MISSION — Brownsville Hanna’s Kriz Peña isn’t the biggest running back on the field, measuring just 5-foot-6, 160 pounds. His size, however, doesn’t stop him from dominating.
With his team tied late during the fourth quarter, Peña did just that. On the team’s final drive the senior running back carried the ball seven times for 28 yards, setting up inside the Sharyland High 5-yard line with less than one minute left.
Peña’s efforts were capped by a 3-yard, go-ahead run by quarterback Joshua Villafranco with 29 seconds left, as Brownsville Hanna defeated Sharyland High 43-36 on Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium.
“We were all tired and feeling hurt,” Peña said. “We just had to play through the adversity and play through the pain. It’s a big win for us, but we’re still not satisfied. It’s definitely a good one to set the tone for the rest of the season.”
Offense reigned supreme during Friday’s contest, with the two teams combining for more than 850 total yards and 79 points. Both teams leaned heavily on the run, with each of their starting running backs eclipsing the 200-yard mark.
Sharyland High’s Alan Guerrero finished with 26 carries for 254 yards and four touchdowns. Peña racked up 202 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, adding three receptions for 53 yards and a score.
“Kriz is always dinged up, and he still wants to play,” Brownsville Hanna head coach Mark Guess said. “That’s just Kriz. He’s an iron man. He’s got a huge heart. I think if he was any bigger, he might not be as good. He has a lot to prove every time he touches the ball, and he does a great job.”
Sharyland High entered the second half trailing Brownsville Hanna by two touchdowns. The Rattlers battled back after 28 straight Brownsville Hanna points to end the first half, tying the game with 11:38 left on a 54-yard touchdown run by Guerrero, his third of the night.
After Villafranco’s go-ahead touchdown with 29 seconds left, Sharyland High continued to fight, getting down to Brownsville Hanna’s 18-yard line on a 37-yard pass from junior Bo Krell to Alek Gonzalez. The drive ended there, with the game ending on an intentional grounding penalty.
“We did a heck of a job coming out at halftime,” Sharyland High head coach Craig Krell said. “I thought we got a little sloppy in the second quarter. We didn’t tackle and gave up 28 points. I told the guys to just do their job and keep grinding, and I thought we did. I thought we did a great job but we ended up on the short end, obviously. Still, our kids battled. We just have to clean some things up.”
“We just had to make sure that we finished,” Guess said. “Yeah, we started the game, last week, too, but we didn’t finish then. That’s what our message was all week. We needed to finish, and I think tonight the message got through.”
Brownsville Hanna found itself in a hole early, trailing Sharyland High by two touchdowns midway through the second.
Momentum shifted with 6:29 left in the half, with defensive lineman Manrique Cantu deflecting a pass and picking it off before rumbling down the field for the 55-yard score.
Cantu’s interception sparked a run of four straight turnovers and four straight touchdowns during the second quarter, giving Brownsville Hanna a 28-14 lead going into the break.
“They always joke with me at practice, calling me a practice hero because I go and pick all the screens,” Cantu said. “Now I did it during a game, so maybe I can get them off my back. But it was crazy. It felt like a dream. I was just praying to God to give me the stamina.
“After that it was a mentality thing. At the beginning I feel like we were going half-speed. That’s not the team we are. We’re a fast and strong team. It just took that big motivation to get us into fighting shape.”
The Eagles (1-1, 0-0) return home for their next two contests, beginning with a game against Harlingen South (0-2, 0-0) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville. The Rattlers (1-1, 0-0) hit the road for a clash with McAllen Rowe (1-1, 0-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen.
