By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO, TX—The Bobcat Varsity Football players took care of one of two Willacy County foes last week during a convincing homecoming win, and now travel to take on another worthy opponent.
The Bobcats defeated the Lyford Bulldogs, 59-13, and will play the Raymondville Bearkats on Friday. Lyford fell to 1-3 in District 32-3A with the loss, and Raymondville improved to 4-0 by virtue of its 37-27 comeback win against San Diego last week.
Both the Bobcats and Bearkats are tied for first in the district, so the winner will likely take at least a share of the district title with a week left in district play.
But as the season has progressed, it has become clearer that the district championship will come through Bobcat Country.
Rio Hondo’s margin of victories have been much broader than Raymondville’s, which trailed San Diego 21-7 at halftime. By comparison, the Vaqueros lost to Rio Hondo, 28-7, last month.
“We’ve always approached our games with Lyford and Raymondville as rival games, and our kids are always fired up to play against two powerful Willacy County teams,” Rio Hondo Head Coach Rocky James said in an interview earlier this season. “Records for these two opponents can be thrown out the window when it comes to these games.”
Against Lyford, the Bobcats were once again led offensively by the Lopez duo of quarterback Matthew (6-of-15, 235 yards, three touchdown passes) and running back Mario (13 carries, 230 yards, 4 TDs).
Emmanuel Perez had one TD pass, and Sebastian Gonzalez caught two TDs.
Defensively, Ty Alaniz had 16 total tackles, followed by Joel Medina with 12, and Matthew Sanchez with 11.
Among the defenders to earn at least one sack were Alaniz, Sanchez, and Freddy Garza.
Alaniz also had two interceptions, and Michael Lopez had one. Alaniz had an interception return for a score.
Kicker Albert Villalovos was successful on all eight of his attempts and booted a 29-yard field goal.
The 59 points scored were the Bobcats’ second-highest score in a game this year. They scored 55 against district Bishop.
They also scored 63 points in a non-district shutout against Valley View.
Rio Hondo’s game at Raymondville begins at 7 p.m. at Raymondville.
“This rival game against Raymondville is one that our players get hyped up to play,” James said. “Our Rio Hondo kids know each other very well; the Raymondville players are just like Lyford’s, so we’re really looking forward to playing against them.”
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