HARLINGEN — Harlingen High got off to a slow start Friday night, punting during their first two drives. Everything changed in a span of nine seconds midway through the second.
Following a 35-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Randy Morales, the Harlingen High defense immediately returned the ball to its offense, forcing a fumble inside enemy territory.
The turnover sparked the Cardinals to life, erupting for 30 points over the final three periods to cruise past Harlingen South 37-7 in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week.
“Momentum is difficult to create sometimes,” Harlingen High head coach Manny Gomez said. “It’s like a freak of nature. In basketball, you can just call a timeout. In football it’s something that’s hard to do. We were able to capitalize and do that. It’s like anything, after a while it causes a snowball effect. We’re just thankful our kids executed, did what they needed to do and came out on top.”
After the turnover, Harlingen High outscored the Hawks 30-7, with running back Izaiah Bell rumbling in for a pair of touchdowns, while wideout Aiden Sandoval added scores through the air and on the ground.
“Nobody can stop us but ourselves. We just had to click together,” Bell said. “South likes to run a lot of misdirection. They like to crowd the box and blitz people, but we didn’t let that bother us. Whatever our coaches call, we’re going to run it correctly. When we run it and we work together, it’s going to be successful.”
Bell finished with 49 yards on 10 carries for two touchdowns. Sandoval recorded seven catches for 76 yards and a score, adding one carry for 13 yards and a touchdown.
“I’m just glad I got the chance,” Sandoval said. “Coach called my play and let me do my thing. I couldn’t do it without my O-line though. They made some amazing blocks on that last touchdown, and I just followed them in.”
Junior quarterback Randy Morales added his stamp on the contest, scoring the first touchdown of the game, while throwing for another. Morales, who was named the team’s starter earlier this week, tallied 188 yards of total offense, throwing for 116 and rushing for 72.
“He got chosen to be the starter and he really stepped up,” Sandoval said. “He showed he’s ready to be the guy for the next years coming up.”
Harlingen South shook off the rust after the Cardinals’ second touchdown of the night, cutting into the deficit on a 13-yard touchdown pass from August Wilson to Seth Vergara. Wilson finished 12-of-22 for 140 yards and one touchdown.
The Cardinals’ defense buckled down after the score, forcing their second turnover of the day late in the second on an interception by Andres Deur, ending a Hawks’ drive at the 30. The Cardinals held the Hawks to just 49 yards of offense in the second half to pick up the Bird Bowl XXX win.
“This win sets a big tone coming off after that loss last year. It wasn’t even a loss because we learned from that,” Bell said. “We came together and worked all offseason. We put in the work for all this. It makes me emotional because we put in the work. We came through injures. We came from the bottom and the dark and shone the light. It sets the tone for the rest of the year.”
Harlingen High (1-0, 0-0) continues its non-district slate with a matchup against Mercedes at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tiger Stadium in Mercedes. The Hawks (0-1, 0-0) host Weslaco High at 7 p.m. Friday at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen.
