However, the Bulldogs stayed the course and came out with a 25-21 victory Friday night at Bill Plate Stadium.
“I think we had a great start and jumped on them early, and I think they (Hidalgo) did a great job coming back in the second quarter, “ said Lyford head coach Jaime Infante. “I have to give our offensive line a lot of credit. We talked at halftime about coming out and working on our run game in the third and fourth quarter, and we did exactly that.
“I think we controlled the clock and did a great job capitalizing on our run game.”
After Quiroz and Castillo connected on the big play, the junior quarterback scored again on the ensuing possession to give the Pirates an uplifting 14-13 halftime lead.
But homecoming didn’t go the way the home crowd wanted.
After the break, the Bulldogs regained the lead behind a touchdown run from Castro Cordero with 5:16 left in the third.
However, Hidalgo’s Jesus Nino stunned the traveling contingency when he broke through the line and was off to the races as he outpaced the Bulldog defense on a 76-yard touchdown run.
Down 21-19, coach Infante went back to his running game and kept eating at the clock.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games where we’ve been our own worst enemy and its cost us,” said Infante. “We’re young but we’ve had enough games to focus on what we were doing in the second half.
“We came out with a game plan and wanted to run the ball the second half.”
The Bulldogs stuck to the plan and did just that, rushing for over 200 yards on the night. Jaedon Taylor rushed for over 110 yards behind solid block from the offensive line.
The victory gives Lyford (1-4) their first win of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time as the Bulldogs host Santa Rosa in their district opener next week.
The loss puts some pressure on the Pirates (1-5) who travel to Zapata to begin their district schedule.