BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
SAN ANTONIO — The Weslaco High Panthers are back into the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
In their second year under coach Michael Salinas, the Panthers had to fight to top a tough Laredo United team 30-14 on Friday at Dub Farris Stadium in San Antonio in a Class 6A DI Area Round playoff game.
“Our defense has tended to keep us in a lot of games this year,” junior quarterback Jacob Cavazos said. “They did that again in the first half. We told them to trust us in the second half, we were going to come out strong. And we did. Linemen did a hell of job all game long.”
The Panthers dominated the field position battle early, moving the ball with ease, but the first few drives fizzled with punts. United also struggled to get going.
United struck first, in the second quarter. Junior quarterback Wayo Huerta dropped a dime to sophomore receiver Robert Sanchez for a 23-yard touchdown. It was one of just a few mistakes for the Panthers’ defense, which was dominant from start to finish.
“The defense did a great job tonight,” Weslaco coach Michael Salinas said. “I thought they were resilient. I though they bent, but didn’t break. I thought they kept battling. You play an offense like this, and a David Sanchez ballclub, they will get some yards on you. I am just really proud of our guys for keeping them out of the end zone.”
The Panthers were still struggling to find a rhythm on offense and had to punt yet again.
With the offense backed up to a fourth-and-nine from their own 39, the Panthers were in punt formation. As Weslaco junior quarterback Jacob Cavazos received the deep snap for the punt, his eyes remained up field. He saw senior safety Raul Camarena streaking down the middle of the field with no United players in sight. Cavazos launched a bomb Camarena’s way, and the defensive player hauled in the pass.
“I was like I gotta score baby, I gotta score,” Camarena said. “This is what we do it for, for moments like this.”
Camarena beat the return man, and charged into the end zone.
“That was big. (Camarena) has never scored a touchdown in his life. He finally scored in a big-time game,” senior linebacker Seth Sanchez said. “I think it was the turning point, because they scored early, and they were moving the ball. We stopped them a couple times, but they were stopping us too.”
The Panthers have been working on plays all year that have yet to see the light of day. In fact, Camarena knew the play so well, he knew it would work from the first time Weslaco punted.
“There was a lot of space, and (special teams) coach (Roy) Stroman already knew that play was going to be there, from watching film,” Camarena said. “No team has seen our fakes, because we never run it. This was the perfect time to run it, and we executed it.”
“We punted a few times, so we had gotten a look at how they line up,” Salinas said. “We got a nod on the sideline, they asked me if I wanted to run it, and our guys have done a great job of implementing it and studying film, and fortunately it was there.”
The momentum was now fully back with the Panthers. They could feel the energy in the locker room.
“(United) were athletic up front, so we had to make some adjustments at halftime, and figure out how we wanted to do certain things to counter their athleticism,” Salinas said. “I thought we needed to run harder, and we came out in the second half and did that. We grinded out some first downs and we were able to get the points on the board when we needed to.”
To start the second half, United had the ball on second down, when Weslaco senior linebacker Jacob Balli recovered a United fumble and ran it back into the end zone.
That was the first of three third-quarter scores for the Panthers. Once the Panthers got going, United never got back into the game.
Cavazos and senior running back Jeremy Coronado each had rushing touchdowns and senior kicker George Martinez hit a 38-yard field goal to get the Panthers up to 30.
Seth Sanchez made sure the game was over by recording back-to-back sacks and force the Longhorns to give the Panthers the ball back, one last time.
Cavazos took a knee as time expired to seal the win.
“This win means a ton to us as a staff, because of all the work the kids have put in,” Salinas said. “I am extremely proud of them for sticking with it and being resilient. This was a goal we had in mind, so our seniors are leaving a mark.”
And the young man who scored for the first time in his life to lift the Panthers to victory in a pivotal playoff matchup, he had tears in his eyes discussing what this win meant to the Panthers.
“This feels amazing,” Camarena said. “This was the plan, and we executed it the right way. It didn’t go the right way in the first half, but we went into halftime and adjusted the plan, and came out and executed in the second half.
“It means a lot. Me and my brother have come a long way. We are just proud to be here and help our team out, because it is not about us, it is about the team. I’m happy we made the decision to play football, because we were not going to play, but I’m glad the coaches and players welcomed us into the team.”
Weslaco High moves on to face Austin Lake Travis, who defeated San Antonio Madison 56-35, next Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Alamodome, back in San Antonio
“They are a great football team,” Salinas said. “They beat a really good Madison team. So, we are going to have our hands full. But we will work hard this week to get ready and give it our best shot.”