McALLEN — The No. 3-ranked Edinburg Vela SaberCats scored 14 straight fourth quarter points to take down the McAllen Memorial Mustangs 31-27 in a back-and-forth RGVSports.com Game of the Week on Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The SaberCats (4-0) start District 15-5A DI competition at 1-0, while the Mustangs (2-2) fall to 0-1 in league play.
Down 27-17 with 10 minutes remaining, Edinburg Vela took advantage of a lucky bounce as tight end Noah Rocha recovered a SaberCats fumble and rumbled into the end zone to slice into the lead. After the Vela defense forced a Memorial punt, athlete Bernabe Gonzalez took over and scored the game-winner on a 29-yard run. He had a chance to pad his stats and score another touchdown with time winding late but elected to go down at the Memorial 1-yard line to ensure the Vela victory.
“I want to thank my team, my O-line. I did it for my boy Cyrus (Golat), he’s in the hospital. This was for him,” Gonzalez said. “I’m here for the team. That’s all I do it for.”
“Hats off to the kids. There was a moment there where we were thinking this could get a little bit ugly, but we stuck to it and came out with the win,” Edinburg Vela head coach John Campbell said.
After Vela rolled over Memorial 63-0 at home last season, the Mustangs played like a much improved team and gave the SaberCats everything they could handle. Sophomore quarterback Kane Coy accounted for two first half touchdowns — the first a 73-yard bomb to Dylan Goodson and the second on a 31-yard scramble.
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The SaberCats answered with a touchdown run by Jamal Polley and a 27-yard touchdown pass from Myles Lopez to Jaxson Shupe to make it 14-14 at the half.
The Mustangs seized momentum during the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth as JP Garza scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to cap off a 10-play, 98-yard drive. Coy followed it up with his second touchdown pass of the night on a heads play to Goodson down the left sideline for 27-yards.
Vela’s defense answered the call during the fourth quarter by forcing a punt and a turnover on downs to end the game.
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Polley led the SaberCats with 90 rushing yards and a score. Lopez finished 7-for-13 for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Memorial’s Coy had a bit of a breakout game in the loss with 8-for-13 passing for 171 yards and 77 yards rushing. Sebastian Aleman led the Mustangs with 103 rushing yards, while Dylan Goodson caught five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
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Next for the SaberCats is a marquee matchup against No. 1 PSJA North (4-0, 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Richard Flores Stadium in Edinburg. Meanwhile, the Mustangs move on to face La Joya Palmview (2-2, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday at La Joya Stadium in La Joya.