RGVSPORTS.com
EDINBURG — Edinburg High found themselves down two touchdowns heading into halftime of their District opener.
A quarterback change sparked a strong second half comeback and Edinburg High beat Edinburg Economedes 28-17 in both teams’ District 31-6A opener on Friday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
“We have always told our kids to never give up,” Edinburg High coach J.J. Leija said. “We depend on each other when times are hard and there are four quarters and that is what pushed these kids. They are starting to believe in each other.”
The Bobcats had been using senior Danny Shawnee and junior Matt Cruz at quarterback. Shawnee started the game under center.
“We made a quarterback change at halftime,” Edinburg High coach J.J. Leija said. “Matt came out on fire in the second half and he helped us get back in rhythm.”
Cruz scored himself and got Antoine Woodard and Raymond Lopez on the board as well.
The Bobcats’ comeback culminated when they had a 21-17 lead with less than one minute left in the fourth.
District 30-6A
McAllen Memorial 49, La Joya Palmview 7: At La Joya, McAllen Memorial returned to familiar form in its district opener. Campbell Speights and Emiliano Cruz both scored twice in the rout.
“We came back and had a pretty good football game tonight,” Mustangs coach Bill Littleton said. “We were pretty much hitting on all cylinders. All phases of the game we were pretty solid in, a good team win tonight.”
Memorial had lost its last two non-district games against San Benito and Los Fresnos
DISTRICT 31-6A
PSJA HIGH 41, PSJA SOUTHWEST 14: At Pharr, the Bears survived an early onslaught by the Javelinas to improve to 4-0, while Southwest dropped to 0-4.
DISTRICT 31-5A
MISSION VETERANS 63, LAREDO CIGARROA 14: At Hidalgo, Mission Veterans hit the gas in third quarter, scoring 35 points to leave Laredo Cigarroa in the dust.
The Patriots (5-0, 3-0) scored in nearly every way imaginable, including a kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore Mikey Garcia and an interception returned for a score by senior Giovanni Grimaldo.
“Gio had the pick six and another interception tonight,” Mission Veterans coach David Gilpin said. “We did it in all three phases. It was our first defensive and special teams touchdowns of the season. The kids responded in the second half after committing some key penalties in the first half.”
SHARYLAND HIGH 45, LAREDO MARTIN 28: At Mission, Laredo Martin entered the night at 1-3, but Sharyland High found itself in a game that may have been too close for comfort before winning.
“We were in a dogfight,” Sharyland High coach Ron Adame said. “We were up 24-7 at halftime and in the second half, they came out and scored on two possessions to make it a three-point game. Thankfully, our boys stayed calm and executed our game plan.”
LAREDO NIXON 36, SHARYLAND PIONEER 14: At Laredo, Sharyland Pioneer dropped its first district game of the year. The Diamondbacks dropped to 2-2 and 1-1 in District 31-5A, while the Mustangs improve to 4-1 and 3-0 in district competition.
District 32-5A
MERCEDES 35, DONNA HIGH 7: At Donna, Mercedes was able to mix run and pass in a win.
Mercedes (3-1, 1-0) QB Marc Ledesma ran for two TDs and threw one to twin brother Matthew.
“We wanted to go in there and be as balanced as we possibly can,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame Jr. said. “We’re going to take what the defense gives us. If we’re able to run the ball and have success, we’re going to stay with it. If we’re able to pass the ball a little bit, then we’ll work that in.”
Non-district
RIO HONDO 33, GRULLA 21: At Rio Grande City, Grulla fell to 3-2 and Rio Hondo brought its record up to 3-1.
MONTE ALTO 27, BENAVIDES 26: At Monte Alto, before the half running back Marcos Oseguera put Monte Alto up 13-6. The Blue Devils used that momentum and went up 27-6 powered by quarterback Joseph Cano.
“It was special for us because it was homecoming,” Monte Alto coach Amos Salas said. “The kids played well, we had some breakdowns, but they overcame it. … At halftime, we talked about getting some momentum before district, and the kids came out and made the stop at the end when we needed it.”