PHARR —The PSJA North Raiders needed a field goal in overtime to beat the Brownsville Rivera Raiders last Friday.
This week, however, the Raiders left nothing to chance, crushing the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets 35-0 on Thursday at PSJA Stadium.
“Last week we had the jitters,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “We had so many mistakes. We had a bunch of plays that we left out there on the field. This week, we settled in and still left a lot of plays on the field.
“There was a lot of stuff they did to us that we weren’t expecting. They did a great job early and we were having trouble moving the ball, but it was a fun ball game.”
Up 7-0 following an 11-yard touchdown run by the Raiders’ do-it-all athlete, Jack Lugo, PSJA North took possession deep in their own territory with 2:29 left in the half.
Operating out of Kaufmann’s two-minute offense, sophomore quarterback Ale Aparicio went to work, methodically marching the Raiders down the field, going 5 for 6 while passing for 89 yards.
Aparicio capped off the drive with a 25-yard bomb to senior running back Isaac Gonzalez to send the Raiders into the half with a 14-0 lead.
He finished the night with 149 yards through the air for one touchdown, while adding 37 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Senior running back Isaac Gonzalez powered the offense on the ground, carrying the ball 15 times for 110 yards and one touchdown, adding one reception for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Still, it was Lugo stealing the show Thursday, making plays on both sides of the ball, finishing the night with four carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a sack.
“He’s doing a great job,” Kaufmann said. “He’s used to playing defensive end, so he did a good job of getting a pass rush in there. He’s an all-around football player. He’s our slash.”
Lugo helped stifled the Yellow Jackets’ offense, holding them to 140 total yards, including only 50 yards during the second half.
Senior quarterback Brandon Cortez led the Yellow Jackets in yards gained, rushing for 54 yards, while adding 11 yards through the air.
The Raiders opened the game with back-to-back three-and-outs, with the jitters of playing in front of their home crowd evident.
After settling into the game, the Raiders offense erupted, racking up 409 total yards and finding the end zone five times en route to a dominating 35-0 victory.
“It was a jitters thing,” Kaufmann said. “I know these guys played a lot last year, but they didn’t have a crowd. It’s completely different playing with a crowd. The band and everybody screaming, these young guys are looking into the stands. It’s still a work in progress to get them focuses from the opening kickoff.”
Up next, the Yellow Jackets (0-2, 0-0) kick off District 16-5A DII play against Sharyland High (1-0, 0-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission.
Meanwhile, the Raiders (2-0, 0-0) open District 31-6A play against last season’s champion, the Edinburg Vela SaberCats (2-0, 0-0). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.