By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
HIDALGO, TX—The Rio Hondo Bobcats continue dominating their foes three weeks into the season as the Pirates became their latest victim.
The Bobcat varsity football players recorded their second-highest point total of the year, winning 49-10 in an away non-district game.
It comes just in time as Rio Hondo will now begin District 32-3A play. The Bobcats won the district title a year ago.
The Bobcats will play in San Diego at 7 p.m., Friday. The Vaqueros are winless in three games so far.
The Bobcats’ offense looks unstoppable as their stats continue to mount.
Junior quarterback Matthew Lopez has earned 802 yards on 39-58 pass completions. He’s thrown six touchdown passes.
Among the top four Rio Hondo receivers are sophomore Michael Lopez (eight receptions, 213 yards, three TDs), junior Manny Perez (15 receptions, 234 yards, two TDs), sophomore Sebastian Gonzalez (nine receptions, 202 yards), and junior Albert Villalovos (five receptions, 136 yards).
The offense, however, is designed to work around the production of junior running back Mario Lopez. The second-year varsity player has gained 559 yards off 45 totes and scored nine TDs.
Rio Hondo’s top two scoring leaders are Mario Lopez (60 points) and Villalovos (21 points). Villalovos is also the kicker for the team, and so far, he has connected on all his 21-point after attempts following offensive TDs.
The rest of the scoring leaders are Matthew Lopez (18 points), Michael Lopez (18 points), and Ty Alaniz (12 points), respectively.
Rio Hondo Head Coach Rocky James, before the season began, praised the high-powered offense and a defense he feels continued to “improve.”
Rio Hondo’s defense is led by junior linebacker Rolando Pastrana’s 47 tackles. Freshman linebacker Ty Alaniz has earned 39 tackles, followed by seniors Joel Medina (24 tackles) and Marcus Flores (20 tackles).
Defenders Noe Leos has four sacks, and Jaziah Arredondo has two interceptions.
The performance against the Pirates was the second-lowest tally allowed by a Bobcats foe after beginning with a 63-0 shellacking of Valley View in their season opener.
Their defense put the clamps on Port Isabel’s offense last week, which came in the form of a 13-point win margin.
The Bobcats’ game against San Diego won’t come easily as their foes have scored nine TDs, their lowest output a 21-14 loss to Corpus Christi West Oso last week.
San Diego also lost to George West, 36-21, and Rockport-Fulton, 48-28.
The Vaqueros placed second last year, their lone district loss to the Bobcats, 49-29.
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