BY GREG SELBER

MCALLEN – It’s like this. The Rattlers can lift up a dusty rock out in Starr County and underneath probably find a serviceable running back with speed and toughness; such is the nature of the deep stable of backs emanating from that program in recent years. Thursday night, with fullback Freddy Lopez out of action in the second half, and Justin Ortega back from an injury but playing only defense, Rio Grande City needed to check the rock.

Out from the nether region popped a little guy and a big one, and they were enough to lead the team to a 32-28 win over McAllen Rowe, a victory that keeps playoff hopes alive with a week to go in the regular season.

It might seem counterintuitive to see lithe 150-pound Cris Guerra pounding the ball inside while broad-shouldered 190-pounder Darryl Lopez screeches around the corner. But as both those kids surpassed the 100-yard mark Thursday, we learned a little about personnel.

See, Guerra is a tough customer who welcomes the contact, saying that running inside is “what football’s all about.” He hits the hole so fast, he creates opportunities where a bigger, slower back might have gotten popped before getting rolling. Between the trees he goes, with force. As for Lopez, who had 102 yards to 103 for Guerra, well, he’s not slow, and that is the key. A turtle trying to run on the perimeter is going to get squashed on the highway, but a kid with size who can scoot too reminds one of John Riggins and the way he used to blast away on the Redskins’ Counter Trey.

At any rate, Rio (3-3 in District 31-5A, 4-5 overall) was able to come from behind in the fourth to eliminate the Warriors (2-4, 4-5), a club with some real animals on the roster but a short roster at that. It means that the Rattlers will be rooting for Sharyland to beat McAllen Memorial tomorrow, and then they will turn around and prepare for La Joya at home in the finale Nov. 6. That is the beginning of the situation. The answer is a conundrum wrapped in a riddle tucked into the secret passage of a 3-lock Chinese box, including a possible three-way tie, the dreaded positive-points calculus, and perhaps a clandestine visit to a curandera near you.

“We can control what we do, we can’t control those other teams and games,” said Rio Coach Jesus Lozano to his victorious group after it had scored the winning TD with 6:54 left. And after it had stopped the last Rowe drive on an interception inside the 20 from the much-maligned Rattler D, ranked last in 31-5A coming in. “It was a total team effort, guys, everyone was doing their job tonight. Seniors, don’t let this be your last week of practice!”

DO OR DIE

Instead of trying to understand much more about what rests in the crystal ball for Rio, let us recap the night’s affair, which was a back-and-forth jaunt played before a decidedly modest weekday crowd at Memorial Stadium.

Neither of these teams has gotten much ink in 2009, though some pundits had tabbed the Rattlers as a playoff team in preseason. Bumping along under the radar, the Starr Kids had pulled off a major upset of Memorial a few weeks back that got them some pub, but then taken a step backward last week as turnovers sabotaged the effort in a home loss to Donna.

This was it, then. Win or forget it, and the same could be said for Rowe, which took the field Thursday hoping for miracles under a yellow/orange fall sky. In a 31-5A league whose units have routinely put up basketball-type numbers, a few early scores probably weren’t going to mean that much; in 2009, these contests have come down to the fourth quarter and it has not been uncommon for an Upper Valley contingent to put up 40 points and still fall short.

Chances are, it would also be a sports writer’s dream, a quickly played march with ground games attacking each other and the clock as well.

Rowe got on the march first, cruising from its 25 to the Rio 18, against a Rattler D that had allowed 446 yards per game through eight tries. Quarterback Daniel Navarro, who would pick up 135 yards to lead all rushers, jetted for 15 on the first drive and he connected with fellow junior Jon Bimpong for a key gain of 12 yards. But just when the hard-luck Warriors were ready to score, Rio’s Jose Gazca came up with a sack of Navarro on third down, and a play later it was Edgar Aguinaga on pass defense to force an incomplete and turnover on downs at the Rio 21.

However, the Rattlers gave it right back as on the third snap, Orly Oviedo fumbled, with Giovanni Rivas (eight tackles, a fine game) scooping it up and sprinting 30 yards for a 7-0 Rowe lead at 4:50 of a briskly moving first. Denied their due on offense, the Warriors made it happen on defense, and took the lead.

Say this for Rio these days, that team can put the points on the scoreboard. After Rowe got the gimme, it took all of three plays for the Rattlers to answer, as Angel Alaffa tossed a 37-yard pass to Arnold Chapa (the team’s only completion of the night) down to the Rowe 28. Lopez, who collected 83 yards before leaving with some sort of stomach ailment, powered past an initial tackler and raced to the end zone from the 28, but Rio missed the kick and was down 7-6, at 4:05.

After stopping Rowe, the visitor set about business, but fumbled again (shades of the Donna game) and the Warriors took over at their own 49. Navarro to Bimpong worked for 18, and a magnificent 30-yard scamper from Isaac Govea got the crowd fired up. Now Govea has to be the smallest feature back in the Valley: he makes Rio’s Guerra look like a giant, but so what? Maybe 135 tops, he can still go, man, go! Soon it was 14-6 at 0:53 when Danny Chapa punched it in from the 4.

This is 30-5A football, so don’t blink. Rio got the ball back and advanced 57 yards in seven plays with the strong-legged Darryl Lopez stinging the D for 4 on a third-and-2 try and then cracking for 11 more as the drive gained steam. The tie came when Alaffa sneaked in from the 1 and the Rattlers made the 2-point conversion (Lopez the Bruiser) at 9:28 of the second.

Each team tallied once more in the first half, with Rowe gaining a 21-14 lead by going 70 yards in 11 snaps, thanks to a superb, 15-yard sliding catch by Bimpong (4 for 48) at the 1-yard line followed by a 1-yard dive from Chapa at 3:34. Rio’s contribution came after a 10-play, 68-yard journey kept alive by a foolish personal foul on Rowe after the Warriors had registered a third-down sack of Alaffa. Freddy Lopez swooped into the end zone from the 1 at 0:11, after runs of 20 from Oviedo and 13 from D Lopez carried the charge.

Rio would gain 375 rushing yards all told while Rowe would manage 270, plus 103 passing. And the point parade was going to continue after the break.

THE ONSLAUGHT KEEPS ROLLING

Down a point, the Rattlers picked it up in the third, pounding behind its solid offensive line and using the aforementioned depth at running back. Rowe’s defense, which has some very fine individual kids, has not stopped folks much this season. But in Tris Saucier, a 265-pound stud who runs a 4.9 40 and benches 330 pounds, the Warriors have one of the Valley’s best college prospects, though he may be unknown to many headline hoppers. Saucier went both ways for much of the night, and made six tackles though he’s been an offensive tackle through much of his career. He is a big, big man, and so is Gabe Abiro (270), and then again, so is Aaron Escamilla (250). After those three monsters, though, it gets awful small awful quick for the Mean Green.

Still, when sophomore DB Alex Garcia came up with a sack on Alaffa for minus-6, it set up a third-and-13 from the 40. Rio is not, repeat not, a passing team. They punted after Sergio Espinoza and Sergio Rodriguez surged to stop Alaffa for minus-2.

The Warriors then advanced to a TD at 3:41 on a 17-yard run by Navarro, who has alternated with fellow junior Josh Gatling at QB this year but went most of the way Thursday. Navarro had romped 29 yards early in the possession and then was bailed out on an incredible play from the tiny Govea. Navarro lost the handle on third-and-4, but Govea arced back to get the ball and sped 9 yards for a key first down at the Rio 21; Navarro scored shortly thereafter.

Facing a 28-20 deficit, Rio rallied, after recovering a fumble on the kickoff that could have ended its playoff hopes. Everyone thought that Gus Moreno had the ball for Rowe, and he did. But the whistle had blown, and the Rattlers breathed deeply.

Darryl Lopez stormed 33 yards down to the 2 soon after and then that little cat, Guerra, smacked in for a six at 0:59; 28-26 Rowe.

Looking to get some more distance between themselves and the pesky Rattlers, the Warriors set off with a 29-yard sprint from Govea, who had 93 yards on the night. A 14-yard pass turned the quarter to four and Rowe reached the Rio 25 with a third-and-6 opportunity. Ortega, who ran for well over 1,000 yards last year but was injured early this fall, is back in action in the middle of the D as a linebacker. He rushed Navarro and forced an errant throw and on fourth down, Gatling entered the game and received a pitch right. Everyone but the head cheerleader put a hat on him for minus-2, with Aguinaga and Randy Garcia getting there first.

From a possible TD that would have made it a two-possession game, the Warriors were turned away at 11:16 of the fourth. That was simply an enormous turn of events.

From there, it was vintage Rio, with Guerra riding for 29 and 14, and speedy Jaime Gonzalez adding a 10-yard burst. At 6:54, Guerra put the team ahead, 32-28 on a gutty fourth-and-goal buck from the 1. All 150 pounds of him, indeed.

Not over yet, people, not over. From their own 27, the Warriors responded, as Danny Ramos gained 14 on a pass from Navarro on third and 7. When Navarro lost the handle at 5:22, junior center Noe Reyes, pressed into duty after an injury to starter Josh Morin, saved the day by coming up with the football at the Rattler 44. A slick 11-yard pass to Bimpong got the momentum back until Rowe was 20 yards away.

Then the Rio D earned its letter for 2009, as end Ray Garza became a one-man crew with three rushes on Navarro. The first one forced an incomplete and a flag for intentional grounding that cost the home side a down and 15 yards, spot foul. The second was in concert with solid pass defense, and the third hurried Navarro into a high throw past Bimpong that Aguinaga picked off to seal the win at 3:12.

Few teams are better at eating up time than Rio, and Rowe never saw the ball again, with Darryl Lopez and Gonzalez scooting for first downs in the waning moments.

As stated, the situation in 30-5A is maddening. The key to the shooting match is Memorial-Sharyland and don’t be surprised to see redclads from Starr Co. at Memorial Stadium Friday. They will be rooting for Sharyland, just as the smattering of Mustang loyalists could be seen Thursday, sporting their Baby Blue and hoping for a Rowe win. Rio’s earlier upset of Memorial could be the linchpin that takes Lozano’s band into the postseason. That, a win against La Joya, and some other funny business is all it will take.

“Those turnovers early almost killed us,” said the Rio head man afterward. “But you have to tip your hat to Cris Guerra, and to the defense. Cris is a great kid and he’s been through a lot, with injuries last year. He never gave up, he kept coming to practice and working hard, and maybe he knew he would get the chance to have his time. Tonight was a total team effort and we just have to do the things we can do and hope we end up making it.”

Tags: Football, nikki rowe high school, rio grande city