RAYMONDVILLE – Hondo Harris and Ricky Martinez made sure Orange Grove started their district title chase on the a right note helping Orange Grove defeat Raymondville 41-23 Friday night at Burnett stadium.
“We played well,” said Orange Grove head coach Jerry Bomar. “We were open for two weeks, we lost a game we felt like we could have won, our kids had a great two weeks of practice, and we came out to play.”
If the Bulldogs were rusty, they sure didn’t show it.
On the first play of the game Harris connected with Christian Webb for a 72-yard touchdown play that stunned the home crowd and gave Orange Grove the lead with 11:47 left in the first quarter.
However the Bulldogs weren’t done scoring in the first. After putting together a 15-play drive that began at their own 20, Harris scored from four yards out on a quarterback keeper making it 14-0.
After a quick three and out from the Raymondville offense, Harris kept going at the Bearkat defense and nearly scored on a 38-yard scramble before being brought down at the one yard line. Two plays later he made it 20-0.
“We made some mistakes that cost us,” said Raymondville head coach Frank Cantu. “They scored on the very first play, we came out trying to prevent some of that but they had a good game plan.”
Harris finished the night with 209 yards passing form 10 of 15 attempts while teammate Ricky Martinez rushed for 130 yards on 18 carries.
Down 20-7 after the break, the Bearkats showed signs of life on the offensive side of the ball as the explosive Miguel Tristan rushed for 135 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. Teammate Christopher Trevino passed for 160 yards on 9 of 14 attempts.
“We came out in the second half well,” said coach Cantu. “We had three or four stops in a row and we felt like we had momentum coming into the second half, but at the end of the day they scored more and they played better.”
The win gives Orange Grove a 5-1 record overall and 1-0 in district. The bulldogs will host Progreso next week at home.
“They did what they’ve been doing all year long. They’re averaging 40 plus, and they’re throwing the ball well and we were unable to get them out of their rhythm,” said coach Cantu. “We did it in little bits in pieces but we couldn’t do it consistently tonight.”
The loss puts Raymondville at 3-3 overall and 0-1 in district and stay put as they welcome West Oso next week.