Season ends for Greyhounds

(Courtesy photo/Hector Avila)

By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS

WESLACO, TX—The San Benito Greyhound Varsity Football players had their season end in a 28-0 shutout loss against the Panthers during a bi-district playoff game at Bobby Lackey Stadium last Saturday afternoon.
San Benito ends its season with a 2-9 record, while Weslaco (8-3) moves on to the second round of the Class 6A Division I playoffs.

Multiple turnovers disrupted the Greyhounds’ offensive plans early in the game, and they were unable to recover against a team they lost to twice this season.

In a September non-district game against the Panthers, the ‘Hounds twice tied their foes with touchdowns. San Benito could not match that feat in an elimination game.

Weslaco, in its second go against San Benito, scored on a 30-yard interception return off sophomore quarterback Albert Gonzalez. It was Gonzalez’s first throw from scrimmage.

Unfortunately, he was intercepted on the following drive, again inside his team’s 16-yard line.
However, San Benito junior defensive tackle Adrian Loa recovered a Weslaco fumble on the ensuing play.

It was the lone positive event for the Greyhounds in the first half as the Panthers scored on three pass plays of 50, 18, and two yards for a 28-0 lead.

The Greyhounds’ defense did clamp down in the second half. They forced a turnover on downs once, earned a sack that resulted in Weslaco’s first punt of the game in the fourth quarter, and had an interception to end any Weslaco offensive threats.

San Benito twice played on Weslaco’s side of the field, but to no avail as the shutout continued. The closest the Greyhounds came to scoring was on a pass play on fourth and goal from the Weslaco six-yard line. It occurred late in the game and Weslaco ran the clock out on the following offensive drive.

The ‘Hounds were shutout three times (Laredo United and Carthage) this year, but it was the first time by a Valley team. It was a season that saw many underclassmen gain varsity experience as a result of injuries.

“The players went through the fire early in the season because of the schedule we had, and they faced challenges, and injuries that we had affected us, but we stepped it up,” San Benito Head Football Coach Dan Gomez said. “Our players never quit on us and kept at it as the season wore on because that’s what the coaches asked from them. They never let us or our fans down.”