The Panthers ran numerous plays while the Greyhounds began slowly out of the gate. In addition, penalty flags seemed to gravitate toward the visitors at breakneck speed. And throw in a bad snap to put the Panthers at point-blank scoring range to the ‘Hounds’ troubles.
Some wondered aloud if the ‘Hounds got caught looking ahead, or if their good vibes had come to an end.
But, as undefeated teams often do, San Benito dug deep, righted the ship, and sprinted to 9-0 with a 27-7 win over the Panthers at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
The win puts the ‘Hounds (9-0, 6-0, District 32-6A) for the moment atop the district, a half-game on Harlingen, which plays at Sams Stadium against Hanna tonight. Should the Cards win, it sets up an all-or-nothing Battle of the Arroyo at Boggus Stadium next week with the district crown at stake.
However, San Benito coach Dan Gomez wasn’t thinking of next week. He was simply proud of how his squad responded to a feisty Weslaco team (5-4, 3-3) after the less-than-desired start.
“We just told the kids, ‘Don’t let the moment get to you’ It’s not just the other team, per se, but it was the moment, with all the penalties and mistakes,” Gomez said of his team’s talk at intermission. “At no point in time did we not think it was going to be a battle (against Weslaco).”
A battle it was, as the Panthers and namely their swift defense, came out to play.
Weslaco began the game with a 12-play, six-minute drive that stalled out on downs at the Greyhound 35. San Benito, meanwhile, was flagged three times on its first five plays and punted. Justice Free and the Panther stoppers made several impressive stops on the drive.
Later, the Panthers then marched as far as the Greyhound 18, but missed a field goal. But again, San Benito again sputtered, and made its biggest mistake of the night. On fourth down, a snap was mishandled and set up Weslaco at the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Michael Martin crashed in to give the Panthers a 7-0 edge with 9:57 left in the second quarter.
Another penalty on the kickoff put the ‘Hounds at their own 6. But War Dog responded, ultimately marching 94 yards and tying the game on a 29-yard pass from Erick Retta to Isaiah Trevino. Big passes to Trevino, Rene Garcia and Jesse Pena set up the score. Garcia was clutch all night, hauling in seven passes for 101 yards.
With a game deadlocked at half for the first time all season, it was gut check time for San Benito. After trading third-quarter punts, the ‘Hounds capitalized on a short field and went up when Retta found Tyler Solis wide open for a 4-yard TD pass and it remained that way until the fourth.
“Our defense did a great job early on and made adjustments at half,” Gomez said. “Our offense made adjustments and was able to put a drive together and score. Anytime you can score, it definitely brings up morale.”
With emotions and the usually-rowdy San Benito fans each high, the defense did its thing, shutting down Weslaco’s run game. Later, Retta found Mars Morales on a 5-yard TD pass and Tyrone Harper wound up putting it on ice with a three-yard score with 3:26 to go.