Reaching out
Greyhound running back Fabian Garcia stretches over the endzone for a touchdown reception during last week’s contest against the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles at Brownsville’s Sams Stadium. The game marked the start of district play. (Photo by T.J. Tijerina)
By PETE BANDA
Special to the NEWS
BROWNSVILE, TX—With only four weeks remaining before the playoffs, the Greyhounds have continued to rack up blowout victories behind a red-hot offense and a suffocating defense.
After a phenomenal non-district performance, San Benito showed an even more dominant side in its district opener against Brownsville Hanna last week. In a game that felt over before halftime, the ’Hounds walked away with their second shutout of the season, flummoxing the Golden Eagles by a score of 53-0.
Despite the immense discrepancy in points, the game was not as close as the score would indicate, as the Greyhounds let their foot off the gas early on, opting to give several backups significant playing time.
San Benito set the tone early as senior Brandon Hernandez took the opening kickoff 80 yards back to the Golden Eagles’ 12-yard line. One play later, Aaron Garza punched in the game’s first touchdown on a powerful rumble to the endzone.
With momentum building, the Greyhounds’ defense demoralized the Golden Eagles on their first possession, blocking a punt out of the endzone for a safety after a disastrous opening drive. In addition to two points, the safety gave San Benito the ball back less than four minutes into the quarter. With another short field, the ’Hounds needed just three plays to go 41 yards, capped off by a perfect 32-yard pass from Aaron Corona to Fabian Garcia, pushing San Benito’s lead to 16-0 after just four offensive plays.
Karmyne Castilleja’s sack shut down Hanna’s next drive, forcing the Golden Eagles to punt after three plays. The first quarter ended with Devon Robinson tackling the Hanna punter in the endzone for the second safety of the game, giving the Greyhounds a commanding 18-0 lead with the Golden Eagles showing no signs of life.
A second Aaron Garza touchdown, with six minutes left in the first half, effectively ended the game as both sides started to field second and third-stringers. The second half included more of the same: San Benito added touchdowns from Adam Cortez and Angel Trevino and a third score from Garza.
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