By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
DONNA — The Pace Vikings won with just 10 seconds to spare.
Tied or trailing the entire game until only 10 seconds remained on the scoreboard, the Vikings came back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter and scored twice in the final 1:19 on a pair of quarterback Randy Aguilar passes to slot receiver Carlos Pulido to defeat Donna North 34-27 Friday night at Bennie LaPrade Stadium.
With the District 32-5A triumph on homecoming night for Donna North, the Vikings (3-4 overall, 2-2 district) now have won two of their last three games while coming off last week’s 61-21 setback at home against Mercedes.
“It was the best feeling ever to help my team,” said Pulido, a junior. “It was incredible.”
Donna North’s Adrian Sanchez gave his team a 27-14 advantage at the 11:44 mark of the fourth quarter by scoring on a 6-yard run.
But the Vikings were just getting started.
Aguilar threw a 56-yard TD pass to wideout Gabriel Zapata with 10:38 left as Pace pulled to within 27-20. It then became 27-26 with 1:19 to go as Pulido caught a 32-yard scoring aerial from Aguilar in the left corner of the end zone. Pace’s try for the two-point conversion failed, so the Vikings still trailed by one point.
One drive earlier, the Vikings had driven to the Donna North 1-yard line only to fumble the ball away. Things looked pretty bleak at that point for Pace.
Yet, behind by one point and with only 1:19 showing on the clock, the Vikings recovered an onside kick and scored seconds later to go ahead for the very first time — with just 10 seconds left to be exact — when Pulido caught a 24-yard scoring pass from Aguilar in the back of the end zone.
Aguilar threw four TD passes on the night — two to Zapata and two to Pulido. Aguilar completed 13 of 19 passes for 271 yards with his four TDs and one interception.
Brandon Zapata caught a two-point conversion pass from Aguilar after the Vikings’ final TD to make it 34-27.
The Vikings overcame four turnovers — three lost fumbles and an interception.
“My blood pressure’s a little high after this one,” Pace coach Danny Pardo said. “But you know what? I’ll take this ugly win instead of a pretty loss anytime.
“Offensively, we know we can move the ball, but defensively, we had some issues,” he added. “We responded better (defensively) near the end. We had some defensive stops at just the right time. This win gives us confidence, and we sure need it.”
Donna North QB Gus Alvarez’s 1-yard keeper put the Chiefs up 7-0 with 7:24 showing in the second quarter, but Pace answered to tie it 7-7 with 4:36 to go before halftime when Zapata scored from 16 yards out on a reverse play going from right to left.
Sergio Canales caught a 26-yard scoring pass from Alvarez with 1:29 remaining before intermission to put the home team up 14-7.
Pace made it 14-14 at halftime when Zapata caught a 27-yard TD pass from Aguilar with only 30 seconds left before the break.
Donna North (1-6, 1-3) was coming off last week’s 38-21 triumph at home against Porter. It was the Chiefs’ first win of the season.
Overshadowed by the loss was a 166-yard rushing performance by Chiefs running back Tony Gomez. He scored on a 42-yard run at the 6:56 mark of the third period to make it 20-14.
District action continues for both squads next week as Pace plays host to Edcouch-Elsa on Thursday and Donna North goes against city rival Donna High on Friday at Bennie LaPrade Stadium.