Falcon's spread their wings in season opener

By Eladio Jaimez
eladioj@valleystar.com
956-430-6285

Los Fresnos - Funny what a little motivation does for a team.

Before the season started, the Los Fresnos Falcons learned that lineman Scott Miller would be out with an illness for five to six weeks and possibly the whole season.

So what do the Falcons do? They dedicate the regular season opener against Port Isabel to their fellow teammate and later awarded him the game ball.

Miller would be proud.

Los Fresnos ran out to an early lead and held the rival Tarpons at bay in a fightless 52-6 win of the annual Battle of Highway 100 grudge match.

Falcon head coach Scott Ford was glad to see the season get underway and even happier to see his Falcons (1-0) dominate.

"We've been preparing for this the last nine months," Ford said. "We have so much respect for PI but this was indicative of what a game between a 5A and 3A is. I don't know if we should continue this game. We were bigger and stronger."

Los Fresnos showed its prowess from the start.

Four plays into the Tarpons' opening drive, running back Ralph Valdez fumbled and Los Fresnos lineman Russell Roberts returned the loose ball 40 yards for the game's first score.

And the Falcons didn't let up.

On their next possession, junior scatback Luis Campos juked and jived his way to an exciting 71-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive.

Port Isabel responded immediately with an 80-yard scoring dash by Valdez to cut the Falcons' lead to 14-6.

But Los Fresnos added two more scores giving the Falcons a commanding 28-6 lead after a nearly 50-minute first quarter.

"We'd only run one play, I think, halfway through the first quarter because our defense scored for us," Ford said.

Falcons' quarterback Brandon Kretz ran away for a 69-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter extending Los Fresnos' big lead.

Los Fresnos didn't have any runners over 100 yards, but Kretz (6-64) and Campos (4-87) combined for 151 rushing yards on 10 carries.

"Our offense wasn't out there long but when you have guys like Luis or Brandon get into your secondary, they're tough," Ford said.

Of Los Fresnos' 38 first-half points, 17 came off turnovers.

After Roberts' fumble return, Erbey Perez took over.

The defender recovered a fumble deep in Tarpons territory that Venus Martinez later turned into a four-yard score.

And as the final seconds of the second quarter ticked away, Perez picked off PI quarterback Carr Griener. Falcons' kicker Pablo Degollado booted a 32-yard field goal with no time left on the clock.

Tarpons head coach Monty Stumbaugh said the turnovers hurt, but was glad to see his players never quit.

"We told them at halftime 'you can either go out there, lay down and get the snot beat out of you or you can fight,'" Stumbaugh said.

Valdez, who limped off the field on crutches after game, led the Tarpons with 113 yards on nine carries. Five other ball carriers rushed for 139 yards on 33 carries. Valdez had a slight hamstring pull.

"I hope this can be a building block," Ford said of his stop troops' performance. "They played a lot smarter and harder than last week (in a scrimmage against Edcouch-Elsa)."

Kretz led the Falcons' air attack completing seven-of-12 pass attempts for 151 yards and two scores.

PI's Griener completed only three-of-10 passes for 22 yards and an interception.