By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Friday, October 24 the (4-4) Port Isabel ECHS Tarpons hosted the (4-3) La Feria Lions in a key district matchup. With each district team only having three district games on their schedule, each matchup had key implications not only for the district championship, but for playoff seeding as well.
A win by the Lions over the Tarpons and the Brahmas (the following week), meant they would win the district title. A Port Isabel win would virtually make them district champs, albeit they must beat La Grulla this Friday.
Starting from their own 30-yard line, the Lions opened the game with a 27-yard run up the middle. A couple plays later, they managed to reach the Tarpons 31-yard line, unfortunately for the Lions, they fumbled the ball away during the handoff.
In the Tarpons opening drive, they had a series of runs by multiple running backs, but the drive stalled at the Lions 12-yard line. From there, PI kicker Luis Ulloa successfully kicked a 29yard field goal to give the Tarpons an early 3-0 lead.
After stopping the Lions on a fake punt play, the Tarpons then went on a 5-play scoring drive capped by a 57-yard touchdown run by RB Luis Ramos. The Tarpons now led 10-0 with 11:32 showing in the second quarter.
After another defensive stop by Port Isabel’s “Seawall Defense”, the Tarpons then went on a 14-play scoring drive capped by a 7-yard TD run by RB Edward Garza. Port Isabel extended their lead to 17-0 with 2:47 left in the first half.
Things got a little chaotic before halftime as both teams turned the ball over on interceptions, with PI’s DB Jesus Ramos grabbing his first INT of the season.
Midway into the third quarter, solid running by running backs Ramos and Garza led to an 8-play scoring drive by the Tarpons. The extra point kick was botched, but the Tarpons had now extended their lead to 23-0.
After another solid defensive effort by Port Isabel, the Tarpons went on 5-play scoring drive capped by a 16-yard TD run by RB Ramos. The 2-point play failed, but the Tarpons now had a 29-0 commanding lead.
Starting from their own 25-yard line, the Lions finally managed a scoring drive with nine seconds left in the third, but still trailed 29-8. On a side note, PI committed two big penalties that help the Lions including a sideline infraction.
RB Ramos added his third touchdown of the night on a 28-yard jaunt into the endzone to give PI an 37-8 lead with 10:51 left in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the Lions still had fight in them as they had a 5-yard TD pass play as time expired for a final of 37-14 in favor of the Tarpons.
By the end of the final buzzer, the PI rushing attacked had accumulated 426 rushing yards, with RB Ramos finishing with 198 yards on 21 carries. For the year, RB Ramos was now at 1258 rushing yards on 115 carries for an eye-opening average of 10.9 yds/carry.
Other notable week 9 scores include, Kingsville over La Grulla 40-0, Sinton over Ingleside 63-7, and Rockport-Fulton over Robstown 42-6.
The (5-4) Port Isabel Tarpons have one final regular season game left as they are set to face the (1-7) La Grulla Gators on the road this Halloween night, Friday, October 31st. The Gators will be seeing very little treats and a lot of tricks when they take on the Tarpons, as PI is peaking at the right time.