Kingsville, Tx. – Last night, a group of hogs showed up to play at Javelina Stadium.
Those hogs were the Port Isabel linemen.
The big men up front imposed their will on both sides of the ball as the Tarpons bullied their way to an impressive 37-22 victory over Kingsville King on the road Thursday.
The tidal wave offense racked up nearly 400 yards as they kept the Brahma defense gasping for air, absolutely controlling the line of scrimmage and time of possession. Port Isabel ran a staggering 60+ offensive plays on the evening, with only three of them going for negative yards.
The seawall defense also put on a vintage performance. Coming into Thursday’s contest, King RB Damarius Montgomery had rushed for over 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. Last night, he was relegated to a pedestrian 22 rushing yards on 10 carries.
King QB Isaac Cason (13/24, 268 yards, 2 TD, 1 int.) also had a dreadful evening, being sacked five times at the hands of P.I.’s suffocating pass rush. He also threw a 2nd half interception to LB Edward Garza (5 tackles, 1 FF, 1 int.). LB Michael Finona and DE Larry Lohr each recorded two sacks, while DT Jahi Vasquez gobbled up the quarterback on the Brahma’s final offensive snap to seal the victory for the Tarpons.
Luis Ramos had an historic performance and scored four times throughout the evening, including an 84-yard kickoff return and two receiving touchdowns. He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
First Half
The Brahams received the opening kickoff and were immediately introduced to the seawall defense. After a quick three-&-out King stayed on the field to attempt a run play on 4th-&-inches. RB Montgomery took a handoff up the middle but was met in the hole by DT Jay Valdez and DE Jerry Troncoso and tackled for a loss to give P.I. the ball.
It only took the Tarpons six plays before Ramos punched it in from three yards out to put P.I. up, 7-0 early.
King returned the ensuing kickoff all the way down to the Tarpons two-yard line, before a touchdown-saving tackle by LB Garza. On the next play, RB Montgomery ended up fumbling, allowing an aware Grayson Estes to recover the loose ball and give possession back to Port Isabel at their own 1-yard line.
On King’s next drive QB Cason found a hole in P.I.’s defense while scrambling and took it 34 yards to the house for king’s first points of the evening. They successfully attempted a two-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead with 2:25 to go in the first quarter.
Port Isabel responded with a nine-play drive highlighted by a leaping catch in the flats by RB Elijah Alvarez that put the Tarpons inside the redzone.
RB Alvaro Rocha capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run behind some powerful blocking up front. The score put the Tarpons back on top, 14-8.
Kingsville’s big-play offense looked prepared for a shootout on their next drive when QB Cason dropped back and launched a Hail Mary down the right sideline to WR Julio Pineda for an 85-yard touchdown. King would convert the 2-point conversion to regain the lead, 16-14 with 4:03 to go in the half.
Just as momentum seemed to be slipping away, the Tarpons received a prayer of their own. On the ensuing kickoff, Swiss Army knife Ramos received the ball deep in his own territory and proceeded to juke his way to an 84-yard touchdown return. QB Bryan Martinez (4/10, 113 yards, 2 TD, 1 int.) tacked on the two-point conversion to put P.I. ahead 22-16 with time winding down in the half.
King would string together an 11-play drive to close out the 2nd quarter, moving the ball in large chunks and into the Tarpons’ redzone. On first-&-10 from the 20, Cason dropped back to pass but was obliterated from his blind side by a blitzing LB Finona (8 tackles, 2 sacks). The play killed the Brahmas’ momentum and their drive fizzled, turning the ball over on downs as the first half came to a close.
Second Half
The Tarpons wasted no time in the third quarter. After an inspiring 20-yard run by Garza, QB Martinez dropped back on first-&-10 from the Brahma’s 41-yard line and delivered a deep ball into the hands of Luis Ramos down the left hash for a score, extending P.I.’s lead 29-16 just seconds into the period.
King would score one more time on a 71-yard bomb to WR Christian Flowers but were otherwise held in check by Port Isabel’s front seven. They completely shut down the Brahmas’ rushing attack in the second half, allowing the pass rush to disrupt Cason more and more as the night went on. This led to five sacks and a costly interception by LB Garza late in the game.
The Tarpons would get on the scoreboard one last time with a 31-yard circus catch in the endzone by Ramos in the fourth quarter. It was Martinez’ second touchdown pass of the evening – his third in the last two games as he continues to find his rhythm. The score would put the tarpons up for good, 37-22, mid-way through the fourth quarter.
It was an absolute clinic by Port Isabel’s offensive line. They blew the Brahmas’ d-line off the ball and opened up big holes for Tarpon running backs all night. P.I. ran the ball 49 times for an average of 5.7 yards per carry and left no doubt who the more physical team was. Tarpon offensive lineman last night included Thomas Garcia, Jamil Vasquez, Jeremy Sollozo, Eric Gonzalez, and Jose Alonso. It was a great team effort at all positions.
With the win, Port Isabel is off to a 1-0 start in the competitive district 16-4a division ll. Next week, the Tarpons host a grudge match vs. long-time rival La Feria. The two teams have clashed many times throughout history, most recently in 2024 when the Tarpons lost a heartbreaker on the road, 27-32. Looking at next week’s matchup on paper, it has all the ingredients for an instant classic. Kickoff is set for Friday, October 24 at 7:00pm.
*All stats reported are unofficial. Please feel free to email Jonathan Delgado at johnslawnstx@gmail.com with any comments, questions, or corrections.
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