By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO, TX—The Bobcats won their second game of the young season convincingly, this time during their home opener against the Port Isabel Tarpons, 35-22.
The win improved Rio Hondo’s record to 2-0. Port Isabel fell to 0-2 on the season.
Last month, during a media day session in Los Fresnos, these same Bobcats players were asked which team they were looking most forward to playing against this season. Several players said it was the Tarpons after having lost to them late by a narrow margin, 27-24, last year.
By winning last week, Rio Hondo beat Port Isabel for the first time in five years, dating back to 2019 when they were district foes and cheered about a 27-15 victory.
A year later, COVID-19 forced them to cancel their game and season.
But since then, the Tarpons have manhandled the Bobcats by winning 48-20, 41-21, respectively. Four years ago, the Bobcats lost a key district contest by a similar 27-24 margin.
“We should have beaten them last year; we missed a field goal as time expired, so I knew we were close to returning to our winning ways against PI, and it showed in our play,” Rio Hondo Head Coach Rocky James said.
The Bobcats turned the tables in a big way at home this year, thanks again to an unstoppable offense.
The Lopez duo of running back Mario and pass-happy Matthew couldn’t be contained as they had a hand in helping the Bobcats win.
Mario Lopez rushed for 181 yards on 11 carries and scored three TDs.
Matthew Lopez had 13 completions off 21 pass attempts for 200 yards. He connected with six different receivers, including Manny Perez (6-88 yards) and Sebastian Gonzalez (3-68 yards).
Kicker Albert Villalovos connected on his five-point after attempts. He garnered 161 total yards on six kickoff attempts, forcing Port Isabel’s offense to start deep in its own side of the field against a Rio Hondo defense that got going in the second half.
Rio Hondo took an early 14-0 lead into the second quarter with run scores by Ty Alaniz and Mario Lopez.
But the Tarpons forced their way to a touchdown score, trailing 14-7 at halftime and eventually tied the Bobcats at 14 apiece.
Head Coach James and his staff provided their players the plug they needed as their Bobcats would control the second half, scoring three consecutive TDs.
Mario Lopez scored twice more, and Matthew Lopez once.
Several Rio Hondo defenders had outstanding performances. Rollie Pastrana had a team-high 18 tackles.
Noe Leos and Marcus Flores each had a sack. Freddy Garza, Flores, and Leos each had a fumble recovery.
Flores had a strip sack that put the Rio Hondo offense on the field to set up the third score of the game and the momentum the team needed to get the victory.
Rio Hondo’s next game is Friday away against the Hidalgo Pirates (0-2 record). Game time is 7:30 p.m.
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