KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
CORPUS CHRISTI — The San Benito Greyhounds went toe-to-toe with San Antonio O’Connor on Friday night at Buccaneer Stadium.
Each time the Panthers threw a left hook, the Hounds answered with a right hook.
However, it was O’Connor that laid the final blow and used the dynamic play of quarterback Roel Sanchez en route to a 52-43 win in a Class 6A Division I regional playoff.
The Panthers will meet the winner between Lake Travis and Los Fresnos, which play this afternoon.
“Our kids went out and played their hearts out, and I’m proud of their effort,” said San Benito coach Dan Gomez. “I’ll take the loss. The kids did what we asked them to do and they did it hard.”
Both offenses displayed big-play ability all night. On the Hounds’ opening drive, quarterback Erick Retta hit running back Tyrone Harper on a 49-yard swing pass that gave San Benito an early 7-0. But O’Connor’s offense answered quickly and scored 21 unanswered to take a 21-7 lead.
San Benito showed toughness and resiliency and trailed by one TD at 28-21 at the half.
In the third quarter, O’Connor scored on its opening drive and led 35-21. But the Hounds answered on a quick three-play drive on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Retta to Harper that cut the lead to 35-28 with 8:03 left in the third.
The 10-point swing that shifted the contest in favor of O’Connor came on a third-and-27 play. Already leading by seven, Sanchez hit Jalen Hughes for a 23-yard strike that set up an O’Connor field goal that extended the lead to 38-28.
The big play of the night came from Sanchez, who scored on a 25-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter and pushed the Panthers’ lead to 45-28. It was a lead the Panthers would not give up.
San Benito made a late rally behind Retta, who scored on a 5-yard run that cut the lead back down to 10 points. Once again it was O’Connor’s Sanchez who sealed the win with a late score giving the Panthers a 52-35 lead with under two minutes left in the game.
“I’m proud of my team and its effort,” said Retta, who will graduate this offseason. “It was a great ride and I’m thankful to have been a part of this team. We played our hearts out and tonight was a tough loss, but we showed out.”