Costly turnovers and mental errors prevented P.I. from capitalizing on early scoring opportunities, while the Edcouch-Elsa offense was able to spread the ball to multiple weapons on its way to a 28-7 victory last night, in an evening filled with as many mistakes as it was mosquitoes.
E-E QB Jason Pena (7/13 passing, 161 total yards, 3td) proved to be a big threat, both on the ground and through the air. He was aided by RB Ayden Mercado (17 rush, 87 yards, 1td), who ran tough all-night vs. a hard-hitting P.I. defense.
After falling behind 7-0 early, the Tarpons hopes were beginning to look bleak following a big hit in the backfield by Jackets’ DT Tiny Verastegui on the first play of their second drive. But on the next snap RB Elijah Alvarez (7 rush, 41 yards) took a handoff up the middle for 10 yards to breathe life into the Tarpons offense.
P.I. ate up the clock and drove 11 plays into the redzone before facing a third-and-9, but a short pass over the middle to Luis Ramos (12 rush, 132 yards, 1td) fell incomplete, bringing up fourth down.
Port Isabel called out the field goal unit, but a 32-yard attempt by Kicker Luis Ulloa pushed wide-left, keeping the Tarpons scoreless as time ran out in the first quarter.
The Yellowjackets were forced to punt on their their next drive, but they attempted a fake run and converted it for a first down.
An offsides against the Tarpons on 3rd & three later in the drive would give the Jackets another fresh set of downs. Two plays later, Pena connected with WR John Amaya (2 rec, 19 yards, 1td) on a post route over the top of the defense for a touchdown to extend E-E’s lead to 14-0.
Bad turned to worse on the Tarpons’ next possession. QB Bryan Martinez (4/13, 21 yards, 1 int.) picked up ten yards on a rollout to the left, but the run play was negated by an illegal blindside block. Facing a 2nd and 20, he dropped back to pass, but was hit hard after releasing the ball. E-E received a roughing-the-passer penalty, and Martinez was sidelined for a short time after being shaken up on the play.
Confusion on the Tarpons’ side would ensue. Port Isabel was flagged multiple times on the drive, including consecutive delay-of-game penalties. Faced with a 4th-and-35, Port Isabel punted the ball away again.
PI was not able to find any sort of rhythm on offense in the first half, getting shutout and only totaling 110 yards.
If they wanted any chance of sneaking back into the game, the Tarpons would need to start the second half off with a bang. That’s when, three plays into the third quarter, Ramos finally found a honey-hole in the Yellowjackets’ defense and gashed them for a 61-yard touchdown run. a successful PAT by Uolla would make the score 14-7, catapulting P.I. within one touchdown of E-E, with 10:45 to go in the third quarter.
But that’s as close as Port Isabel would get. Big plays from the Yellow Jackets offense began to pour in from all over in the second half. E-E had four plays go for 25+ yards, as freshmen WR Mason Villalpondo (4 rush, 26 yards, 1 rec, 34 yards, 1td) came to life to begin the third quarter, scoring on a 34-yard pass-and-catch from Pena to put Edcouch-Elsa ahead 21-7 mid-way through the third quarter.
Port Isabel either turned the ball over or was forced to punt on all its remaining possessions.
Defensively, the Tarpons showed some bright spots, with LB Michael Finona recording multiple tackles for loss in the third quarter while trying to help keep Port Isabel in the game. Sophomore Denzel Garza also recorded a sack in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets would cap off their scoring for the evening with a 26-yard touchdown keeper by QB Pena to put E-E ahead 28-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Port Isabel began to mix up their play-calling after falling behind late, throwing and running out of multiple sets, but it did not translate to much more success.
The Tarpons finished the night with 270 total yards, 249 coming on the ground. Ramos, Alvarez, and Bryan Ramirez (5 rush, 50 yards) led the ground game on a night where P.I. had a tough time getting anything going offensively.
After facing a tough E-E squad, Port Isabel has two weeks to work out the kinks before they begin district play. First up is a contest at home next Friday vs. Roma (3-2). The Gladiators defeated the Pace Vikings on Friday night, 61-21.
*All stats reported are unofficial. Please feel free to email the Port Isabel Times at johnslawnstx@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or corrections.
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