By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Friday night the (2-2) Port Isabel ECHS Tarpons took to the road as they faced off with the (2-2) Edcouch-Elsa Yellowjackets in a non-district matchup.
The Jackets were coming off a 35-10 loss to Edinburg while the Tarpons were coming off a 61-7 win over Hidalgo. On paper the game looked like a toss-up, but as the game went on, Edcouch-Elsa proved to be the better team.
The Jackets struck first as they went on a 6-play, 58-yard scoring drive as they went up 7-0 in the first quarter. With seconds left in the quarter, Port Isabel managed to reach the Jackets 17-yard line where they attempted a field goal, but it was wide left and the score remained 7-0 in favor of the Jackets.
They Jackets started to find their rhythm as they went on another scoring drive this time for 80 yards as they went up 14-0 with nine minutes left in the second quarter. The highlight of the drive was a 28-yard successful fake punt play that caught the Tarpons off-guard.
On top of having to fight off a tough EE defense, the Tarpon team self-imploded in their next possession as they racked up six penalties in that one drive. They had a blindside block, a delay of game, a holding, a false start, another delay of game, and a substitute infraction call, as they moved themselves back to their own 12-yard line and forced to punt.
Right before halftime, the Tarpons had one of their better drives as they managed to reach EE’s 19-yard line with seconds to spare. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the play off in time to stop the clock and try a field goal, as they had used up all their three timeouts earlier in the game. EE 14, PI 0, at halftime.
As the second half resumed, RB Edward Garza started off the Tarpons’ drive with a nice 13-yard run up the middle. Two plays later, speedster RB Luis Ramos managed to break free for a 56-yard touchdown run as the Tarpons now trailed 14-7.
The Jackets responded with an 8-play scoring drive of their own, capped by 34-yard TD pass play. E-E now led 21-7 with 7:37 left in the third quarter.
Both defenses held firm for a few possessions, until the Jackets went on another 5-play scoring drive which was capped by a 26-yard TD run by the EE QB Jason Pena. Neither team was able to score again as the Jackets won the game 28-7.
Although the Tarpons’ defense made some nice defensive plays, the Jackets’ offense put on some solid scoring drives. Meanwhile, the Tarpons offense struggled more often than not. When not being forced to punt, the Tarpons would take one step forward and two steps back in regards to committing penalties. They simply got outplayed and outcoached.
The Tarpons will be having their spirit week next game when they host the Roma Gladiators at Tarpon Stadium on Friday, October 3 at 7 p,m.
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