By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This week, the Port Isabel 7on7 team is about to wrap the season up competing in the Brownsville 7on7 league.
In last week’s 7on7 league action, the Tarpons closed out the regular season undefeated and secured the #1 seed in bracket play.
Port Isabel’s first matchup of week four games had them face off against San Benito. An energetic Tarpon team got off to a great start as they jumped out to a 20-12 lead at halftime.
With the second half resuming, San Benito went on the attack. The Greyhounds managed to reach the Tarpons’ 24-yard line, but their drive fizzled as the Tarpons’ defense held strong.
The Tarpons opened their drive with a 28-yard pass play from QB, Bryana Martinez to Logan Bennett. Two plays later, a 13-yard pass play to Grayson Estes put the Tarpons in scoring position. On the next play,
Grayson sealed the deal with a 4-yard touchdown reception. Ryan Cinfuegos caught the ball on the extra point play as PI now led 27-12.
The next Greyhound drive was cut short as PI’s Bryan Ramirez picked off the pass, ending their drive.
Estes rotated in at quarterback to lead the next two drives. In the second drive, Estes connected with Ramirez for a 33-yard pass play. Ramirez then closed out the drive with a 6-yard TD reception. After a successful extra point reception by Miles Moore, the Tarpons lead 34-12. A final throw by the Greyhounds fell incomplete as time expired, and the Tarpons clinched the top seed going into bracket play.
With all the regular season games finished, the top four teams advanced to bracket play.
The second game of the day had the Tarpons go up against the #4 seed, Brownsville Hanna Eagles.
PI QB, Martinez led his team down the field for the touchdown in their opening drive. Edward Garza secured the TD catch, he also had a 13-yard reception prior to the score. A missed extra point play had the Tarpons up 6-0.
Not to be outdone, Hanna responded with a touchdown of their own to make it a 6-6 game. After the Tarpons turned the ball over on downs, the Eagles struck again and took a 12-6 lead with less than two minutes left in the first half.
With time winding down, QB Martinez found Garza for a big 45-yard touchdown reception with 39 seconds remaining. Ramirez secured the extra point completion as the Tarpons headed into halftime with a 13-12 lead.
As the second half resumed, Hanna’s offense scored to take an 18-13 lead.
Port Isabel responded with a touchdown drive of their own as Garza secured a one-handed touchdown catch. The highlight of the drive was a 33-yard reception by Ramirez. The Tarpons reclaimed the lead, 19-18.
Unfortunately, Hanna went on to score 12 unanswered points in their next two drives to seal the win for the Eagles, 30-18.
In the final week of the 7on7 play, Port Isabel will battle Los Fresnos for 3rd place, while Hanna will play San Benito for the championship.
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