By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Saturday, Jun. 15, Port Isabel (PI) hosted the “Battle at the Bay” State Qualifying Tournament (SQT). The event is one of many SQT’s held throughout the state, and teams that place in the events go on to compete in the Texas State 7-on-7 tournament.
The PI tournament had the following eight teams competing in Pool A: Port Isabel, Raymondville, Rio Hondo and La Grulla, and in Pool B: Yoakum, Hidalgo, La Feria and Kingsville.
The Tarpons got off to a rough start as they lost their first game of the day to the Raymondville Bearkats, 27-14.
In their second game, the Tarpons were matched up with their old nemesis, the Rio Hondo Bobcats. Midway into the game, the Tarpons saw themselves down 21-7 to the Bobcats, as they were unable to capitalize on multiple missed opportunities.
On their next drive, the Tarpons got off to a good start as QB Bryan Martinez connected with Cleveland Smith and Edward Garza for sizeable gains. Unfortunately, the drive stalled at the 16-yard line, and the Tarpons turned the ball over on downs.
The Bobcats wasted no time on their next possession, as they scored on their first play of their next drive with a 45-yard TD reception up the middle. A successful extra point made it RH 28, PI 7.
Not going down without a fight, the Tarpons started making progress after a series of short and mid-range passes. The Tarpons finally punched it in as Garza scored on a 6-yard reception, but Rio Hondo still led 28-13 after a failed extra-point try.
PI’s defense stiffened up as the Bobcats were kept to minimum gains on their next drive. The Bobcats got a break when a short pass to the outside turned into a big gain. Two plays later, PI defender Ty Conaster intercepted the ball in the end zone. He alertly ran the ball back, but he was stopped just shy of scoring as the momentum was now in PI’s favor.
On their next possession, the Tarpons completed a big 42-yard completion from QB Martinez to WR Garza. On the next play, Anthony “Tony” Garcia made a 3-yard TD reception as the Tarpons now trailed 28-21.
Unfortunately, the comeback fell short as time expired, and the Tarpons saw themselves down 0-2 in pool play.
The (1-2) Port Isabel Tarpons finished their day with a win over the (0-3) La Grulla Gators.
Meanwhile, the championship game saw the winner of Pool A, (3-0) Rio Hondo, face off against (3-0) Yoakum, the winner of Pool B. The final game saw Yoakum beat Rio Hondo 26-14, and Yoakum will be advancing to the State 7-on-7 Division II tourney held at College Station, TX, on Jun. 27-29.
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