By PETE BANDA
Special to the NEWS
CHORPUS CHRISTI, TX—All good things must come to an end – a saying this historic group of Greyhounds knows all too well after seeing their magical run come to a disappointing halt last week here at Buccaneer Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Led by UTRGV quarterback commit Atzel Chavez, the Laredo United Longhorns came away with a decisive 58-42 victory to deny San Benito its second consecutive area championship win and bring an end to another impressive Greyhound season.
While the final score was not indicative of the back-and-forth battle that accounted for most of the game, the ’Hounds were unable to stop the United passing attack at any point in the game and suffered just their third double-digit loss of the past two seasons.
San Benito got off to an uncharacteristic sloppy start, turning the ball over on the first play of the game. By contrast, the Longhorns wasted little time taking advantage, needing just four plays to punch in the first touchdown on a quarterback draw up the middle.
The Greyhounds stuck with their run-based offense, handing the ball to workhorse Fabian Garcia on their next six plays. While Garcia was able to pick up a pair of first downs, a dropped pass on third and long led to a San Benito punt midway through the opening quarter.
While the United was able to pick up quick yards on its next drive, the vaunted Greyhound defense appeared to come up with a significant stop on third down until a late penalty gave the Longhorns a first down.
Chavez, who came into the game as one of the most productive passers in the entire state, again took advantage of the San Benito mistakes and ended his second drive with a perfectly placed 35-yard touchdown pass to give United a 14-0 lead heading into the second quarter. However, as they have all season, the Greyhounds clawed their way back into the game with a methodical drive that culminated with a goal-line touchdown from Garcia.
Despite appearing to steal back some momentum, the Greyhound defense could not slow down Chavez and the Longhorn passing attack, as San Benito’s usually tight coverage was exploited with relative ease. While starting at their own 20-yard line, United needed just six plays to add another touchdown to the board, Chavez again tossing a 32-yard pass down the sideline and into the endzone.
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