CORPUS CHRISTI — PSJA North had its opportunities during a defensive slugfest against Corpus Christi Veterans in the Region IV-5A Division I final, but the Raiders failed to convert when it mattered most, falling 20-14 against the Eagles on Saturday at Buccaneer Stadium.
“We know if we would have done what we were capable of doing tonight, we would have won this ballgame. If we would have been able to punch it in from inside the 10-, 20-yard line like we did all season in the previous 13 ballgames, this would be a different story. We got to learn from it and grow from it,” PSJA North head coach Marcus Kaufmann said.
The District 15-5A DI champion Raiders end their season at 13-1 overall and made program history by reaching the regional final round of the playoffs for the first time.
Corpus Christi Veterans (12-2) moves on to the state semifinals to face College Station.
PSJA North hung tough with Corpus Christi Veterans for all four quarters, but the Raiders’ offense had trouble punching it in when in the red zone. A missed 23-yard field goal during the first half and turnover on downs during the second half while in scoring territory proved costly for PSJA North.
“We got beat in the red zone. We had the ball inside the 20, they tightened up, grabbed on to us a little bit, but we weren’t able to punch it in on two possessions in there and it cost us the ballgame,” Kaufmann said.
PSJA North tied the game at 7 after quarterback Ale Aparicio hit receiver Markus Rendon for a 9-yard touchdown during the second quarter.
Corpus Christi Veterans answered immediately with a 15-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Elijah Durrette to Ryan Wilson with seven seconds left in the first half for a 14-7 advantage at the break.
The Raiders’ defense kept them in the game during the second half with back-to-back turnovers on an interception by Stephen Garza and a fumble recovery by Devante Ezpinoza.
PSJA North’s offense couldn’t take advantage, however, while Corpus Christi Veterans’ did.
A 92-yard touchdown pass by Durrette to Christian Sabsook made it a 20-7 game with 7:52 remaining.
The Raiders rallied with an Aparicio touchdown pass to Ethan Guerra on a 12-yard wheel route to slice the lead to 20-14 with 2:52 to play. PSJA North got the ball back by forcing a punt trailing by six with :19 seconds left in the game, but time ran out on the Raiders as they crossed midfield.
“Tough loss. We came out hitting, they came out hitting. We shot ourselves in the foot by putting our heads down and it really hurt us throughout the game,” PSJA North’s Aparicio said.
PSJA North finished with 394 yards of total offense to Corpus Christi Veterans’ 335. Jason Montes led the Raiders with 105 rushing yards while Julius Arredondo posted four catches for 106 yards.
The Raiders will return 20 of 22 starters next season as PSJA North hopes for another shot at the regional final.
“Grow from this and build from this,” Kaufmann said. “You just add to it, learn from what they did to beat us, pick up some of it and steal it and continue to grow. We’ve only been beaten once this year and it doesn’t feel very good. Don’t like it at all, don’t want it to happen again.”
“This game left a sour taste in our mouth. We’re going to come back hungry, hit the weight room, hit the film room, hit the field when we can and come back next year even stronger,” Aparicio said.
