By EDWARD SEVERN, Special to RGVSports.com
BROWNSVILLE — It was a game of pride for the Brownsville Lopez Lobos and the La Joya Palmview Lobos, and they both played their heart out Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
La Joya Palmview who came out victorious 35-29.
“It feels great, we needed to get back to winning,” Palmview coach Margarito Requenez said. “This is a big win for us tonight. It sets up momentum for next year. I cannot be more proud of my seniors going out and the kids coming in.”
Lopez had some good runs on the opening possession, but the drive stalled and it was forced to punt. A bad snap on the punt gave Palmview good field position, and it went to work with running back AJ Chapa. He ran it in from a couple of yards out to give his team a 7-0 advantage.
Lopez took its next possession deep into Palmview territory only to have it intercepted. Quarterback Jacob Cortinas threw a jump ball in the end zone for his receiver, but Palmview’s Kevin Cantu won the battle.
Lopez’s Andrew Hernandez got the ball back for his team. Hernandez had a big sack on first down and got the fumble recovery a couple of plays later. Hard running by Roel Ramirez set up fullback Omar Cervantes for a short touchdown run, tying the game at 7.
On its next offensive possession, Lopez was staring at a third-and-long at its own 24-yard line, which was no problem for the big arm of Cortinas. Johnathan Munoz beat his man on the deep post and Cortinas found him for a 76-yard touchdown to give Lopez a 13-7 lead.
Palmview responded, though, and quarterback Christian Reyna found receiver Tony Villarreal behind the defense for a huge gain. On the next play, running back Eddy Pena punched it in from close range to give Palmview a 14-13 lead going into halftime.
Palmview jumped out to a 28-13 lead during the first few minutes of the second half. A 17-yard touchdown run by Chapa and a sneak by Reyna extended the advantage.
Lopez answered on its next drive as Cortinas found receiver Juan Jaramillo for a 17-yard touchdown. Cervantes converted the 2-point conversion, cutting the lead to 7 with a quarter left to play.
Chapa restored Palmview’s two-score advantage at 35-21 with a short touchdown. Lopez got back within one score with a touchdown pass by Cortinas, adding the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 35-29 with six minutes left in the game.
Lopez needed a stop and got it, taking the ball with 2:30 left. It came down to a fourth down at its own 40-yard line, but Lopez could not convert.
“It has been a battle,” Lopez coach Armando Gutierrez said. “There is a pressure to win in sports, our kids being 0-10 and nothing on the line, but it is a school culture that is on the line, and you know week in and week out our kids and coaches fight. To see everyone fight is just truly special.”
Lopez returns Cortinas next season, as well as some other skill players.
“We feel great with who we got coming back,” Gutierrez said. “We are a senior-heavy team, but we got about a good 16 kids coming back. Coming back, I see us being a little bit more competitive. Kids like him coming back, it sheds a lot of light on the future. It is that silver lining.”