PHARR — By the time McAllen High’s offense touched the ball Thursday night, PSJA North’s offense had already hit paydirt twice.
The Raiders rolled from start to finish against the Bulldogs, 56-0, to win their 14th consecutive regular season contest Thursday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr. PSJA North improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in District 15-5A DI play. The loss was McAllen High’s first of the year as they dropped to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in district.
“They’re doing a great job of staying focused. We’re looking at every game like it’s a big ball game. We got to play like we’re capable of playing every single week,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said.
PSJA North senior quarterback Ale Aparicio made his season debut against the Bulldogs after suffering an upper body injury in early August.
The result?
Three completions for 42 yards and two touchdowns, four receptions for 83 yards and a receiving touchdown, and one rush for 18 yards. After lining up at receiver to get loose, Aparicio’s first snap at quarterback was a 23-yard touchdown throw to Julius Arredondo.
“It felt good to pick up where I left off and come out with a bang,” Aparicio said. “It wasn’t just me, the guys went out there and did their thing on both sides of the ball and on special teams helping us out with an onside kick in the first half.”
Arredondo, who normally starts at tight end but has played quarterback for the first three games of the season with Aparicio sidelined, also threw a touchdown to Ethan Guerra and punched two scores in on the ground with short QB sneaks.
Guerra finished with one receiving and one rushing touchdown. Fullback Jason Montes had 158 rushing yards and one touchdown and receiver Markus Rendon caught one score from Aparicio. Darren Garcia was the third Raiders quarterback to throw a touchdown on the night as his scoring pass was caught by Aparicio to make it 56-0.
The Raiders’ “Blackshirt Defense” held the Bulldogs to under 100 yards of total offense and defensive back Leroy Palacios came away with an interception to start the second half.
PSJA North moves on to a District 15-5A DI showdown against fellow powerhouse Edinburg Vela (3-0, 0-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
“It’s another week and we have to go out there with intensity and hopefully get another win,” Aparicio said.
McHi will look to bounce back against Rio Grande City (2-2, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
