EDINBURG — Edinburg North defensive lineman Fabian Gonzalez can’t recall if he has ever scored a touchdown since he began playing the game at the peewee level.
The senior scored a touchdown to remember Friday. Less than one minute after Edinburg North’s first touchdown of the night, Cougars’ linebacker Sam Cerda applied the pressure on Edinburg High’s Jae Santa Maria.
The pressure led to a Santa Maria fumble. Gonzalez scooped the ball and rumbled 40 yards into the end zone for one of two non-offensive touchdowns by the Cougars as Edinburg North downed Edinburg High 21-3 at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
“It’s amazing, but I couldn’t have done it without my middle linebacker Sam,” Gonzalez said. “He made that big play. All I did was scoop it up and score. I just prayed to God that I would pick it up and wouldn’t stumble. Those 40 yards were the longest 40 yards of my life.”
Gonzalez’s touchdown was one of several big plays made by the Cougars’ defense Friday, limiting Edinburg High to just 196 total yards and forcing three turnovers.
The hard-nosed Cerda led the charge defensively, tallying one forced fumble and two sacks, while senior defensive back Orlando Gonzalez added an interception.
“He (Cerda) has gotten better every week,” Edinburg North head coach Damian Gonzalez said. “He started the season off a little slow and was struggling a little bit but he really has gotten going. We’re excited by the way he’s playing but we expected that since the beginning of the year. There is a reason why he was the preseason defensive MVP of the district.”
Edinburg North got on the board late during the first, with running back Ulysses Melendez weaving his way through the defense for a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 7-3.
Melendez finished with a game-high 126 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries, averaging 7 yards per touch.
The Cougars added to their lead with 9:50 left in the third, with the special teams getting in on the scoring on a blocked punt by Andrew Renner recovered in the end zone by Sebastian Salamanca to make it a three-score game.
“I thought it was going to be a fake, so I just went for it and jumped hoping that I blocked it,” Renner said. “I just ran up and jumped and I blocked it.”
“I saw the fake coming too,” Salamanca added. “I heard the ball get blocked and just thought, “Oh man!” Then I saw the ball and it just happened.”
With Edinburg High driving late, it was the defense stepping up again, with Cerda recording a 15-yard sack to force a turnover on down and seal the victory.
The win secures at least a share of the District 31-6A title for the Cougars, their first district championship since 2001. The Cougars, however, aren’t looking to share the district crown. They’re looking to secure the outright championship next week.
“Next game we have to collect piece No. 5,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve been talking about that all year. We’ve been talking about collecting five district wins. We got four tonight. We don’t want to share anything. These guys, you saw them, they’re excited. They’re going to enjoy tonight but they’ll be here in the morning to start getting ready for Economedes.”
The Cougars (7-2, 4-0) look to finish off the regular season unbeaten in District 31-6A, taking on city rival Edinburg Economedes (1-8, 0-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Richard R. Flores Stadium. The Bobcats (5-4, 3-1) wrap up their regular season at 7 p.m. Thursday, hosting PSJA High (4-5, 3-1) at Richard R. Flores Stadium.
