Raiders Dynasty: PSJA North grinds out win over Flour Bluff to claim 15-5A DI crown
PHARR — The Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend’s best went toe-to-toe for four quarters Thursday night as the PSJA North Raiders grinded out a 19-10 win over Corpus Christi Flour Bluff at PSJA Stadium in a battle of unbeaten teams.
After PSJA North and Flour Bluff split last year’s District 15-5A DI championship three-ways along with Corpus Christi Veterans, it’s the Raiders who reign supreme in 2025. The district title is PSJA North’s fourth in-a-row.
“It’s just hard work, having a dog-mentality, and knowing that whenever you step onto the football field, we're violent," PSJA North's Isaiah Garza said. "Everyone in the Valley and everyone in the state is going to know that."
The Raiders now stand 9-0 overall and 7-0 in district competition, while the loss sends the Hornets to 8-1 and 6-1 in district. A win over Brownsville Rivera in Week 11 would make PSJA North outright district champs.
“These kids do such a great job,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “They’re fun to be around. This place has been a lot of fun these last few years.”
With star running back Ethan Guerra sidelined for the season due to injury, the rest of the Raiders said ‘We got you’ and held things down against Flour Bluff.
Andrew Alvarado and Antwon Estrada handled the bulk of the carries out of the backfield to lead the Raiders’ rushing attack, while quarterback Daren Garcia and receiver Isaiah Garza went to work by getting the passing game going.
“We’ve been around him since we were in middle school,” Garcia said about Guerra. “It gets emotional because he ended off his senior year like that, but we love that guy to death and we’re going to play every game for him.”
With a two-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Raiders relied on their bread and butter — physicality — to finish the job. PSJA North let its offensive line go to work as Alvarado, Estrada and Garcia found running room behind them to keep the chains moving.
Garcia scored a 1-yard touchdown with 1:19 remaining to push the Raiders’ lead to two scores at 19-10, and PSJA North’s “Blackshirt Defense” closed the show by forcing a turnover on downs with 30 seconds remaining.
“Defensively, we made stops the whole night. With that momentum, we took it in on that drive,” the sophomore receiver Garza said. “We told ourselves we were going to get in and we did.”
Garza made plays on both sides of the ball with a 22-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter and an interception on the very next defensive series.
Alvarado led the Raiders offensively with over 100 yards on the ground, while safety. Bryan Guerrero and linebacker Ethan Montemayor were flying to the ball defensively. Guerrero had a key interception late to stop a Flour Bluff drive in its tracks.
Next for PSJA North (9-0, 7-0) is a matchup against Brownsville Rivera (1-8, 0-7) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sams Stadium in Brownsville. Flour Bluff (8-1, 6-1) moves on to a Week 11 rivalry game against Corpus Christi Veterans at 7 p.m. Friday at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi.
