PSJA High was inches from a road upset against Corpus Christ Flour Bluff. After going up 21-7 at the half thanks to Trey Guajardo’s two rushing scores and one passing TD, the Flour Bluff Hornets stormed back with 28 unanswered points, eventually prevailing 33-28 on Friday.
The Bears didn’t run for the hills, though. PSJA High shrunk the lead to one possession and came up with a stop to earn a shot for a walk-off win.
A 60-yard drive in the final minute almost had a storybook ending, but instead the result was a cold reminder that every inch counts.
“We drove it all the way to the 1-yard line, and we thought he (Ethan Castillo) had gotten in with time running out, but they called us down at the inch yard line,” PSJA High coach Lupe Rodriguez said.
He knew that a road non-district game against Class 5A powerhouse Flour Bluff, which ended Mission Veterans’ season a year ago, would be a strong test for his group.
“Flour Bluff has had this coaching staff for a long time,” Rodriguez said. “Last year, they went three rounds deep. When I scheduled them, I wanted them to challenge us, and definitely they gave us a challenge.”
BROWNSVILLE LOPEZ 26, McALLEN HIGH 14: At McAllen, Brownsville Lopez came to this side of the Valley and didn’t let McHi come up for air. The Lobos had a 19-0 lead by halftime. The Bulldogs struggled on offense with three sacks, three botched snaps and interceptions in the first half, derailing any chance of staying in the game early.
LA JOYA HIGH 39, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 19: At La Joya, the Coyotes sent a message to their rivals. The originals are back.
Eddie Villarreal started his junior year with a bang. He scored three touchdowns. His understudy, backup Anselmo Davila, also got on the scoreboard as the second unit saw action in the lopsided win.
Quarterback J.R. Rodriguez added a 15-yard passing score.
“It was good that Anselmo (Davila) had a good night running,” Coyotes coach Reuben Farias said. “Instead of having Eddie going going going, we are able to refresh and have another young man that can run the ball and be effective.”
After giving up a kick return touchdown to start the game, the Coyotes tightened up on defense, and their first unit didn’t allow much to the Lobos.
Farias had the chance to get some of La Joya’s depth players into the fold in the win.
“The game started getting out of hand, and we started putting in some of our backups,” Farias said. “We’re trying to look at other kids.”
PSJA NORTH 44, PSJA MEMORIAL 3: At Pharr, the Raiders avenged their loss to the Wolverines from a season ago, this time in non-district play. PSJA North is looking to improve on a 2-8 season in 2017. Coach Marcus Kaufmann’s group was dominant, not allowing a touchdown in the opener.
ROMA 32, RIO GRANDE CITY 31, OT: At Roma, the Gladiators’ new-look offense played well in the annual Starr County Super Bowl.
Senior running back Felix Gomez ran for a touchdown to pace the Gladiators (1-0) in the program’s first win over Rio Grande City (0-1) since 2015.
“Special teams were big for us,” Roma coach Frank Villanueva said. “We had a kickoff return for a touchdown and our punter pinned them deep several times. Our quarterback Jonathan Rios ran the ball tough for us. He gave us some important first downs when we needed them.”
The victory over the Rattlers has significant sentimental value to Villanueva.
“It’s big, because it means beating my alma mater,” Villanueva said. “It felt good to get the first win of the season in Week 1. Last year, we lost a close game to Rio (Grande City), and this year was another nail-biter. Luckily, this went our way. We’ll take it any way we can get it.”
DONNA HIGH 58, DONNA NORTH 6: At Donna, Donna High flexed its muscles in a convincing win over their crosstown rivals from Donna North (0-1).
Donna High led 55-0 at halftime.
“There’s no way you can expect a game like this when you’re playing your rival,” Donna High coach Ramiro Leal said. “The defense played lights out.”
Donna High needed only 23 offensive plays in the first half to score 55 first-half points. Donna also forced five turnovers, including an interception return for a touchdown from senior linebacker Jay P Sandoval. Sandoval also had a fumble recovery and two sacks.
Senior quarterback Ryan Espinoza got the start for Donna High (1-0) at quarterback.
VALLEY VIEW 41, HIDALGO 7: At Hidalgo, the Tigers continued their recent dominance over the Pirates (0-1).
The seniors led the way for Valley View. Quarterback Simon Fernandez threw two touchdown passes and running back Brandon Gonzalez ran for two of his own.
Javier Lopez, who played on offense and defense for the Tigers (1-0), caught one of Fernandez’s touchdown passes and had a 104-yard interception return for a touchdown before the end of the first half.
“That play could have been a touchdown for Hidalgo and make it 21-14, but that made it 27-7 for us,” Valley View coach Elifonzo Esquivel said. “It was a huge turning point for us.”
GRULLA 41, BROWNSVILLE ST. JOSEPH 14: At Rio Grande City, Grulla got off to the perfect start, getting up big early and resting starters at the end.
Senior quarterback Dillen Salinas showed he hasn’t missed a step in his first live game action since his devastating ankle injury last year. He showed no ill effects of the injury, throwing for five touchdown passes at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium.
“You could tell it was Week 1. We had some jitters, and we weren’t as crisp as we wanted to be,” Grulla coach Abel Gonzalez III said. “We got rolling offensively, and the defense played great. They forced several turnovers. They gave us a lot of opportunities, and we didn’t take advantage of all of them, but we took care of enough.”
Senior cornerback Diego Saenz had two interceptions Friday to help get Salinas more time to work on offense.
Salinas found junior Santiago Sifuentes three times for touchdowns, and he sent two more touchdowns to junior receiver Jesse Garza.
“St. Joe’s is a good ballclub,” Gonzalez said. “They are young, but they are good, and they will only get better as the year goes on. They are going to start making some noise later on down the schedule.”
The focus of the Gators now shifts to their next opponents, Raymondville. The Gators meet the Bearkats at 7:30 next Friday in Raymondville.
“Raymondville, they have a few good kids coming back from last year’s strong team,” Gonzalez said. “Their defense is always tough. They gave us some problems last year. A lot of those kids are returning on that side of the ball. I know they are replacing their quarterback, but you know what, I have heard the new kid is good, too. We will start watching film on them tomorrow and breaking it down, but it is always a tough battle with those guys.”
PROGRESO 23, LA VILLA 12: At Progreso, the Red Ants launched the year in style, drawing a big crowd to watch Progreso top La Villa on Friday at Red Ant Stadium.
“It feels like we are on the right track,” Progreso coach Frank Martinez said. “It is a 1-0 record, and we all feel like we want to finish this off tonight and get back to the grind tomorrow morning.”
The Red Ants’ ground game was churning out yards on Friday.
Jose Medrano was the lead rusher for Progreso, and he got into the end zone once.
“I’m pretty sure he broke the 150 mark for tonight,” Martinez said. “He looked pretty good. The O-line did their job.”
Quarterback Josh San Roman, a junior, also scored for Progreso.
For Martinez, the problem wasn’t finding yards, it was finding the end zone.
“We had some good big runs,” Martinez said. “We just couldn’t finish a couple drives. We have some things we still have to work out, but we did what we do best, and that is the run game. We are doing it pretty good right now.”