BY GREG SELBER

WESLACO – To what do the Wildcats owe their amazing turnaround from the first half to the second here Friday? How might they explain the fact that a thrilling 14-9 victory over the visiting San Benito Greyhounds puts them, supposedly the newbies on the District 31-5A block, at the top of the charts as the season races on?

Exactly one word can do the trick and it is a word Coach Armando Cuellar mentioned before the game, a word he saw his team illustrate against the odds during the second half, and a word he could say afterward with quiet confidence.

The word is composure.

Say again, composure.

East should have been in trouble at the half, after having failed to make a first down against a San Benny defense that was playing like a pack of crazed dogs, sending six or seven demons blasting in at once to make numerous gang tackles. Twelve total yards for the Wildcats, that’s all there was for 24 minutes, one yard every other minute, in other words.

They might have cratered when San Benito advanced inside the 10 three times in the first half, but instead rebounded with a flourish to hold the Greyhounds to a measly field goal all told.

Crater, they did not, as the moribund offense answered the bell in the third quarter, driving like a thundering phalanx to take the lead at 7-3. The 16-play, 72-yard churn set the tone for the rest of the night. Holding the ball for nearly nine minutes, the ‘Cats showed that their rebuilt offensive line wants very badly to earn the right to stand alongside the great East Side lines of the recent past.

Instead of quitting after a less than memorable first half, the Wildcats stepped into the limelight with not one, but two mammoth marches, and that was that. They withstood a late burst from a proud but tiring Greyhound group to hand former No. 1 San Benito its third loss in league. Third already!

They kept their calm, got back to business, and as Cuellar said afterward, they did what they do.

            “We had talked about that very thing, getting down but bouncing back,” said Cuellar, whose team mulched out 167 yards in the second half, the second TD drive traveling 81 yards in 13 plays to make it 14-3 at 7:07 of the fourth. At that stage, San Benny had run all of three plays, to 29 for the home boys. The strong side, indeed.

“We had to relax at halftime, we had to come out and play the way we know how,” Cuellar continued. “And to be down just 3-0, well it could have been worse, and we knew it. So the kids just got back into the flow and they made a great effort. They refused to lose and the composure was a big factor in that. We just came out and did what we do.”

As the Wildcats celebrated and the Greyhounds trudged off wearily, one could already begin to wonder about next week. That’s when San Benito tries to stave off irrelevance with an exceedingly tough muster against McAllen, who along with East, McAllen Memorial and Weslaco is tied at 3-1. Oh, Weslaco, that’s right.

Next week it’s Panthers-Wildcats, and it will simply be a mind-boggling deal, from the boisterous start of the week to the finish of that super-duper matchup with subplots galore. One thing is for sure, and it’s that East has arrived in style. Some folks were wondering how the newcomers would fare after realignment, rising from Class 4A to 5A after a momentous run through the sub-5A world.

East assistant Mike Burget, always on the spot with a pithy, fired-up axiom, had the answer.

“Tell ‘em we ain’t 4A anymore!” crowed the man-crusher of a coach, to the delight of the assembled and victorious Wildcats.

WHO’S READY?

All week long the chatter had evolved around the supposed contrast of styles on tap for Friday night at Bobby Lackey Stadium. How was San Benito’s fine defense going to fare against East’s steady-firing offensive attack? Surely the Greyhounds were bent on a low-scoring, physical game that would allow them to pound away on the Wildcats with their senior, star-studded D.

But what if Weslaco East were at home with that? What if the ‘Cats were going to be tough enough to hang in until they could get untracked? It happened that Cuellar’s Crew was quite cool with the Old-School feel and pace of the activity, and sure did get untracked when they needed to.

But at first, it seemed like the ‘Hounds, up and down this year after some terrific early triumphs (including over Harlingen, when we all still felt the Cards were very good), were set to take the road win and vault back into the race. After a 30-12 gem against Pharr North last week, which followed on the heels of a wild 6-point loss to Rowe, the ‘Hounds had to win, they knew it, and they played like it from the opening kickoff.

Darren Rivas spoiled the first momentum-builder San Benito worked on, with an interception, reminding us all that the East D, with almost as many veterans back as the enemy, is pretty salty itself.

Still, the ‘Hounds came on, and after forcing a three-and-out (four in a row to begin the night for sputtering East), they went to grinding. Using feature back Arturo Coronado and elusive inside runner Raul Luna, San Benny advanced, reaching a first and goal at the 6 near the end of the first. Luna had rambled 19 yards on third and 5, followed by a nice 12-yard reception by Jacob Ledesma, and then: disaster.

Coronado broke from the 6 and neared the goal-line where he was popped just short, the ball squirting out and the Wildcats taking over at the 20 after a touchback.

But against that San Benito D, it was soon time to punt again. Led by the Raging Apache, brutal senior linebacker Rene Chavez (14 tackles, hard-hitting Alan Bejaran added 12), the visitor yielded absolutely zero.

In the second, the O got the ball back at the 32 of East and slid to the 12 before stalling. The key to the East Charge all night was senior linebacker Fabian Villarreal, who was a monster Friday with 18 tackles, knifing in time and time again to upset the apple cart with precision blows. On fourth and 1 from the 9, fellow ‘backer Ace Ceballos, every bit as quick to the lick as Villarreal, stopped Luna cold with help from teammate Martin Rendon; those East ‘backers are sick, man, just sick. Not terribly huge, but super fast to the point of attack and very sure tacklers.

So far, no points but tons of drama, and what had we expected from two of the most excellent clubs from the 2011 playoff run? This was big-time Valley football at its finest; forget about the high-scoring, flag football thing, these guys were clobbering each other on every play! Fun to watch!

The Pups bring an ultra-aggressive group that will intimidate you; their first-class front four has some bulk and good feet, and the linebackers will annihilate you. East got nada un otra vez on its next possession, DT Josh Huerta stuffing the middle and end Adrian Zuniga flashing his considerable talents on the edge.

One more try for the ‘Hounds, who could have been ahead 14-0 but instead were feeling a tad snakebit. Starting from its own 48, though, San Benny put another promising series together, aided by a 27-yard pass from Jesse Jimenez to Jon Guzman and a 12-yard burst from Coronado (97 yards, the team got 186 on the ground and 74 through the air.). But a holding penalty stopped the momentum, actually nullifying a short TD by Coronado, and the ‘Hounds eventually settled for a field goal as the half closed.

The failure to capitalize on opportunities would come back to haunt them, though, because East was going to come out of the lockers a totally energized unit, ready to play keep-away from the opposing offense, a staple strategy the past several seasons for the Wildcats.

ABOUT FACE

San Benito, remember, was the team that defeated East early last season, and from there the ‘Cats reeled off 10 wins in a row in a memorable run deep into the state playoffs. Now they wanted some revenge. It started up front, as the linemen, none of whom has yet to attain the reputation of the famed ‘Cats of old such as Carlos Cuellar and Cat Salazar, came of age Friday night.

Taking the rock at the 28, the Wildcats moved downfield with a barreling 19-yard run from junior Saul Cuellar, who like the OL guys is working on his share of a legacy after such amazing kids as Andrew Alvarado, Bobby Gonzalez, and Aaron Munguia set the pace as 2,000-yard backs. He came in with 499 yards and picked up 107 against San Benito; his hard-charging run soon led to what was perhaps the key sequence of the night.

From the SB 47 on fourth and 6, Cuellar rolled the dice, with Brandon Hernandez passing to Ceballos on the fake punt, the gamble netting 12 yards. Hernandez again came up large with a third-down ball to sophomore J.R. Villarreal, and down the road, East had to show its toughness on an enormous play.

It came on fourth and 1 from the Greyhound 7, after three San Benny men had nailed Hernandez for no gain a play before. East pitched right, and Cuellar, who like the aforementioned trio of Wildcat legends is not huge, but definitely fast and hard-headed, cracked down to the 2. Three snaps hence, he produced a 1-yard score at 3:01.

Sixteen plays, multiple clutch conversions, and East was ahead 7-3. It was a totally dominant drive, with precision, force, and yes, composure.

On the ensuing kickoff, junior Juan Anguiano sped down and nailed the SB return man with a mighty pop. Fabian Villarreal, a three-year starter who is becoming this year’s Chris Belmares for the ‘Cats, led the crunch pack, San Benito being forced into a three-and-out.

Off went the Wildcats again as they earned a first down, the quarter turned, and they hardly noticed, so intent on plowing the Lackey green, they were.

Brandon Guzman, who has become an accurate and dependable quarterback, allowing Hernandez to act as the Play-Everywhere Dude, found J.J. Villarreal for 11 on third and 5, and at this point, it looked like the rugged Greyhound stop troop was breathing some fatigue.

Came a crucial fourth and 1 from the SB 45, and Cuellar disappeared into the secondary, sprinting 39 yards down to the 6 to send the Black/Purple Side into hysteria. Burly senior Peter Gonzalez, another of those cats who has been around long enough to learn how to win and win big, slammed in from the 1 at 7:07 for the 14-3 advantage.

The faces on the San Benito fans were just ashen. They were stunned.

It is not often that a team can reel off 29 plays to just three for its foe, but this was the case. Now it was time to see if the ‘Hounds could summon some of their noted spirit to claw back into the affair. Time was wastin’ away.

THIS IS IT

Faced with desperation time, Jimenez contributed a 14-yard run for a first down, and threw to lanky Manuel Sanchez to get the chains moving even faster. But after the third first down of the roll, junior Randy de los Santos acted the hero bit for East with a sweet over-the-shoulder interception of Jimenez at his own 44. Having been set to narrow the gap, the Greyhounds instead committed their third turnover of the night (East had none, and look no further than this stat for the difference-maker). It looked awful grim.

Toeing the line once more, though, San Benito got it back, as Huerta and Nathan Mireles were paramount in forcing a ‘Cat punt. The Greyhound D is something else, it’s true.

Dylan Castillo then entered the fray behind center and began to send the ‘Hounds downfield, notching three completions. All of a sudden, with the clock ticking, here was the offense in gear again. From the 24 of East, Coronado, whose two fourth-period scores had put the Raider game away a week prior, struck again. He hurtled into the end zone with 1:36 to go, making it 14-9. But on the two-point try, the marvelous Fabian Villarreal got there first, spilling Coronado with cleanup duty from Anguiano.

There’s more.

Victor Gaitan grabbed the onside kick after Villarreal couldn’t corral it, and by gum, there was San Benito, down five but receiving a last chance. Castillo went incomplete on first down and then Rendon clocked Coronado for no gain. A third-down pass to Gaitan netted just six, Fabian on the stop, and the last gasp was very close.

Castillo ran the option with the night’s denouement on the line, and he cut up on the keep to get what appeared on first blush to be enough for the stick-mover. Hustling tackle Jose Luna and Ceballos jumped up off him thinking differently after making the tackle, and they were right. The measurement took what seemed a lifetime, but with 0:50 left, the Wildcats roared like champions as they realized the ‘Hounds were short, a tiny fraction short.

This one was over, people! What a game!

PONDERINGS

What is the aftermath of this collision of Valley powers? Depends on whose ox is being gored.

The ‘Hounds drop to 2-3, 4-3 and have McAllen next, yikes. Then it’s a road match at P-SJ-A, the bye week, and the finisher versus Weslaco, in San Benito. It looks like San Benito will have to win out to keep good playoff chances alive, though in the topsy-turvy 31-5A, perhaps a 4-loss team may advance to the Second Season.

It was a bitter pill for a squad that played East almost off the field for two periods but managed just the three points.

East is sitting pretty at 3-1, 4-2, with the Great Purple Power Test next, Weslaco waiting in the wings after a slightly surprising loss against pesky Pharr North. Then it’s McAllen Memorial, 31-28 victor over dangerous Rowe Friday, followed by a road game at middling P-SJ-A Memorial (also three losses, like San Benito) and the capper versus frenetic Rowe Nov 9.

It is just getting interesting, and the Wildcats need to concentrate on their city rival, looking no further. But they can win this thing.

“Take them one game at a time,” said the ferocious Fabian Villarreal, who grinned when asked who the ‘Cats entertain next. He knew. He also explained how the guys kept their composure in surviving the first half and then revving it up after the break. To do what they do, once again.

“We knew our offense would click eventually tonight, we just had to get them the ball back a few times,” said Villarreal, who agreed that, yes, those first-half stops inside the 10 against San Benito were huge. “There was a lot of talk about their defense all week, but we came out and showed them our defense…We knew it was going to be all four quarters, and that if we showed enough heart, we’d win.”