MISSION — After losing a heartbreaker to Brownsville Hanna last week, the Sharyland High Rattlers went into Friday night’s matchup against the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets with one goal in mind — finish the game.
Last week, the Rattlers jumped out to a 20-point lead before the Eagles scored 16 straight points during the final three minutes to complete the comeback victory.
Sharyland found itself in a similar situation Friday, with the Yellow Jackets scoring back-to-back fourth-quarter touchdowns to cut the Rattlers’ lead to three late in the game.
This week, however, the Rattlers made sure to end any comeback hopes, with running back Diego Zavala icing the game with a 9-yard touchdown run with 5:12 left, as the Rattlers won 31-21 in their District 16-5A DII opener Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium.
“We just told them about finishing,” Rattlers head coach Craig Krell said. “We talked about sacrificing for four quarters. This is three weeks in a row that we get a quick start and get leads in the first quarter. But our focus was to make sure we finished.”
Following a field goal by Sharyland High’s Kali Nguma during their opening drive of the second half, the Rattlers’ do-it-all athlete Alan Gonzalez came up with a huge play, intercepting Yellow Jackets quarterback Brandon Cortez.
The Rattlers capitalized off the turnover, handing the ball off to fullback Alan Guerrero seven straight times for 48 yards, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by the bruising full back to give the Rattlers a 24-7 lead.
“When I see him run, I think about when I’d go visit the eighth graders and watching him touch the ball,” Krell said. “Every time he’d touch the ball, he’d run 40 yards downfield. I knew at that point this kid is a tough kid that’s going to run and give us everything he has. He did that again tonight.”
Guerrero finished the night with 164 yards on 21 carries for one touchdown, while adding one catch for 41 yards. Gonzalez added two catches for 20 yards and one touchdown, while coming away with one interception.
Still, the Yellow Jackets battled back, scoring back-to-back touchdowns on an interception return by Luis Hernandez and a 5-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Castillo.
The points proved too little, too late.
“If we want to be in contention for a district title, we have to win the first one,” Krell said about the Rattlers’ district opener. “It’s a lot easier when you’re on top instead of chasing everybody.”
With that, the Rattlers (2-1, 1-0) get a week off before taking on the PSJA Southwest Javelinas on Sept. 24 at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets (0-3, 0-1) host the Javelinas (0-3, 0-1) on Friday at Benny Layton Memorial Stadium in Elsa, with both teams looking to pick up their first win of the season.