By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On Thursday, August 11, the 4A Port Isabel Tarpons scrimmaged the 5A Weslaco East Wildcats at Tarpons Stadium. The scrimmage started with a controlled portion, followed by a live action format. Both teams put in some work during the scrimmage. The Wildcats edged out the Tarpons 2-1 during the controlled portion and the teams were tied at 1-1 during the live action. Tarpon head coach, Tony Villarreal was pleased with his team’s performance overall.
“I was really happy with our physicality. I was really proud of our coaches and our kids. Our number twos need a little bit of work,” said Villarreal.
Villarreal did say his first stringers did really well, especially his offensive line and defense.
The Wildcats opened the scrimmage passing the ball quite a bit, which was a surprise considering they’ve featured a run-heavy offense for many years. They struggled for a few plays as the Tarpons’ defense made some good stops.
T he Wildcats switched to the run-heavy offense which paid off as running back Jay Vasquez broke free for a 35-yard run. Vasquez capped the 40-yard drive with a five-yard touch-down run up the middle. The Wildcats ran a handful of more plays but only got as far as the 20-yard line as they concluded their first series of plays.
The Tarpons opened their possession with a nice ten-yard run up the middle by Tristian Garcia.
Three plays later the Tarpons got another first down behind an eight-yard run by Evan Galvan.
The Tarpons got down to the Wildcats six-yard line, before a pair of penalties set them back to the 26-yard line. Running back, Cross Martinez gained a good chunk of the yards back as he muscled his way through the Wildcat defense for a 12-yard gain.
On the next play, the Wildcats outside linebacker was left unblocked and hit Tarpon quarter-back, Rudy Barrera from behind as he threw the ball. Unfortunately, the ball was intercepted by Weslaco East in the endzone ending PI’s drive.
On the Wildcats next series, they continued to work on their passing game and continued to struggle. At the Tarpons 32-yard line, RB, John Ortiz had an 11-yard gain. It was followed by an 11-yard completion by quarter-back, Ashton Guajardo. As the Wildcats gained momentum, they ended up scoring three plays later on a one-yard plunge by the fullback. The Wildcats ended their second series with a 2-0 lead.
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