Zilch. Nada. Zero. Goose egg.

Call it what you want, but Port Isabel’s offense hit a new low vs. the Raymondville Bearkats on Friday night.

Not only were the Tarpons (1-2) shut out – they didn’t even make it inside the redzone, in what became another display of bad clock management and a lack of offensive strategy.

The Seawall Defense held QB Jeffrey LeFevre (14/20, 218 Total yards, 2 TD) just below his usual create-a-player stat line, but the Bearkats’ rushing attack was able to carve out a path for Raymondville all evening. Led by Cejay Orosco (107yd, 3TD), the ground unit alone racked up 234 yards and five scores to help blow out P.I. on the road, 39-0.

First Half

The Tarpon defense started off hot by stripping the ball from Lefevre on the Bearkats’ fourth play from scrimmage.

But P.I. would fail to capitalize on their early fortunes, going three-&-out before getting stuffed behind the L.O.S. on 4th-&-1 to give the ball back to Ray with good starting field position.

After quickly advancing the ball inside the 20, QB LeFevre would get sacked twice in a row – first by Jerry Troncoso and Jahi Vasquez, then by Hazzaiah Perdomo – to force a turnover on downs in a noble effort by the defense.

However, the Tarpons would continue their downward spiral on offense with consecutive three-&-outs on their next three drives.

Following a short punt by Port Isabel, RB Orosco bulldozed a P.I. defender on his way to a 14-yard rushing touchdown, giving Raymondville a 6-0 lead with 2:21 remaining in the first period.

After a fumbled snap by P.I. gave possession back to the Bearkats, Orosco took a first-down handoff and ran straight through Port Isabel’s defense for an untouched, 28-yard score – his second of the evening – to put Ray up 12-0.

Facing a crucial 4th-&-9 on the following series, the Tarpons would opt to call a timeout and talk things over with 6:16 to go in the half.

On the other side of the break, P.I. fooled absolutely nobody in attendance by running a delayed handoff straight up the gut to Michael Finoña to try and convert the improbable fourth down attempt.

After breaking a few tackles, he’d still come up five yards short of the marker to give the ball back to Raymondville with plenty of time – and momentum – on their side.

The Bearkats would move 80 yards down the field with ease before capping off the drive with a 26-yard touchdown strike from QB Lefevre to his brother, Richard LeFevre, in the back of the endzone. The score put Ray up 19-0 with 3:30 to go in the first half.

P.I. responded with seven straight rushing attempts to start their next series, which absolutely diminished the game clock as well as their chances of scoring.

With :25 seconds left before intermission, the Tarpons would have a sudden change of heart and transform into a Hail Mary offense out of nowhere, firing off four [incomplete] deep balls in as many plays to put the cherry on top of a sloppy, uninspired first half.

In retrospect, those incompletions could have been useful earlier in the drive – as a means to stop the clock.

Second Half

Port Isabel either fumbled or punted the ball away on all of its second half possessions, while accumulating only 54 yards of offense.

They attempted two more passes on the evening, resulting in one sack and another long incompletion, respectively.

Raymondville, on the other hand, did not let their foot off the gas pedal as Lefevre, Orosco, and Omar Garcia each added rushing touchdowns in the second half, while the O-line began to impose their will vs. the fatigued Tarpon defense.

By the time it was all said and done, the Bearkats were able to take knees on their final snaps to finally put the Tarpons out of their misery.

Final score: Raymondville 39-0.

Defensively, LB Denzel Garza did provide a spark for P.I. after entering the game in the second half. He finished with five tackles and a forced fumble.

Other defensive leaders included Ryan Cienfuegos (8 tackles), Jerry Troncoso (4 tackles, 1.5 sacks), Alvaro Rocha (4 tackles), Logan Bennett (4 tackles), Michael Finona (3 tackles), Jose Alonso (2 tackles), and freshmen Andy Puente (2 tackles).

Jesus Ramos led all P.I. rushers with 75 yards on an evening where nothing went as intended for the Tarpons. They lost three fumbles and finished the contest with only 204 yards on 42 rushing attempts and 0/5 passing.

Raymondville ended the game with 399 yards of total offense. They kept the seawall defense guessing with a potent mixture of runs, passes, and screens.

RB Orosco went over the century mark for his second straight game, finishing the contest with 107 yards and three touchdowns. QB Lefevre also added 84 yards rushing and a TD.

The last time P.I. got shut out during the regular season was October 26, 2018, in a 48-0 loss to Raymondville.

What’s Next

Next week, The Tarpons begin division play in District 16-4a Division ll. They’ll need to heal up quickly and regroup if they expect to make a push towards the playoffs this season.

First up is Corpus Christi London. The Pirates (1-1) moved up a classification this season after spending the last several years competing in class 3A. Last week, they defeated Beeville Jones, 35-25.

As of this writing, their week 3 score vs. Gonzales has not yet been reported.

Port Isabel still has time to get things right, but it will take more than a few players coming back from injury as the halfway mark for the 2026 season rapidly approaches.

Tune in here next Saturday for your free, in-depth Tarpon football game report (hopefully I’m writing about a big win vs. CC London this time).

Once a Tarpon. Always a Tarpon. Go Big Blue.

All stats reported are unofficial. We welcome any comments, corrections, or questions. Please email us at johnslawnstx@gmail.com