footballgal
08-28-2004, 09:42 AM
Highway Showdown
Los Fresnos escapes with overtime victory
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/images/uploads/PILF1.jpg
By BUDDY GREEN
Valley Morning Star
PORT ISABEL, August 28, 2004 — When asked earlier in the day by a friend if he wanted to be put in the position to win Friday night’s game against Port Isabel, Los Fresnos’ first-year kicker Pablo Delgadillo said no.
Be careful what you don’t wish for, you may get it.
Thrown into the fire several times, Delgadillo was right on the money.
But none was bigger that his 34-yard field goal in overtime, producing a thrilling 16-13 victory in “The Battle of Highway 100.”
“Pablo was probably our MVP tonight,” said Los Fresnos head coach Scott Ford.
After stopping the Tarpons on their first drive in overtime, the Falcons moved to the 10-yard line. Sophomore tailback Luis Campos picked up four yards on two carries for a third and goal from the six.
Ford elected to go for the winning field goal on third down, but the Tarpnos blocked Delgadillo’s attempt.
However, Los Fresnos holder/quarterback Brandon Kretz recovered the ball and the Falcons had another shot.
“I was thinking if we fumbled the snap or something like that, we’d have another chance,” said Ford. “I was thinking about a block. Brandon made a great play to get back and make the recovery.”
On his second attempt, Delgadillo sent the overflow crowd at Tarpon Stadium home.
“My mind went blank,” said Delgadillo. “My kicking coach told me to just kick it.”
The drama was there, so were several big-time clutch plays, but this season-opener was not without its mistakes.
The Tarpons committed 13 penalties and quarterback Orlando Ochoa was intercepted twice in the end zone.
PI had two deep penetrations early in the game but came up empty.
“That can be expected this early,” said Ford. “We had a couple of turnovers and I made some bad calls. And that’s a good team (PI) over there. There’s a reason they’re ranked third in the Valley. There’s a reason they went to the semifinals last year.”
PI coach Monty Stumbaugh said the mistakes were something that could be corrected.
“The kids played hard,” said Stumbaugh. “They played their tails off. We took a big step forward tonight.
“This one’s on Coach Stumbaugh. I’ll take the blame. The kids played their hearts out.”
Campos rushed for 131 yards on 23 carries and his 55-yard TD run put the Falcons ahead 7-0 with 5:14 left in the half.
PI’s super back Johnny Nieto answered with a 41-yard scoring run to tie the game at halftime. Nieto had 112 yards on 19 carries.
Delgadillo hit a 31-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead in the third.
The Tarpons took the lead with 8:59 left in the game when Ochoa hit Nieto with a 33-yard TD pass on fourth-and-19. Nieto made a great juggling catch between two defenders as he fell into the end zone.
PI, however, missed the extra point, opening the door for Delgadillo’s 30-yard boot that tied the game at 13 with 1:55 left.
The Falcons tying drive was kept alive when Kretz hit Venus Martinez for 25 yards on fourth-and-17.
Martinez had five catches for 87 yards. Kretz was 13-of-30 for 218 yards
Los Fresnos escapes with overtime victory
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/images/uploads/PILF1.jpg
By BUDDY GREEN
Valley Morning Star
PORT ISABEL, August 28, 2004 — When asked earlier in the day by a friend if he wanted to be put in the position to win Friday night’s game against Port Isabel, Los Fresnos’ first-year kicker Pablo Delgadillo said no.
Be careful what you don’t wish for, you may get it.
Thrown into the fire several times, Delgadillo was right on the money.
But none was bigger that his 34-yard field goal in overtime, producing a thrilling 16-13 victory in “The Battle of Highway 100.”
“Pablo was probably our MVP tonight,” said Los Fresnos head coach Scott Ford.
After stopping the Tarpons on their first drive in overtime, the Falcons moved to the 10-yard line. Sophomore tailback Luis Campos picked up four yards on two carries for a third and goal from the six.
Ford elected to go for the winning field goal on third down, but the Tarpnos blocked Delgadillo’s attempt.
However, Los Fresnos holder/quarterback Brandon Kretz recovered the ball and the Falcons had another shot.
“I was thinking if we fumbled the snap or something like that, we’d have another chance,” said Ford. “I was thinking about a block. Brandon made a great play to get back and make the recovery.”
On his second attempt, Delgadillo sent the overflow crowd at Tarpon Stadium home.
“My mind went blank,” said Delgadillo. “My kicking coach told me to just kick it.”
The drama was there, so were several big-time clutch plays, but this season-opener was not without its mistakes.
The Tarpons committed 13 penalties and quarterback Orlando Ochoa was intercepted twice in the end zone.
PI had two deep penetrations early in the game but came up empty.
“That can be expected this early,” said Ford. “We had a couple of turnovers and I made some bad calls. And that’s a good team (PI) over there. There’s a reason they’re ranked third in the Valley. There’s a reason they went to the semifinals last year.”
PI coach Monty Stumbaugh said the mistakes were something that could be corrected.
“The kids played hard,” said Stumbaugh. “They played their tails off. We took a big step forward tonight.
“This one’s on Coach Stumbaugh. I’ll take the blame. The kids played their hearts out.”
Campos rushed for 131 yards on 23 carries and his 55-yard TD run put the Falcons ahead 7-0 with 5:14 left in the half.
PI’s super back Johnny Nieto answered with a 41-yard scoring run to tie the game at halftime. Nieto had 112 yards on 19 carries.
Delgadillo hit a 31-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead in the third.
The Tarpons took the lead with 8:59 left in the game when Ochoa hit Nieto with a 33-yard TD pass on fourth-and-19. Nieto made a great juggling catch between two defenders as he fell into the end zone.
PI, however, missed the extra point, opening the door for Delgadillo’s 30-yard boot that tied the game at 13 with 1:55 left.
The Falcons tying drive was kept alive when Kretz hit Venus Martinez for 25 yards on fourth-and-17.
Martinez had five catches for 87 yards. Kretz was 13-of-30 for 218 yards