Jacket2000

[Big Tarp 74]

Jacket, check out the score between Rio Hondo and Port Isabel. PI had 461 yard of offense. Jimmy Heath from Rio Hondo only managed 41 yard. He had been avg. over 200 per game. Rio Hondo could not stop the rushing attack of PI. PI was getting between 8 & 10 Yards per tote. The defense unleashed some tremendous hits. Rio Hondo suffered, at the hands of the PI defense. Some of the scouts, stated, speed can kill a team. Rio Hondo just ran into a team with tremendous speed, not to top it off but a punishing defense. These scouts stated this is the best they seen PI in a long long time. They have many player with speed that can hurt you. One of the college scouts really wants to talk to one of our speedsters, but he will have to wait. He was asking many of the fans what this boy time is in the 40. He could not beleive the speed. He said this team reminds him of Refugo back in 1981 & 1982, and the great 1981 PI team. The scouts figure PI has at least 5 very fast ball carriers. One of the scouts even stated, something has change in this team since FAL. They have been running up and down the football field. This is the third game were PI has passed the 350 yard mark per game, and the last two games have been over the 450 yard mark per game. These yards have been picked up against good teams.
Give me your thoughts on this one Jacket.

[Big Tarp 74]

Jacket here is a new paper clip on last night game between Port Isabel and Rio Hondo:

Port Isabel rolls in District 32-3A opener
32-3A: Loera, Tarpons knock Rio Hondo from ranks of unbeaten.



By RONNIE ZAMORA
Special To The Herald

PORT ISABEL – Monty Stumbaugh couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present — a convincing victory in the opening district game.

His Port Isabel Tarpons sent a message to everybody else in District 32-3A after a 45-0 rout over previously undefeated Rio Hondo Friday night at Tarpon Stadium.

"This is just the first step, we have five more to go," said the Tarpons’ coach, referring to the remaining district games on the schedule. "It’s going to be a dogfight every week."

Friday’s game was more like David and Goliath. The Tarpons improved their season record to 2-2 while Rio Hondo, which had opened with four non-conference victories over weaker opponents, fell to 4-1.

How convincing was the victory? The Tarpons came out smoking, taking a 31-0 lead with 371 yards of total offense — in the first half alone.

The Tarpons and Bobcats have been bitter rivals for many years and Stumbaugh admitted that there was some pre-game trash talking by the visitors.

"That’s part of the game," Stumbaugh said. "We try to teach the kids to play it on the field. The kids really came out to play tonight."

For the night, Port Isabel finished with 462 yards of total offense. They averaged 8.7 yards per rush on 44 carries, with Joey Loera leading the way with 175 yards on only 11 carries.

"The offensive line has really come on," Stumbaugh said, citing the play of linemen Tony Perez, Kevin Kallus, Omar Torres, Jerry Saldivar, B.J. Perez and Raymond Lopez. "That’s one of our strong points this year. We call them the Hogs. The line is what wins and loses for you."

The Hogs blew open big holes for the outside-inside running combination of Loera and Johnny Nieto, who had 94 yards on 11 carries. Quarterback Gabriel Alvarez added 58 yards on six attempts and several times was the leading blocker for Loera after making pitches in the backfield.

Defensively, The Tarpons bent but never broke. Rio Hondo running back Jimmy Heath entered the game with 917 yards and 14 touchdowns, but was held to 41 yards on 11 carries.

The Tarpons stuffed the Bobcats numerous occasions, including a sack of quarterback Robert Lopez Jr. by the Tarpons’ brother duo of Abel and Dante Delgadillo.

The Tarpons only turnover of the night game was a fumble on the opening possession of the game.

From its 24, Rio Hondo immediately went to a bomb from Lopez to Jacob Mendez, who outjumped a Tarpons’ defender at the 45, but was caught from behind at the Port Isabel 12. But two plays later, Rio Hondo’s deepest penetration into Tarpons’ territory was thwarted on a fumble recovery by the PI’s Edmundo Ramirez Jr.

From there, the Tarpon machine was in high gear. Port Isabel scored touchdowns on its next six offensive possessions.

A 51-yard punt return for a touchdown by Joe Arevelo was sandwiched in between two Loera touchdown runs of 10 and 26 yards. Erick Martinez, who connected on all six extra points, chipped in a 27-yard field goal to make it 24-0.

Port Isabel’s two-minute drill worked to perfection late in the first half as the Tarpons went 69 yards in 6 plays in 64 seconds, capped by a 15-yard pass from Alvarez to Johnny Nieto with nine seconds left in the half.

Port Isabel added to its 31-0 halftime lead with scores on its first two possesions of the second half, an eight-yard run by C.J. Betancourt and Loera’s final carry of the night, a 46-yard score with 7:20 left in the third period.

Alvarez, Loera and Nieto were removed from the game with PI holding a 45-0 lead.
Port Isabel will try to improve to 2-0 in District 32-3A play when it travels to Hidalgo, while Rio Hondo returns home to face Raymondville.