Gulf Coast area Texas high school football roundup

Brownsville Rivera at Brownsville Veterans: Veterans, 49-45 (OT)

Brownsville Veterans survived a furious second half comeback to turn back Brownsville Rivera 49-45 in overtime. Veterans quarterback Marcus Castillo led his team to a 35-16 halftime lead with four touchdown passes. Castillo finished with 293 passing yards and six touchdowns on the night with four of them going to Zeke Marks. Marks finished with 152 yards with all four of his receptions finding the end zone.  Jacquil Evans led Rivera with 137 tough yards and three touchdowns while Chelin Martinez booted three field goals.

PSJA Southwest at Mercedes: Mercedes, 46-36

Gilbert Vela reached the end zone four times as Mercedes downed PSJA Southwest, 46-36. Quarterback Rene Presas threw for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Mercedes. Vela rushed for three scores, including two crucial touchdowns in the fourth quarter and finished 111 total yards in the victory. In the second quarter, Presas and Vela hooked up on a 40-yard touchdown passes to give Mercedes a 20-14 lead, an advantage they would never relinquish. Hector Ortega rushed for 143 yards to lead PSJA Southwest, while Jesus Acosta added 111 rushing yards on 14 carries.

La Feria at Raymondville: Raymondville, 48-38

Raymondville erased a 24-20 halftime deficit to claim a 48-38 victory over La Feria despite and outstanding performance from quarterback Eric Cuervo. Raymondville’s Jesse Valladares was stellar in his own right, rushing for 290 yards and five touchdowns to lead the way. Quarterback Gruillermo Esparza threw for two crucial second half touchdowns for Raymondville. Cuervo finished with 372 passing yards and three touchdowns while Mando Garza added 112 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns to pace La Feria.

Rio Hondo at Lyford: Lyford 35-21

Lyford quarterback Scott Arnold completed 23 of 32 passes for 360 yards and five touchdowns to lead Lyford over Rio Hondo, 35-21. Andres Infante caught four passes for 96 yards and reeled in three touchdowns from Arnold’s hot hand, while Jorge Reyes and Isaiah Chapa also found the end zone on touchdown receptions for Rio Hondo. Elijah Pitones threw for 153 yards and a touchdown and added 53 yards rushing to lead Rio Hondo, while Joey Montalvo returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the first half to tie the score at 21.

Gregory-Portland at Victoria East: Victoria East, 56-48

Johnathan Ortega threw for 203 yards, rushed for 147 yards, and totaled four touchdowns as Victoria East outlasted Gregory-Portland, 56-48. Ortega threw for two first half touchdowns and added another on the ground to help give Victoria East a 35-14 halftime lead. Deondric Lofton caught a touchdown pass from Ortega and would later add an 80-yard kickoff return to paydirt in the third quarter. Gregory-Portland running back Devin Bisby, one of the most underrated running backs in the state of Texas, rushed for 357 yards and five touchdowns in a losing effort.

Tuloso-Midway at Port Lavaca Calhoun: Calhoun, 56-14

Port Lavaca Calhoun made an emphatic statement after losing handily to Corpus Christi Calallen in Week 4 by using its ground attack to run away with a 56-14 victory over a Tuloso-Midway team that had won three in a row coming in.  Calhoun did not complete a pass in the victory, but did not need to.  Jakorious Williams rushed for 315 yards and four touchdowns to lead the way for the Sandcrabs, while quarterback Hunter Boerm and Elijah Velasquez both went over the century mark as Calhoun rushed for 646 yards. Matthew Dickson rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries for a Tuloso-Midway team that could still make some noise moving forward.

by Scott Hansen
Lone Star Gridiron
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