WESLACO — The Mercedes-San Benito combo of Tigers quarterback Marc Ledesma and Greyhounds running back Tyrone Harper sparked a second-half rally for the East squad in the annual Rio Grande Valley Coaches Association East-West All-Star game at Bobby Lackey Stadium on Saturday.
Trialing 21-10 with nine minutes left in the third quarter, Ledesma orchestrated the East’s offense down the field and eventually sniffed the end zone using his legs, then hit his twin brother Matt for the two-point conversion that cut the lead to 21-18.
On the next drive, it was the Greyhounds who took over.
QB Erick Retta led the drive and fed his running back Harper who made a few key runs on the drive.
With 6:30 left in the contest, Harper got the go-ahead score – his second of the evening – to give the East a 25-21 victory.
“Nothing changed; we just had a lot of negative plays in the first half,” said East coach David Cantu. “We committed penalties as well, but regardless of that we persevered and fought back. We were not going to give up; none of us wanted to lose this game tonight.”
Retta started the game under center for the East and led the team to a scoring drive on the East’s opening possession.
“It was amazing and fun to play with such a talented group,” Harper said. “It felt like San Benito all over again and it was special to play with them one more time.”
For the West, Edinburg Vela’s Brandon Guzman shined. Guzman ran in for a 3-yard score early to tie the game at 7, and later hauled in a score from fellow Sabercat Nate Garcia to push the West’s lead 21-10 in the third quarter.
“Coaching this all-star game has been one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had,” Cantu said. “I just told the kids to go out, have fun and savor the moment because there is nothing like Texas high school football.”
