By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Friday Night, on August 29 the high school football season got underway for your 4A Port Isabel Tarpons. Their opponent was their old district rival in the 3A Lyford Bulldogs. Last season, the Tarpons picked up a big 30-6 win over the Bulldogs, but this season, Lyford’s defense was ready for the challenge.
The Tarpons started the game from their own 32-yard line, but quickly got flagged for a false start call. PI running back Luis Ramos got those yards back and more after picking up 11 yards on two runs. Later in the drive, the Tarpons attempted a pass, but the defender was called for pass interference, putting the Tarpons at the Bulldogs’ 34-yard line. Unfortunately, the drive soon stalled after as Lyford’s defense took advantage of the Tarpons offensive line miscues.
After the Tarpons’ defense forced the Bulldogs to punt, Port Isabel mounted another promising drive as PI’s RB Bryan Ramirez picked up 26 yards on the first play of the drive. The Tarpons managed to reach the Bulldogs’ 32-yard line, but are unable to recover from a holding call and were forced to punt the ball away.
On Lyford’s next possession, a quick pass to WR Nicholas Torres turned into a big 50-yard gain as PI’s JoJo Martinez finally caught up to Torres making a touchdown-saving tackle. A few plays later, PI’s DE Jerry Troncoso sacked the quarterback forcing Lyford to punt.
Around the middle of the second quarter, the Bulldogs managed to reach the Tarpons’ 3-yard line, but penalties and the Tarpons’ “Seawall Defense” pushed them backwards. Lyford ultimately tried a field goal, but it was unsuccessful as the ball sailed far-wide.
Both defenses were bending but not breaking as the teams headed into the halftime break with the game tied at 0-0.
As the second half got underway, Lyford had a big 33-yard run by RB Justin Reyna. A few plays later, WR Torres caught the ball in the flats and bolted down the field to the Tarpons 2-yard line. On the next play, RB Derek Rosas dived in for the touchdown, but a botched extra point try gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead.
Undeterred, the Tarpons responded with a scoring drive of their own as a 26-yard run by RB Ramos set them up at the Bulldog 7-yard line. Three plays later, RB Eli Alvarez got into the endzone for the touchdown. Unfortunately, the extra point kick was missed as the game was now tied at 6-6.
The defensive battle continued into the fourth quarter. As clock reached zero, the game went into overtime with the score tied at 6-6.
Overtime rules had the team’s starting at their opponents 25-yard line. The Bulldogs’ offense started first and on their first play, RB Reyna got a big 20-yard gain. Two plays later, RB Derek Rosas punched it in for the touchdown. A successful extra point kick gave Lyford a 13-8 lead.
As Port Isabel took its turn from the 25-yard line, they picked up 5 yards on two running plays. On the next play, QB Bryan Martinez dropped back and found an open RB Angel Dominguez for the reception. Dominguez then ran down the sidelines and into the endzone for the 20-yard touchdown pass play.
With the decision to tie the game or try to win the game, head coach, Tony Villarreal decided to go for the two-point play. From the 3-yard line, the ball was set into motion and in a blink of an eye, the Bulldogs’ defensive tackle busted up the middle and got a hand on the PI quarterback, disrupting the play and eventually sacking the QB. Game over. Tarpons lost 13-12.
It was a hard-fought game by both teams. There were a lot of miscues on both sides of the ball. The Tarpons almost had 252 yards of offense to 223 for Lyford, but the Bulldogs seemed to outplay the Tarpons young offensive line too often and ultimately cost PI the game.
Offensive Coordinator Mark Calvillo stated his offense needs to do better and get better. “The penalties hurt us! Can’t have penalties like that we need to fix that with a young offensive line.” Remarked Calvillo. “We have very talented sophomore and Jr class. Just need reps. They are making rookie mistakes but they’re hard workers and will get better really quick.”
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