By LARRY GAGE
Special to the PRESS
Port Isabel’s defense played take-away with the Progreso Red Ants last Friday night. They took the ball away four times in the first half, six total for the night, and won Homecoming, 33-13.
“Our goal was to start out 1-0 in district,” P.I. head coach Monty Stumbaugh said Monday. “The kids played hard and got after it.”
The Red Ants gave it up four times on six first-half possessions and Port Isabel responded with two touchdowns and a field goal. The Tarpons got a field goal after Progreso missed one. After Progreso scored on a five-yard pass in the second quarter, P.I. answered with a touchdown of their own. Tarpon quarterback Omar Silva went in from nine yards out and at the half it was Port Isabel 22, Progreso 7.
The Tarpons did not commit a single turnover.
It was quite a night for Silva. He ran for 199 yards on 25 attempts and scored twice. He completed five of 11 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. On 3rd and 12 at the Progreso 33-yard line he hit Jonathan Garza in stride at the five with a perfect throw and, at the 3:54 mark of the second quarter, the Tarpons were up 16-7.
“I just read the hole and followed my blocks,” Silva said after the game. “I have a great offensive line.” The Tarpons totaled 279 yards rushing on the night.
“Omar had a big night,” Stumbaugh said. “We decided that sometimes we’ll have Omar at quarterback and sometimes at running back. It worked out good for us.”
Javi Hernandez was under center for a few series when Silva shifted to running back, from which position Silva scored on a nine-yard run to give his team a 22-7 halftime lead.
It was pretty good night for Mr. Hernandez also, as he was crowned Homecoming King in a rain-delayed halftime ceremony. “It’s not about one person,” Hernandez said afterwards, as the rain poured down again. “It’s about the whole team – getting the win together.”
Port Isabel got on the board first with a 10-yard TD run by Ivan Gonzalez for a 6-0 first quarter lead. Williams Romero connected on a 24-yard field goal and P.I. led 9-0 at the end of one.
Romero got his second field goal of the night on the first series of the third quarter for a 25-7 lead. Progreso’s Dan Muñoz scored from the one to make it 25-13, P.I. in the fourth. Silva answered less than a minute later with a 50-yard TD dash, ran for two on the conversion, and that was a final, 33-13.
“I just look at the ball and drive through it,” Romero said this week, describing his kicking technique. “Then I let the fans tell me the rest.” Romero scored eight points in the game, including two extra-point kicks.
On defense Raul Villarreal was the leading tackler with nine total stops, including two tackles for loss and a quarterback sack. He also forced and recovered a fumble. Ivan Gonzalez got a sack. Eduardo Gonzalez, Michael Green, and Juan Apango also each recovered a fumble. Ernie Turbiates forced a fumble and Green and Jonathan Garza each grabbed an interception.
The ‘Seawall Defense’ held the Ant’s offense to 175 total yards. It was the fourth time this season that Port Isabel held the opposing offense under 200 yards.
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