Mercedes’ Salinas powers Tigers past Bears in season opener
PHARR — Mercedes junior Frankie Salinas barely had time to catch his breath during Thursday’s season opener against PSJA High.
From playing safety to lining up at wideout to returning kicks, the third-year letter winner did it all for the Tigers.
The Tigers needed every bit of it after a shaky start, with Salinas finishing with an unofficial 140 yards and one touchdown on eight catches while adding an interception on defense to lead Mercedes past the Bears 20-10 in a non-district contest at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
“Frankie is just a playmaker,” Mercedes head coach Ron Adame said. “He’s one of those special guys that comes every day. He didn’t come off the field. I told them to get him some water. He doesn’t want to come off. He’ll take off his gloves and go in on punt return. He’ll get upset wanting to be back on the field. We feel like we can match up with anybody, even some of the best receivers out there. Then on offense he makes plays. He wants the ball. Ball in the air, he’s going to come down with it.”
Salinas made his impact felt almost instantly Thursday, coming down with an interception in the red zone late in the first quarter to end a potential scoring drive by the Bears.
Two plays later, the junior athlete was back on the field, taking a pass 79 yards deep into enemy territory to set up his team inside the 20. The drive ultimately ended in a turnover on downs for the Tigers, but the play was just the beginning for both Salinas and the Tigers.
After a shaky first half, Mercedes built off the momentum created by its junior playmaker, erupting for back-to-back second-half touchdowns to take a 14-3 lead over the hometown Bears. Salinas was on the receiving end of the second touchdown, hauling in a 21-yard score from quarterback Louie Rincon.
“Coming into the game we knew we were prepared physically and mentally,” Salinas said. “This is everything we worked for all year in 7-on-7 and the offseason. Just building that bond together as a team. Obviously, going into halftime down 3-0, it wasn’t a good look on us, but we knew we had to fix some things and get going in the second half.”
PSJA High wouldn’t go down without a fight, answering the pair of touchdowns with a score of its own on a 47-yard touchdown catch by junior Jacob Dallas.
The Bears couldn’t muster any more offense, however, with Mercedes shutting the door in the fourth thanks to an 11-yard touchdown run by junior Noah Buenrostro and a stout defensive effort that ended in a turnover on downs on PSJA High’s final drive.
The Bears fall to 0-1 to start the season and will look to bounce back against Sharyland Pioneer in Week 2 at 7 p.m. Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission.
Meanwhile, Mercedes kicks off the year 1-0 and will look to keep rolling against its bitter rival, the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets, at 7 p.m. Friday at Tiger Stadium in Mercedes.
“It’s going to be the same as always,” Salinas said. “We’re going to work in the dark and in the oven when nobody is there. Obviously, we’re going to go against a good Edcouch team next Friday, but we’ll be ready to go.”
