PHARR — PSJA North quarterback Ale Aparicio was forced out of the Raiders’ 2021 meeting against Edinburg Vela after suffering a shoulder injury during the first half. The Raiders ended up losing the game, while the SaberCats went on to win a district title.
Thursday night, Aparicio and the Raiders lined up in victory formation for one final knee to put a bow on a 28-21 win over the SaberCats in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week at PSJA Stadium.
After the final play, tears rolled down Aparicio’s face as teammates stormed the field to celebrate the victory over the No. 1-ranked team in the RGVSports.com Class 5A-6A poll. The No. 3-ranked Raiders improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in District 15-5A DI, while the SaberCats (4-1, 1-1) lost their first district game since Nov. 2019.
“Last year left a sour taste in my mouth and I knew I had to come back and help my teammates to do whatever it takes to get that win,” Aparicio said after running for two touchdowns against the SaberCats. “I couldn’t do it without my line, without these running backs, without these coaches.”
The Game of the Week between Edinburg Vela and PSJA North was advertised as a playoff-type game and the two delivered from start to finish.
The two played to a scoreless stalemate after one quarter before the Raiders opened up a 14-7 halftime lead. PSJA North fullback Jason Montez ran for one touchdown and Aparicio punched in another. Edinburg Vela got on the board with a 34-yard end around touchdown run by Justin Navarro.
But the fireworks were left for the fourth quarter. PSJA North pulled ahead early during the fourth after executing a 17-play drive that was aided by a 3rd-and-goal facemask penalty and capped off by another Aparicio touchdown run. The Raiders then got a stop and went up 28-14 after a 31-yard touchdown run by Jaden Fuentes with 2:17 remaining.
Edinburg Vela answered with a 4-yard touchdown pass by Bobby Garcia to Dimas De Leon to trim the deficit to 28-21 with 1:32 left in the game. The SaberCats recovered the ensuing onside kick, but PSJA North’s defense stepped up to stop Vela’s offense in its tracks to secure the win. Junior defensive lineman Danny Garcia had two sacks and on the SaberCats’ final possession.
“We knew this game was going to be a dogfight, but we wanted to be the better team,” Garcia said. “We wanted that district title more than anyone, we worked our butts off during the summer. Grind don’t stop.”
The Raiders entered the game as underdogs in the public’s mind, but never in their own.
“We played a heck of a football game against a great football team,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “We feel like our goals are still there. We have some big, high, lofty goals with this club and we just now proved to ourselves that I think we can reach them.”
Edinburg Vela head coach John Campbell said the SaberCats didn’t execute in key moments and the Raiders took advantage.
“Credit obviously to PSJA North. We didn’t play the quality of football that we need to play in some critical situations. In big games like that, that becomes the difference in the ballgame,” he said.
Both teams enter a distinct-wide bye week before returning to action in Week 7.
