By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On Friday, Oct. 11 (4A) Port Isabel wrapped up their non-district schedule with a game against Brownsville St. Joseph Academy.
The last time the teams met was during the 2021 season with Port Isabel winning big, 54-6. St. Joe was quite aware of their previous loss and was looking for some payback. From the get go, the Bloodhounds put
the pedal to the metal and outmatched Port Isabel, securing a 58-20 win.
St. Joe’s offense took the field first and it didn’t take long for the Bloodhounds’ star player, RB/WR, Claudio Torres to show his prowess at running the ball, as he gained 34 yards on the first play from scrimmage.
On the next play, QB Gavin Cisneros escaped on a 30-yard QB keeper. A few plays later, Cisneros ended up scoring a seven-yard TD run, as the Bloodhounds took a 7-0 lead.
The Tarpons responded with a 13-play scoring drive of their own, capped by a 25-yard touchdown run by Luis Ramos. A missed extra point made it St. Joe seven, Port Isabel six, with 4:27 left in the first
quarter.
On their ensuing drive, St. Joe continued to gain big chunks of yards as they went on an eight-play scoring drive, capped by a one-yard QB keeper by Cisneros and the Bloodhounds now led 14-6. The combination of
Torres and Cisneros was a 1-2 punch that would cause havoc on the Tarpons’ defense all game long.
On the ensuing Tarpons’ drive, RB Michael Finona burst up the middle for a 57-yard run. Two plays later, Ramos scored his second touchdown of the night on a 13-yard TD run. Unfortunately, the Tarpon’s
special teams continued to struggle as they missed another extra point kick, as St. Joe now led 14-12.
On St. Joe’s ensuing drive, Torres eluded several would-be tacklers on his way for a big 43-yard TD run. The Bloodhounds then converted a two-point play to extend their lead to 22-12 with 11:01 left in the second
quarter.
After forcing Port Isabel to punt, St. Joe went on the march again. Torres caught a short pass by Cisneros and turned it into a 59-yard catch-n-run touchdown, as several Tarpon players failed to get a hand on the
elusive player. St. Joe now led 29-12 with five minutes left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, PI’s returnman, Anthony Garcia, had a big return to the 47-yard line. With great field position, the Tarpons went on a four-play scoring drive capped by a one-yard TD run by RB Dylan
Green. The highlight of the drive was a 34-yard run by RB Finona. A successful two-point play by PI made it a 29-20 game.
The Bloodhounds managed to score once more before halftime on a 38-yard QB keeper by Cisneros as St. Joe headed into the locker room with a 36-20 lead.
The Tarpons got off to a bad start in the second half, as they fumbled the ball away twice in back-to-back drives. St. Joe capitalized on the turnovers as Torres scored two more touchdowns as St. Joe now led 51-20.
The Tarpons offense was kept in check the rest of the game, while the Bloodhounds scored once more for a final of 58-20.
This was the first team that was faster than Port Isabel, thus the typical runs to the to the outside that usually go for big gains were quickly shutdown by the Bloodhounds.
The (6-1) Port Isabel Tarpons will have another stiff test on Friday as they take on (6-1) Kingsville King Brahmas at 7 pm. On a side note, King has averaged 52 points/game the last three games.
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