PHARR — Every Monday and Tuesday during practice the Los Fresnos Falcons run through a “turbo” session, practicing late game moments which require quick play calling.
The Falcons found themselves in that exact situation Thursday against PSJA High, trailing the Bears by five points with 5:09 left in regulation.
Cool and collected, the Falcons marched 89-yards down the field behind a dominant rushing attack, with running back Jonus Gonzalez punching it into the end zone from 1 yard out with two second left, as the Falcons stunned the Bears 36-33 on Thursday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
“Tonight felt like one of those sessions,” Los Fresnos head coach David Cantu said. “Some guys made some big plays along the way. Right off the bat we faced a second-and-10 and got in a hole but the guys showed real good poise. … We kept running the ball too. People in the stands probably thought we’d have to start throwing then, but we just stuck with the game plan and it worked out.”
The Falcons leaned on their run game throughout the contest, throwing the ball just 12 times while running it 57.
Freshman quarterback Robert Pineda helped pace the ground attack, carrying the ball 29 times for 232 yards and a touchdown. He added 76 yards and a score through the air. Running back Gael Palestina chipped in 21 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
“We must have run the ball around 80% of the time so it starts with the offensive line up front,” Cantu said. “They did a tremendous job, even when the defense loaded up the box.”
PSJA High’s passing attack shook off its early season rust, with junior quarterback Jaime Lopez nearly doubling his numbers from the first two weeks, going 24-of-39 for 427 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears had thrown for just more than 200 yards during their first two games combined.
“I was very proud of the offensive unit,” PSJA High head coach Lupe Rodriguez said. “A lot of kids actually grew up tonight and stepped into their roles. We have a lot of sophomores playing varsity for the first year so I’m very pleased with how the offense grew up tonight.
“It was great on our end finally seeing this offense come through. Its like I told the kids, if everyone does their part this offense is hard to stop. Tonight, we showed that and proved that.”
Wideout Caleb Salas was one of those sophomores players to deliver big games Thursday, leading all receivers with six catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns, both coming in the second half to erase an 11-point lead.
Salas put the Bears on top 30-28 with 10:26 left, hauling in a 43-yard bomb from Lopez for their scoring connection of the night.
“He’s one of our sophomores coming on from a freshman team that won district,” Rodriguez said. “He needed some confidence. He’s playing in Christian Gamboa’s spot, who got hurt in one of the scrimmages and hasn’t been able to play. He (Caleb) has had to step in for him. Tonight, he was one of them that grew up. He made some big-time catches and big-time plays. He’s coming into his role.”
Following Salas’ second touchdown, the Bears drove down the field in search of their third straight score, getting down to the five before three straight stops by the Falcons’ defense.
Los Fresnos’ defensive effort held the Bears to a 27-yard field goal by Jorge Rios, giving their offense the ball back for the go-ahead score.
“Good job by the defense holding them to that field goal late, we had to do that,” Cantu said. “That gave us that chance for the game winning touchdown. It was just a big stop in the red zone.”
The Falcons (2-1, 0-0) return home for a tilt against La Joya High next Friday at Leo Aguilar Stadium in Los Fresnos. PSJA High (0-3, 0-0) hits the road for the first time this season next week, taking on Brownsville Hanna next Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
