By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Rivera started off with promise, but turnovers took away that momentum against Weslaco East.
The Raiders took an early lead, but three interceptions stopped drives in the first half and the Wildcats took advantage in a 62-14 win over Rivera in a District 32-6A game Saturday night in Week 9 at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Rivera defense forced a punt on Weslaco East’s first drive and the offense capitalized with a 71-yard drive, capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nicholas Blanco to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead with 6:52 left in the opening quarter.
“We got some points there on a couple of good plays,” Rivera coach Tom Chavez said. “But we’re having a tough season, no doubt about it, we all know that. We have to keep working. We work hard in practice and they never quit.”
Weslaco East (4-4, 2-3) then scored touchdowns on its next four possessions between the first and second quarters, two of which came after Rivera interceptions, to jump out to a double-digit lead.
Fabian Castro scored on an 11-yard run, Roy Pedraza found pay dirt after a 51-yard burst through the line, JC Vargas found the end zone after a 6-yard run and Freddy Gonzales scored on a 50-yard run to take a 28-7 lead with 8:54 left in the half.
Pedraza got loose later in the second for a 31-yard touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 35-7 advantage at the break.
“All our backs did a good job and our line is coming together,” Weslaco East coach Michael Burget said offering praise to each player and the team’s ground attack.
Blanco started the second half with a scramble and ended up breaking it for 83 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 35-14 with 10:49 left in the third quarter. But the Raiders’ offense was stalled the rest of the way in the district loss.
The quarterback finished with 95 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and threw for 52 yards and three interceptions for Rivera (1-7, 0-5).
Weslaco East continued where it left off in the first half and scored touchdowns on four straight drives to pull away. Vargas scored on a 6-yard run and then threw touchdown passes to Gonzales for 56 yards and Alvaro Medrano for 55 yards. Joshua Zamora scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 9:45 left in the game for the Wildcats to seal their second District 32-6A victory.
“I’m proud of JC stepping in at quarterback and hitting on some big passes,” Burget said. “That’s something we haven’t had. (Saturday) the passing game clicked.”
Weslaco East gained 585 yards, including 441 on the ground in its offensive output against Rivera. Pedraza finished with 138 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and Gonzales ran for 127 yards and a score and caught a 56-yard pass for another touchdown for the Wildcats.
Burget knows Rivera is struggling, but expects it to bounce back.
“My hats off to Rivera. Tom Chavez and his staff does a great job every year,” he said. “We know they’re a little down, but Chavez is one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen in the Valley and he’ll get it fixed. He’s a hell of a guy.”
Chavez is disappointed in the season, but he looks forward to the challenge to make it right.
“It’s getting tough,” he said. “We have to keep on going and finish the season. Do whatever it takes to get it better.”
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.