going to give him the ball all night because he’s our work horse,” Wilson said. “We just have to get better. After the game there are some things you wish you had done differently during the game. We still have to find out what we have and move some people around.”
The Panthers are young on defense, but South’s attempt at a comeback was a welcome challenge for Villarreal’s squad.
“We went into the half with the defense relying on the offense, but in the second half the roles reverse,” he said. “It was really a great situation for our defense to grow up in. It’s a process and we have to just put it all together.”
The Panthers face Donna on the road, while the Hawks play at Edinburg vela. Both kick off at 7:30 p.m.