Sharyland High quarterback Orly Lopez waited nearly two years to get back onto the field following injuries and obstacles during his sophomore and junior seasons.
After a promising Week 1 debut, which featured Lopez throwing for 231 yards and four touchdowns, he suffered another setback, breaking his clavicle during a Week 2 loss to Brownsville Hanna.
Lopez returned to the field Friday after missing the Rattlers’ past four contests, completing 68.4% of his passes for 146 yards to help his team to a 38-10 victory over crosstown rival Sharyland Pioneer.
The senior signal-caller was clinical during the Rattlers’ first two second-half drives, completing five of six passes for 64 yards, while leading the offense down the field for back-to-back scores.
“He’s our leader,” Krell said. “You’re talking about a kid who’s got great leadership ability. The other kids listen to him. The kids work for him. Just having him catching the snaps means a lot to us. He sees the field very well and got us moving in the right direction.”
Despite only three appearances this season, Lopez ranks No. 4 in passing yards in District 16-5A DII, throwing for 499 yards and five touchdowns.
Lopez and the Rattlers (5-2, 4-1) look to continue their district title quest Friday, hitting the road to take on the PSJA Memorial
Wolverines (1-6, 1-4) at PSJA ISD Stadium in Pharr.
SPECIAL TEAMS WEAPON
The Mercedes Tigers have put up points in bunches this season, averaging 47.3 points per game.
As expected, three of the district’s top scorers come from Mercedes, including running back Miguel Jimenez and Tyrell Treviño, both with 54 points scored.
Still, the Tigers’ leading scorer is an unlikely candidate, with junior kicker Diego Hernandez ranking No. 3 in the district with 58 points.
Hernandez hasn’t been called on to kick many field goals, converting both of his attempts on the year. Most of his damage has come after the Tigers score touchdowns, converting 52-of-53 extra points for a near-automatic rate of 98.1%.
Hernandez is on pace to finish with 73 points, more than double his scoring total of 34 from 2020.
IN THE HUNT
The Roma Gladiators and Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets’ playoff hopes were dwindling two weeks ago, both sitting at 1-3 midway through district play.
Both teams have roared back to life following backto- back wins, improving to 3-3, while trailing fourth-place Sharyland Pioneer by just one game for the final playoff berth in District 16-5A DII.
The Gladiators and Yellow Jackets are each led by potent rushing attacks, averaging 322 and 346.6 yards per game on the ground, respectively.
District 16-5A DII’s leading rusher, Joshua Gomez (1,217 rushing yards), powers the Yellow Jackets ground attack, averaging 152.1 yards per contest. Meanwhile, Roma’s backfield tandem of RJ Morales and Isaac Lozano have combined for 1,392 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The Gladiators (4-4, 3-3) get a bye during Week 9, while the Yellow Jackets (3-5, 3-3) take on the Valley View Tigers on Friday at Tiger Stadium in Pharr.
The two teams are scheduled to clash one week later at Benny Layton Memorial Stadium in Edcouch, with a possible playoff berth on the line.