By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
MERCEDES — The Mercedes Tigers won for the fourth time in five District 32-5A outings while clinching a playoff spot Friday at home against the Lopez Lobos.
Mercedes’ 34-7 victory against the Lobos at Tiger Stadium keeps the Tigers (6-2 overall, 4-1 district) just one game behind undefeated 32-5A leader Brownsville Veterans Memorial (7-1, 5-0) in the conference standings and also keeps the Tigers in the hunt for the district title or maybe a share of it.
“We felt both teams really play aggressive defense, so it was going to be a toe-to-toe dogfight against Lopez,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said. “We challenged our defense and the guys really stepped up to the plate tonight and took care of what they needed to do. Offensively, we made some adjustments at halftime and we were able to put some more points on the board (in the final two quarters).
“We feel our guys are playing really good football at the right time,” Adame added. “That’s just what you want from your team. You want them to be playing good football like this towards the end of the season. Hopefully, we still have a chance at the district title, but (at least) we know we’ll be in the playoffs. Goal No. 1 for every program is to clinch a playoff spot, and we did that tonight.”
Lopez slipped to 6-2, 3-2 and suffered its second straight setback, having lost to Brownsville Veterans 35-21 last Saturday.
The Tigers now have topped Pace (61-21), Edcouch-Elsa (34-14) and Lopez in successive weeks since losing at home 24-17 to Brownsville Veterans on Oct. 6.
On Friday, Mercedes led 7-0 at the end of one quarter and 13-0 at intermission. The Tigers were up 27-0 by the end of three periods and led 34-0 before the Lobos scored on a 1-yard run by Jose Echevarria with 1:12 remaining.
For the Tigers, quarterback Marc Ledesma and running back Alex Ramos each scored twice. Ledesma scored on a 1-yard keeper in the second quarter to make it 13-0 and added a 13-yard scoring scamper in the third quarter for a 27-0 lead.
The Tigers’ QB also threw a 14-yard TD pass to twin brother Matthew Ledesma with just 4 seconds left in the opening period for Mercedes’ initial 7-0 score.
Ramos had a 10-yard TD run to cap Mercedes’ opening drive of the second half as the Tigers led 20-0 and then tallied on a 34-yard run with just 16 seconds gone in the final quarter to make it 34-0.
Mercedes finishes the regular season against Porter next Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium and at home against Donna North on Nov. 10.
“I’m a sophomore and it means a lot to me to get a win like this (and clinch a playoff spot),” said Mercedes’ Sunny Vela, a running back who led his team with 72 yards rushing against the Lobos. “Growing up with these guys (my teammates) day in and day out really means a lot.
“Now we’re in the playoffs and it feels very good,” he added.
Lopez plays its final two regular-season games at Sams, going against E-E next Thursday and facing Pace on Nov. 9.