La Feria, Tx. – Sometimes, you get beat. Other times, you beat yourself.

Well, both were the case Friday night as Port Isabel let off the gas early and allowed a hungry La Feria Lions team to score fourteen unanswered points in the final six minutes of play and stun the Tarpons, 14-7, in their annual district grudge match.

P.I.’s offense both outgained the Lions in yardage and dominated the time of possession – controlling the ball for over 32 minutes of play – but they failed to convert any of their drives into points following the game’s opening series.

The Tarpon defense played lights out for the first three quarters, holding the Lions scoreless and under 75 yards of total offense – before experiencing a complete meltdown in the final period.

With just under two minutes to play, La Feria’s Noah LeFleur (9 rush 45 yards 1 td) scored a go-ahead rushing touchdown to complete the Lions’ comeback and put a major damper on the Tarpons’ dwindling playoff hopes.

First Half

After a shifty kickoff return by Ivan Medina, Port Isabel (3-5 overall , 2-3 district) started their opening series at their own 32-yard line.

They’d drive 68 yards down the field off a healthy mix of runs, pitches, and quick throws. La Feria had trouble keeping up with the balanced attack as they failed to force a single third down on the Tarpons.

QB Greyson Estes would hit Bryan Ramirez (83 total yards 1 td) in stride on a seam route up the right hash for a 16-yard passing touchdown five minutes into the ballgame.

Estes went 5/6 with 48 yards passing and a completion rate of 83% in the first half. He averaged a throwing distance of 8.9 air yards and a release rate of under three seconds per drop back.

A successful PAT by Ramirez put the tarpons up early, 7-0.

The Seawall defense then made quick work of the Lions’ offense on their opening drive, forcing them to punt in just four plays after DE Jerry Troncoso slammed an L.F. ball carrier into the turf on 3rd-&-short.

On their next defensive series, P.I. held La Feria to only six yards while forcing a three-&-out. Both Troncoso and DT Jahi Vasquez recorded tackles for loss in that span.

To put the Tarpons’ early dominance on defense into perspective, the Lions only ran seven plays of offense in the first half for a total of 27 yards – with over half of those plays going for negative yardage or no gain.

But unfortunately, mental errors combined with a breakdown in offensive strategy would relegate the Tidal Wave offense into no more than a ripple after that first possession.

On its next two series, Port Isabel ran 25 plays: 21 runs, 4 passes – with three of those pass attempts coming on 3rd-&-long.

Logan Bennet hauled in a 10-yard reception from Estes on a drag route to keep the chains moving, and Jesus Ramos ran a couple of crisp out-routes for separate gains of fourteen and twelve yards.

But P.I. lacked discipline by committing four false starts and an illegal motion on those two series alone – they were absolute drive-killers.

So, despite a Grade A performance by their defense, the Tarpons held a thin 7-0 lead over the Lions headed into the halftime break.

Second Half

Port Isabel went on another long, eleven-play drive to open up the third quarter.

But they’d ditch the short routes and attempt to fool the Lions’ Defense with a couple of play-action drop back passes late in the series. Unfortunately, the Tarpons only fooled themselves as both of the antiquated plays ended in big sacks for La Feria.

After Estes was gobbled up in the backfield on 3rd-&-22, the Tarpons were forced to punt with about two minutes remaining in the third.

CB Medina made a clutch stop on the next series as he held on to WR Angel Cantu for dear life after almost missing the tackle. He’d regain his footing and bring down Cantu – with the help of Tristan Green – for a three yard loss on the play.

Michael Finona and Hazzaiah Perdomo would combine for two tackles at the L.O.S. on the following snaps to hold La Feria scoreless as the fourth quarter got underway.

Port Isabel got the ball back and ran it five straight times, including a tough third down gash by Alvaro Rocha (8 rush 49 yards) that saw him carry half of Lions’ defense on his back as he churned his legs for solid yards after contact.

Under extreme pressure, Estes would throw the ball away on 3rd-&-six as another P.I. drive fizzled out at midfield.

For La Feria, That’s all the opening they’d need.

After a near-perfect punt by Ramirez that rolled down to the 5-yard line, the Lions would take over possession with 7:40 remaining in the matchup.

After getting met in the hole by Finona, Perdomo, and Oro Rodriguez for a loss on first down, RB LeFleur would finally break loose and reel off two runs of 10+ yards on the worn-out defense of P.I.

On the next play, QB Jon Sanchez (8/12 156 yards 1 TD) heaved up a bomb to WR Max Saldana in double coverage. He’d adjust to the ball and cradle it in before hitting the Stanky leg and juking out both tarpon defenders. He’d regather his footing and race half the distance of the field and into the endzone – sending La Feria’s sideline into a frenzy.

Looking to knot up the score, the Lions attempted a PAT but had the kick blocked by Jahi Vasquez to preserve the Tarpons’ narrow lead, 7-6 with 5:47 to go as the intensity at Lions Stadium hit peak levels.

Now in crunch time, P.I.’s offense headed on to the field with one goal in mind – just play not to lose?

They rushed the ball three straight times for a total of eight yards – all between the hash marks – and went three-&-out while eating up less than two minutes of the game clock.

La Feria would force a punt and take over at their own 42-yard line with just over four minutes remaining.

They continued to mix up their play calling, attempting three rushes and three passes on the drive.

After a leaping catch by WR Jake Martinez to get the Lions inside the redzone, Head Coach Craig Foster would call on his veteran running back, LeFleur, to finish off the job.

He’d take a handoff out of the shotgun formation off his left tackle before bouncing it out and making a guy miss on his way to a 16-yard touchdown burst to give the Lions their first lead of the game.

On the 2-point conversion, LeFleur would take a Tarpon defender for a ride and find the endzone to put La Feria up 14-7 with only 1:42 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Bryan Ramirez would receive the ensuing kickoff and break tackles on a hard run out to the Tarpons’ 41-yard line, giving Port Isabel a realistic shot at stringing together a game-tying drive.

But four quick incompletions by Estes on never-before-seen pass plays would seal the Tarpons’ fate as the Lions forced a turnover on downs before taking a couple of knees and running out the clock to steal one from the Tarpons late in the ballgame.

Final Score: La Feria 14-7

Port Isabel finished the game with 250 yards of total offense. Ramirez led all rushers with 67 yards, while Angel Dominguez and Jesus Ramos each averaged over 8 yards per carry on limited touches.

Estes finished the game 5/11 through the air for 48 yards with a lone touchdown pass to Ramirez.

La Feria was held to 230 yards of total offense on the evening – with 150+ of those coming in the fourth quarter. They only rushed for 64 yards on 18 carries (3.5 ypc), but the late daggers by LeFleur proved to be enough for the Lions.

What’s Next

Honestly, this was a tough one to digest.

In the last three games combined, P.I. has only scored once in the second half.

Now, if P.I. was just a bad football team, I wouldn’t be as concerned.

But anyways, back to the drawing board.

Wishing y’all a better performance next week, Tarpons.

Kickoff vs. Rockport-Fulton (7-1, 5-0) is set for next Friday at 7p.m. at Pirate Stadium.

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