32-3A vs 31-3A Scores

[Mid80'sTarpon]

La Feria 16 Zapata 21 Final

Lyford 39 Falfurrias 19

Port Isabel 28 Orange-Grove 0 Final

Oh well 2 out of 3 32-3A teams won, unforunately La Feria lost here.

<small>[ November 14, 2003, 10:49 PM: Message edited by: Mid80'sTarpon ]</small>

[Mid80'sTarpon]

Where's Doss and TinyTim?

[Ray_BearKat]

Congrats to PI and Lyford. I thought LF might have some trouble with Zapata this year but all in all a good showing by 32-3A.

[TarponFanInNorthTexas]

I saw this coming. Zapata is a better team that some give them credit for. I knew La Feria would struggle, especially coming off of that big loss to Lyford.

I thought PI would do well because they had a full week of rest, and it obviously helped.

Lyford, they're a lot better than some people think.

Overall, GREAT showing by 32-3A. Keep up the good work and represent 32-3A well Lyford and Port Isabel!

[sinton66]

Which one of you gets Hondo?

[PI-fan]

PI is playing Hondo, Lyford plays the winner of West Oso/Devine

Great game Tarps, man those penalties have been haunting PI all season long. These offsides penalties are caused by the anxious defense, which really goes all out, but at times hurts the team with the penalties. Fixable nonetheless.... that unsportsmanlike - excessive celebrating was an iffy call :rolleyes:
Should've punted right b4 half and try to pin OG down, but the fake punt didnt work and PI almost gave up a TD. Superb Defense once again, keep it up.

[TarponFanInNorthTexas]

PI-fan
[QB]PI is playing Hondo, Lyford plays the winner of West Oso/Devine.QB]Devine won over CC West Oso, so it'll be Lyford vs. Devine.

32-3A vs. 29-3A

[footballgal]

Tarpons shut out Orange Grove
By ROY HESS
The Brownsville Herald

ALICE — Port Isabel’s defense lived up to its "Sea Wall" reputation in the Tarpons’ 28-0 victory over Orange Grove on Friday night in the Class 3A Division II bi-district playoffs.

"They don’t name our defense for nothing," said Yauuchie Hoshino, a senior inside linebacker for the Tarpons. "When we needed to step it up and show people what happens every time someone gets inside the red zone against us, we did."

Orange Grove, the District 32-3A runner-up, drove to the PI 21-, 26-, 23- and 7-yard lines on its last four possessions of the first half and failed to tally a single point.

Boosted by a three-touchdown halftime lead, the end result at Alice’s Memorial Stadium was a decisive victory for the Tarpons, who are intent upon duplicating or surpassing last year’s playoff run to the regional quarterfinals that ended in a 27-24 setback to eventual state champion Bandera.

PI, the District 32-3A co-champion with Lyford, improved to 7-3 on the season, while Orange Grove, making its second straight appearance in the Class 3A playoffs, finished the year at 7-4.

Next up for the Tarpons is an area-round matchup against either Mathis or Hondo. Details for that game are scheduled to be finalized this weekend, possibly as early as today, PI head coach Monty Stumbaugh said.

"Our defense did a heck of a job tonight," Stumbaugh said. "They were on the field a long time and they kept fighting. (Offensively,) we fumbled the ball and had a bunch of penalties, but the whole team rose up and did what we needed to do.

"It was a good start for the playoffs," he added. "We took on a good ballclub and came out and played well. It was a strong defensive effort and we sputtered some on offense, but overall did well. We’re still alive for another week, so hopefully we can get ready for whoever we play, get better and keep on going."

Although the PI offense did not have one of its more consistent outings, the Tarpons scored on their second and third possessions to establish the tone for the game with a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

A fumble recovery by Tarpon middle linebacker Frankie Herrera Jr. on Orange Grove’s first play gave PI the ball at the Bulldog 28-yard line.

Five plays later, tailback Misael "Missile" Iracheta sprinted into the end zone from 13 yards out and Giovanni Gonzalez booted the first of his four extra points to make it 7-0 with 9:25 showing in the opening period.

Minutes later, PI had the ball again and marched 64 yards in five plays with Iracheta getting his second TD on a 15-yard burst around right end with 5:39 remaining in the quarter.

On the first play of the game, Iracheta went 40 yards to take some of the enthusiasm out of the Orange Grove crowd. He finished with a game-high 147 yards rushing on 15 carries.

"We’re a pretty fast team and our line did an excellent job of blocking," Iracheta said. "They opened up the hole and I just ran the ball. That first carry turned out to be a pretty good run.

"I was glad that we were able to score those touchdowns early so we could have the momentum and not have our backs against the wall," he added.

Just when the Bulldogs appeared to be getting on track and threatening to narrow PI’s 14-0 lead, an errant option pitch by Orange Grove quarterback Percy Akins was scooped up by Herrera and returned 66 yards for a touchdown to basically put the contest out of reach 21-0 with 6:55 to go until intermission.

"I was just trying to pick up the ball," Herrera said. "I stumbled around and kind of missed it a couple of times, but after I got it, I think only one of their guys got a hand on me. I was just looking forward to getting a touchdown."

The Tarpons tallied their final touchdown by driving 67 yards in seven plays in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Gabriel Alvarez followed the surge of his line over the goal line from 1-yard out to make it 28-0 with 6:07 remaining after Gonzalez’s kick.

The Tarpons rushed for 199 yards and passed for 117 for a total offense of 316. They hurt themselves with 13 penalties for 125 yards, including six flags for holding.

Orange Grove finished with 195 total yards, including 101 on the ground and 94 through the air.

The Bulldogs lost four fumbles and threw an interception into the end zone on the final play of the first half that was picked off by Joe Arevalo.

"PI’s a good football team with a lot of speed," first-year Orange Grove head coach Brent Kornegay said. "We didn’t make the plays when we needed to. We had opportunities when we got down to their 20-yard line and we just didn’t do it. It was just one of those deals.

"They kind of forced us into doing what we did and it’s a credit to them," he added. "Their defense is good and they’ve got a good offense, too.

<small>[ November 15, 2003, 09:10 AM: Message edited by: footballgal ]</small>

[footballgal]

Bulldogs run wild
http://www.valleystar.com/images/uploads/lyford111503.jpg
Christy Espinosa / Valley Morning Star

Lyford running back Johnny Morales runs downfield as a Falfurrias defender closes in during their bi-district game in Mission on Friday night. The Bulldogs won the game, 40-19. By MIKE GONZALEZ
mikeg@valleystar.com
956-421-9874

MISSION — Making the playoffs and winning a district title was obviously not satisfying enough for the Lyford Bulldogs.

Making their first playoff appearance in 12 years, the Bulldogs crushed the Falfurrias Jerseys 40-19 at Mission’s Tom Landry Stadium on Friday night.

Lyford (8-3) was led by the solid play of their defense and the Four Horseman of Eren "Cadillac" Kirksey, Aaron Infante, Omar Cavazos, and Johnny Morales in the running attack.

As a team, the ‘Dogs rushed for 267 yards and had three scores.

The "Cadillac" led the way with 141 yards and two short touchdown runs.

"When we execute and our linemen are blocking, our running game is lethal," Kirksey said.

Morales had a strong performance, rushing for 85 yards and a 9-yard score that gave the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead.

"We did a good job running the ball again," Lyford coach Jaime Infante said. "I just told the kids to go out and execute."

Trailing 19-17 in the third, the ‘Dogs showed no panic and went on to score the last 23 points of the game.

Kirksey’s score with 50 seconds left in the third quarter put Lyford up 25-19, after his two-point conversion.

Then special teams came through for the ‘Dogs when Carlos Rincones intercepted a pass on a Falfurrias (5-6) fake punt at the Lyford 33-yard line with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Then the ‘Dogs took command with the O-line of Heron Lopez, Joey Cepeda, Santos Castillo, J.R. Delgado, and David Rodriguez and marched on an eight-play drive that concluded with a touchdown from quarterback Buddy Montalvo to J.D. Solis from two yards out. That put Lyford up 33-19 with 4:18 left.

After that, the Bulldogs pressured Jersey quarterback Trey Alegria and on third down. Linebacker Arnie Cortez made him pay with an interception that he took 23 yards to paydirt to seal the victory.

"I went out to sack the quarterback, then the other linebacker got him and the ball came to me," Cortez said. "Tonight everybody just came out to play and we were ready."

Falfurrias was led by running back Gumaro Mendoza, who had a game-high 149 yards and touchdowns of one and seven yards.

The Dogs took a 17-7 lead going into the dressing room, but came out flat to start the second half. In their first two possessions, Lyford coughed up the ball and the Jerseys made them pay.

The offensive line started to take command and Mendoza bulldozed his way for his two scores to give Falfurrias its 19-17 lead.

The Dogs now face the winner of Devine in the area round of the playoffs.