By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Lopez started slowly on offense, but found its way on the shoulders of Ivan Olivo against Mercedes.
The senior running back scored a pair of touchdowns in the first half to give the Lobos a lead that they wouldn’t let go of in a 24-21 win over the Tigers in a District 32-5A game in Week 9 in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week on Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“Coming back from that loss last week, it brought us down,” Olivo said. “We went out there and gave it our all. I couldn’t have done it without my O-line and my receivers to block for me.”
Olivo finished with 135 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as the offensive line gave him the space he needed, and the Lobos’ defense added the pressure. The unit held the Tigers to just 210 yards and finished with seven sacks, an interception and a blocked punt for a touchdown as Lopez (6-2, 4-1) handed Mercedes (4-4, 4-1) its first loss in district play.
“It all started coming to practice and ready to work on Monday,” Lopez coach Jason Starkey said. “Our O-line showed up (Friday and played well). For our defense to come out and play that well (against Mercedes), it’s really encouraging. I couldn’t be more proud of this team victory.”
With Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s win over Porter on Thursday night, there is now a three-way tie at the top of the District 32-5A standings.
The Lopez defense got an interception by Brandon Frausto and then got the Lobos on the board late in the opening quarter. Pinned back inside its own 10-yard line, Mercedes tried to punt but it was blocked and recovered in the end zone by the Lobos’ Josue Lucio to give them a 7-0 lead with 1:30 left in the first.
“We challenged the defense that they were going to have to contribute too,” Olivo said. “They did amazing.”
Lopez extended its advantage to 14-0 after a short Mercedes punt. Olivo found pay dirt after a 23-yard run with 11:03 left in the second quarter.
Mercedes would answer on its next drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Fabian Ledesma with 4:39 left in the second to cut the deficit in half.
The Lobos extended its lead with a 10-yard run by Olivo for another score with 1:15 left in the half and a 21-7 edge at the break.
The second half was just intense. Lopez extended its advantage with 4:13 left in the third quarter after Jose Echavarria hit a 37-yard field goal to go up 24-7.
But Mercedes battled back with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Quarterback Zach Gomez hit Richard Urbina on a 20-yard pass play with 10:51 left to go and later found Matthew Ledesma on a 13-yard strike with 1:27 left to play and trailing 24-21.
“Credit to the Lopez defense, they did a good job out there,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said. “Our guys did what we could on offense moving the ball. Our offense came around, but we needed a few more minutes on the clock.
“It was two good football teams going back and forth.”
Lopez ran down the clock with a big first down run by Olivo and sealed the victory for the Lobos.
Gomez finished 8 of 16 for 110 yards, an interception and two touchdowns and 57 yards on the ground for Mercedes. The Tigers put themselves in tough spots with several penalties and didn’t get enough scoring opportunities because of it.
“I’m proud of the boys, they came out here and fought to the end and gave us a chance to win in the fourth quarter,” Adame said. “We have two games left and I’ve always said 32-5A is a grind every week and anything can happen.
“We want to finish strong, see what happens and go strong into the playoffs.”
For Lopez, it was able to regroup after losing to Brownsville Veterans in Week 8 and put itself in the mix for not only the postseason, but also a district title.
“We set out to win a championship and this puts us in a position where we can control that destiny again,” Starkey said. “What a great game this was. What a great team Mercedes is and how grateful I am to be the leader of this program and get to enjoy such a sweet victory.
“I’m excited, it’s a great day to be a Lobo.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.