By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
The Pace Vikings’ winning streak is now five games and counting.
The Vikings captured their fifth straight victory on Thursday night at Sams Memorial Stadium with a 35-14 District 16-5A Division I triumph against the La Joya Palmview Lobos.
Pace improved to 5-1 on the season and 5-0 in conference action. Palmview slipped to 3-3 and 3-2.
Thanks to another standout performance by Pace sophomore quarterback Jose Banda, the Vikings won on a Thursday night at Sams for the third time this season.
The Vikings scored on their first three possessions of the game to build a 21-0 lead going into halftime.
After passing for four touchdowns and rushing for two more scores last week in a 48-32 road win against PSJA Memorial, the Pace sophomore QB passed for three scores and rushed for another tally Thursday against the Lobos. He passed for 168 yards and rushed for 104 yards, including a 51-yard scoring scamper in the second quarter.
“This is my first year (to start at QB on the varsity), and I do feel more comfortable there now after these last of couple games,” Banda said. “It feels amazing (to do well), especially in homecoming week. It’s awesome to play well in front of the home crowd.
“Every single win we get is like a big boost,” he added. “It helps us a lot and gives us more confidence.”
Pace coach Danny Pardo said his offense and defense feed off each other with the standout plays each unit makes during a game like the one against Palmview.
“I think this is the most complete game we’ve played this season,” the second-year Pace coach said. “These guys are figuring out they’re a pretty good team. We got a good effort from both our defense and our offense and they were firing each other up (with each unit’s strong play).
“We’re playing well at just the right time,” he added. “We have to get ready for some big games down the road, beginning with Lopez (on Oct. 19). That’s always a battle for us, and they’ve beaten us the past two years.”
Banda, who completed his first eight passes, threw a 22-yard touchdown strike to Ilijah Solis at the 6:48 mark of the opening quarter to make it 7-0 after Jovany Garcia’s kick.
Banda threw a 9-yard TD pass to Brandon Zapata with 11:09 showing in the second period for a 14-0 edge after another Garcia extra point.
It became 21-0 when Banda broke loose on a scramble and weaved his way 51 yards to the end zone. Garcia’s kick made it 21-0 with 8:51 to go to intermission.
Pace went for it on fourth down from the Palmview 2-yard line with less than a minute left in the half and subsequently surrendered the ball to the Lobos on an incomplete pass.
Carlos Pena returned the second-half kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown for Palmview’s first TD, making it 21-7.
Pace increased the lead to 28-7 thanks to Matthew Cuellar’s 2-yard scoring run up the middle with 8:04 to go in the third period.
After recovering a fumble at the Pace 18, the Lobos tallied their second TD on a 4-yard run by Juan D. Guzman at the 6:15 mark of the final quarter.
A 20-yard TD pass from Banda to Carlos Pulido with 3:49 to go completed the scoring in Pace’s 35-14 victory.
Pace was coming off last week’s 48-32 victory at PSJA Memorial, while Palmview’s most recent game prior to Thursday was a 28-27 overtime win at home last week against PSJA Southwest.
Both the Vikings and Lobos have open dates next week before resuming conference action. Pace next plays Lopez Oct. 19 at Sams, while the Lobos are at PSJA Memorial the same night.
When Palmview and Pace played a non-district game last season, the Lobos won 27-14 in La Joya.