(Edinburg, Texas)-Edinburg Economedes High School Jaguars (1-1) sophomore running back Miguel Saucedo rushed for 200 yards on 28 carries, including three touchdowns as the Jags held on to beat the Brownsville Lopez High School Lobos (0-2) on a 14-yard field goal with :04 seconds left to play, winning 38-35 on Thursday night at Richard Flores Stadium. The win gives first-year head coach Raul Salas his first career win. “This is incredible,” said Salas. “Our team fought back and held them (Lopez), making big plays. The best is yet to come.”
With the game tied 21-21 in the fourth quarter, Saucedo broke loose on a 48-yard touchdown run to put the Jags up 28-21 with 11:09 to play. On the next series for Lopez, Lobos QB Jacob Cortinas found daylight on a 17-yard run to midfield, but a few plays later the Lobos fumbled, giving the Jags great field position at the Lobos 42-yard line with 8:20 left in the game. The Jags punched it in for a 35-21 lead with 3:19 left.
The Lobos went to work. Cortinas completed a 45-yard pass and sophomore Eddie Slovak scored from 18-yards to make it 35-27. The extra point attempt was no good. On the kickoff, the Lobos went with the onside kick with 2:28 left to play and the Jags recovered. A few plays later, the Jags coughed up the ball with 1:28 left to play in this wild game. Two plays later, Cortinas spotted WR Angel Ramirez for the score. Down 35-33, the Lobos converted on the two-point conversion to tie the game at 35-35. “I’m so proud of the way we played tonight,” said first-year head coach Shaun Tarantola from Brownsville Lopez. “Good things are happening here with our Lobos.”
Lopez QB Cortinas passed for 349 yards, completing 20-of-29 attempts and four touchdowns despite their loss. The Jags will travel to play Corpus Christi Carroll on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. while Lopez (0-2) will travel to La Joya ISD PACK Stadium to meet the Palmview Lobos (2-0).
