Late surge pushes Raiders past Panthers
WESLACO — PSJA North seemed headed towards back-to-back regular season losses for the first time since 2019 late Friday.
An interception by Weslaco High’s defense put the ball in the Panthers’ hands with a chance to chew up the clock and hand the Raiders a second straight loss.
The Raiders had other plans.
With their backs against the wall, PSJA North’s defense responded with back-to-back punts and an interception, while the defense scored two four quarter touchdowns as the Raiders rallied past Weslaco High during a non-district game at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.
“It was a focus problem last week,” Kaufmann said. “They kind of took it for granted, thinking it was going to be another win. It happens. These are 16-17 year old kids so you’re going to have hiccups. We hadn’t had one in a while, but we had one last week and it woke them up a bit.”
The highly anticipated matchup between the RGV powers was a slugfest early, with the two teams trading blows during the first half en route to a 14-10 lead advantage by the Raiders at the break.
Running back Mark Quintanilla scored the game’s first touchdown, a 3-yard plunge to the end zone for the Raiders, while Weslaco High junior Malachi Rodrguez answered with a 16-yard touchdown run of his own.
A 21-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Drayden Espinoza to sophomore tight end Jaxon Evans put PSJA North back on top in the second, taking a 14-7 lead.
Weslaco High couldn’t tie it before the break, but a 45-yard field goal by Ricardo Zuniga before the break cut into the deficit, with the Panthers trailing 14-10 at the half.
“They got big, strong kids,” Kaufmann said. “They’re athletes. We had to make sure we corralled them and we did enough of that today.”
The back-and-forth matchup continued during the third, with the two teams combining for three total touchdowns during the period.
Weslaco High struck first during the quarter, with Seth Moya taking a snap from behind center and finding the edge before breaking free for a 62-yard touchdown run to make it 17-14.
PSJA North came right back and answered, marching 80 yards in 12 plays, capped by a one-yard quarterback sneak by Espinoza to put the Raiders back on top.
The Panthers delivered the counterpunch just one play later, with Rodriguez hitting Christian Zamora on the deep ball for the 74-yard touchdown to give Weslaco a 24-21 lead heading into the final period.
Back-to-back turnovers by the Raiders, including an interception by Espinoza, dug them into a hole late, with Weslaco High in control looking to secure the win.
PSJA North shook off the slump, however, with the defense holding Weslaco High to just five yards on their next six plays and forcing back-to-back punts.
The Raiders’ offense capitalized on both those punts, with sophomore Ryan Diaz scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 5:06 remaining, while Espinoza made it a two-score game on a 15-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing drive.
“We saw something they were doing, and we weren’t taking advantage of it,” Kaufmann said. “Late the kids said they could do it, so we ran that toss with Ryan for a touchdown and went in scored. So we found something and built off that and went down and scored again after that.”
The Raiders “Black Shirt Defense” had one last play in them before the end of the game, with defensive back Oscar Gutierrez picking off Weslaco High’s Lupe Granados in the end zone to secure the comeback win.
Espinoza led the team with 172 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while adding 90 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Rodriguez spearheaded the Panthers’ toting the rock 12 times for 87 yards and a score, while adding a 74-yard passing touchdown.
The Panthers (2-2) will look to bounce back to close out non-district play as they take on PSJA High (2-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
Meanwhile, PSJA North (3-1) closes out its three-game road stretch with a tilt against Edinburg Economedes (1-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Pharr.
“We got to give it all we have,” Espinoza said. “They’re a strong team. We can’t overlook them. We can’t overlook no team. In the BYE week we have to work hard to. We’re going to have an amazing feeling. This win helped us a lot because we were down in the locker room. We have to have short term memory though and bounce back. We’re going to go celebrate this one and bounce back next week against Econ too.”
