Brownsville Lopez has had chances during non-district to win a football game for the first time since Oct. 23, 2020.
The Lobos lost two shootouts against Edinburg Economedes, 38-35, and Grulla, 35-28. Now, the Lobos begin District 16-5A DI in search for that elusive win.
The offense has produced tremendous numbers under first-year head coach Shaun Tarantola. Brownsville Lopez is averaging 29 points per game and 404 yards per game. Leading the offense is senior quarterback Jacob Cortinas.
Cortinas is completing 65% of his passes with 1,091 yards, 10 touchdowns and only one interception.
The senior quarterback and a group of committed skill players are the reason for the offensive success, Tarantola said.
“Jacob Cortinas has a ton of talent and is really able to expand the things we are able to do offensively,” Tarantola said. “There is a lot of things we are able to do that other teams maybe cannot because of the ability of our quarterback.”
One of the skill players is sophomore Eddie Slovak. The tough running back has 473 rushing yards and 10 TDs, eight on the ground and two from Cortinas’ passes.
Brownsville Lopez (0-4) begins district with undefeated Donna High (4-0).
Donna High is also putting up big numbers on offense this year. The Redskins average nearly 500 yards of offense and 42 points per game, and have plenty of weapons throughout the offense.
The Redskins and Lobos meet at 7:30 p.m. today at Benny LaPrade Stadium in Donna.
Donna North (2-2) travels to Brownsville to take on the Brownsville Pace Vikings (1-3) at 7:30 p.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
The Chiefs have cooled after a 2-0 start to the season. The Vikings picked up their first win of the season against Mission High on the road.
Pace’s Adrian Sauceda and Juan Velez had solid games on the ground for the Vikings. Sauceda rushed for 88 yards on 13 carries and finished with a touchdown. Velez ran for 69 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Rene Salinas rushed for 100 yards, and Brandon Narvaez punched in two touchdowns as the Vikings put up 41 points.
Harlingen South (2-2) and Weslaco East (1-3) threw punches against solid competition in non-district. Class 6A teams were common foes. East took on arguably the best team in the Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg Vela.
The Hawks and Wildcats meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.
Wildcats running back Jay Vasquez leads the team in rushing with 315 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Diego Ortiz leads the team in tackles with 43.
The Hawks went to Brownsville the past two weeks and picked up wins over Hanna and Rivera. Harlingen South only allowed one touchdown in each of those games.