By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — Port Isabel failed to find its rhythm on offense, and Mercedes took advantage.
The Tigers’ defense forced a few turnovers, and Mercedes topped Port Isabel 6-1 during the controlled session of their scrimmage and 28-7 in live action Friday at Tarpon Stadium.
Port Isabel scored just twice on the night, once in each session. The Tarpons hit on a 13-yard pass play to score a touchdown during the controlled session, and the Port Isabel quarterback scampered for a 19-yard touchdown in the live action part.
“Mercedes has a good football team and had their way with us,” Port Isabel coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “We weren’t physical, we didn’t execute and good teams will exploit you. We had some spurts here and there, but we’ll watch film and I’ll correct it.”
The Tarpons looked good in short bursts, but dropped passes and mental miscues seemed to be their downfall.
Port Isabel didn’t help matters, turning the ball over numerous times, and the Tigers helped themselves. Mercedes scored on five straight drives before the Tarpons got on the board during the controlled session.
“We worked in practice on finishing, starting fast and finishing, and that’s what I saw tonight,” Mercedes coach Roger Adame said. “We had some mistakes last week that I wanted to correct and that was our goal, to continue to improve. I wanted to see how these kids responded, and they did exactly what I want to see.”
Port Isabel finally found the end zone with a 13-yard pass play to cut into the Tigers’ lead, but it didn’t matter after Mercedes scored four times on the ground and added a 15-yard pass for another TD to start the scrimmage with a 5-0 lead.
The Tigers added a 25-yard pass play after that to push the lead back to five during the controlled session.
“They did what they wanted to, but we can learn from it,” Stumbaugh said. “We had a couple stands on defense, but overall I wasn’t pleased. We’re better than that.”
Port Isabel received a 19-yard run from its quarterback for a touchdown to tie the score at 7 after Mercedes scored on its opening drive, a 10-yard run for a touchdown. Mercedes scored three more times, twice on the ground and once through the air during the live action session.
“There were a lot of good plays, but there’s also some mistakes that we got to correct,” Adame said. “We can’t go backwards. If we continue to work hard on the little things, it’s going to turn out right for us.”
It was a frustrating evening for Stumbaugh, who was certain his team wasn’t ready to start the season next week.
“I didn’t see a whole lot right tonight,” he said. “We need to play this game with passion, some heart and desire. We don’t have that right now. We don’t have heart; my teams don’t walk off the field.
“We have a lot of potential, but sometimes a rear-end whooping will change your outlook on life, and that’s what they gave us.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.