By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — Rio Grande City scored early and often, as senior quarterback Mario Garza was sharp and directed the Rattlers to a 40-15 win over Brownsville Porter on Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Rattlers scored on four of their six possessions during the first half.
Rio Grande City’s offense, which has averaged 43 points per game through their first six games, showed why it is one of the Rio Grande Valley’s top offenses.
With the victory, the Rattlers are one win from clinching a playoff berth. The Rattlers play host to Donna High next week.
“We talked about it during our bye week, and we are getting close to making the playoffs,” Rio Grande City coach Leonel Mireles III said. “We have been talking about raising the bar, so it is important for us to be sharp and taking care of business.”
The home run-play came on a 70-yard touchdown run from Angel Galvan that made it 13-0. On the next drive, it took two plays for RGC to sniff paydirt, as Aaron Marroquin hauled in a TD pass from Garza that made it 20-0 Rattlers.
“We work on our offense, and I emphasize it in practice,” Mireles III said. “God-willing, if everything goes right, we will be able to clinch a playoff spot next week, and we need to be sharp in the playoffs.”
Porter’s first score came on a Gabriel Gonzalez rushing touchdown from 3 yards out. During the third quarter, Porter QB Kevin Garcia called his own number on a 17-yard score.
“When you play a well-coached team like Rio Grande City, obviously, they are one of the better teams in the Valley and you can’t start slow against them,” Porter coach Carlos Uresti said. “Unfortunately for us, that is what happened. They came out rolling, and we had to play catchup early on, and that is one thing you don’t want to do against an explosive offense like that.”
With Saturday’s loss, the Cowboys are 1-4 in district play and mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
“We have a lot coming back, which is good, but we are not looking at that yet,” Uresti said. “Right now we want to finish the year strong for the seniors and continue to build for next year.”
Next week, Porter will take on PSJA Memorial, which is winless in district play.
Garza threw two more touchdowns during the second half. Garza hit Artemio Alvarez for a 36-yard score, and later found Marroquin for their second TD of the night.