By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE
PORT ISABEL — It had been a tough season for Port Isabel, but the Tarpons had a chance to earn a playoff spot against West Oso in the fourth quarter on their season finale.
Although Port Isabel erased a halftime deficit and led after three quarters, the Bears seized opportunities over the final 12 minutes of play and held on for a 35-30 victory in a District 16-4A, Division II game Friday night at Tarpon Stadium.
“I thought our guys gave a great effort,” Port Isabel coach Jaime Infante said. “It came down to the team that executed in the end. We came up short, but it surely wasn’t due to lack of effort … the kids played hard.”
Port Isabel (2-7, 1-4 in District 16-4A, Division II) had momentum and a 24-13 lead with 2:59 to play in the third quarter.
But West Oso (6-4, 2-3) turned the tide with three straight scoring drives, including a pair in the fourth quarter to regain a lead it wouldn’t relinquish and seal the game. But more importantly it clinched a postseason berth as the Bears outscored the Tarpons 22-6 down the stretch to hold off the home team in the regular-season finale.
“We’ve been trying to build on not putting your head down and trying to fight,” West Oso coach Pete Guajardo said of his team’s deficit in the second half. “A lot of it was a lack of execution on our part mentally, we were losing focus, then we put it together. We have some good kids and they’ve been working hard and working towards this goal.
“I think the kids decided to not go the other direction and go forward.”
It was a back-and-forth game throughout, but Port Isabel got on the board first. The Tarpons’ defense forced a fumble and the offense turned it in points as senior kicker Jair Prieto hit a 26-yard field goal to give Port Isabel a 3-0 lead with 4:52 left in the opening quarter.
West Oso answered on its next drive with a 2-yard run by senior quarterback Daniel Roberson and a 6-3 lead (after the extra point was blocked) with 2:54 left in the first.
In the second quarter, the Tarpons regained the lead with a 40-yard sprint to the end zone by senior running back Travis Camacho to give Port Isabel a 10-6 edge with 5:55 left in the half.
The Bears would answer again after Roberson found junior receiver Jose Hernandez on a 7-yard strike for a touchdown and a 13-10 advantage with 4:05 left to go in the half and West Oso would hold onto the lead at the break.
Port Isabel opened the second half with a 33-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Jeremy Martinez to take a 17-13 lead with 7:56 to play in the third quarter. The Tarpons extended their lead to 24-13 with 2:59 to play in the third after Martinez hit sophomore running back Bryan Medina on a 23-yard screen pass that went for a touchdown.
The Bears answered just 31 seconds later as Roberson and Hernandez hooked up for another touchdown, this one was a 29-yarder and they added the two-point conversion to pull within 24-21.
In the fourth, junior back Craig Clemons gave West Oso a 28-24 lead after a 2-yard touchdown run with 9:15 to play. The Bears then surprised Port Isabel with an onside kick and recovered it at the Tarpons 33-yard line. West Oso finished the short field with another touchdown, a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by Roberson for a 35-24 lead with 5:05 remaining.
“I thought it swung momentum their way … I thought it was the big play of the game,” Infante said of the onside kick. “I thought we had it, but it got away from us and that’s just the game, those are the breaks of the game.”
The Tarpons weren’t finished as Medina scored on a 5-yard run and pulled Port Isabel within 35-30 after the two-point conversion failed. Port Isabel tried an onside kick of its own, but the Bears grabbed it and ran out the clock.
Martinez finished with 111 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 54 yards passing and a score for the Tarpons. Camacho added 109 yards and a touchdown for the P.I. rushing attack.
Roberson finished with 184 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns and he also ran for 83 yards and two scores for West Oso.
The moment was a long time coming for West Oso.
“I’m proud … I’m happy for the kids, happy for the seniors because they’ve wanted this forever,” Guajardo said. “I talked about what it was going to take and we had adversity throughout the whole year … the kids didn’t quit and they stuck with it.
“They worked and reached this goal. It’s a big step moving forward for us.”
Despite the loss and a tough season, Infante said his team would use this as motivation.
“A tough loss like this in a hard-fought game, these kids learned great lessons from that,” he said. “Those guys coming back learned a lot this year, you definitely take a lot from a game like that.”
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.