By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On Friday, Oct. 25, the Port Isabel Tarpons will be on the road as they take the La Feria Lions in a crucial district matchup.
Dating back to their first meeting in 1951, the teams have a long history of competition. For most of their meetings, they played in the same district, but La Feria outgrew the district enrollment starting in 2016 and
the teams haven’t faced each other since 2019.
In week seven action, the Tarpons are coming off a 58-20 loss to Brownsville St. Joseph Academy, while the Lions had their bye week. On a side note, the Lions lost to BSJA 62-13 in week six.
Although the Tarpons lost, they still managed to gain 350 total yards with 342 yards coming on the ground. Running back Michael Finona led the team with 118 yards. Dylan Green rushed for 95 yards with a
touchdown, while Luis Ramos racked up 80 yards and rushed for two touchdowns.
Defensively, the Tarpons’ front seven were susceptible to the run as they gave up 465 rushing yards against BSJA with Claudio Torres accounting for 255 yards alone. The Tarpons’ secondary did well, but BSJA
did not have to throw much with the success they had on the ground.
The Lions have nine offensive starters returning including dual-threat quarterback, Andruw Rivera. Like the Tarpons, the Lions have several runners in their backfield including Jaden Martinez and Titus Guzman
who carry the bulk of the load. As far as receivers, be on the lookout for Larry Martinez, Austin Vaughn and Devin Sanchez.
Sporting a 3-3 overall record, the Lions average 21 points/game, while giving up 25 points/game. Port Isabel should be the favorite in this matchup, but a couple of turnovers in the Lions favor could make it an
interesting finish.
Port Isabel will be entering the game with a 38-20-3 head-to-head win record versus La Feria.
In other week seven action, Kingsville King beat SA Memorial 55-6 and La Grulla lost to Hidalgo 13-7.