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CORPUS CHRISTI - San Antonio Southwest coach Matt Elliott knew his team couldn't take PSJA North lightly.
For his football team there is no such thing as ‘Valley Week.' Not after narrowly escaping McHi one week ago in overtime.
But he didn't have to worry too long as the Dragons jumped on the Raiders early and often while building a 34-point halftime lead before coasting to a 41-21 Class 5A, Div. II area-round victory Saturday afternoon at Buc Stadium.
"We learned our lesson last week. We really put a focus on trying to compete against ourselves and us just getting better each week," Elliot said.
For his squad it was all about taking care of the ball and being more physical than the Raiders, he said.
"We had a little more speed out there than they had and I think that was a factor in the ball game," said Elliot, whose Dragons (8-3) move on to face Smithson Valley next week in the Alamodome.
The Raiders (9-3) never faced high-caliber backs like Stephen Salinas (16-107, 2TDs) or Trevion Johnson (14-123, 2TDs) in District 31-5A, and it showed as the two averaged 6.6 and 8.7 yards per carry, respectively.
"It's hard for us to work on that kind of speed when you don't see it week in and week out. I used to coach up in Central Texas and I know that when you take a team that hasn't been used to that kind of speed it's hard to adjust to it," said Raiders coach Bruce Bush, whose squad finished the season as co-district champs and area finalists.
Southwest scored all its points during the first half, including 27 unanswered in the second quarter which proved too high of a hurdle for the Raiders to overcome.
PSJA North answered the Dragons' first score when Fabian Martinez backed his way into the end zone from 1-yard out with 7:21 in the first. The score was set up by a 22-yard run from junior running back Gus Trejo (6 carries, 50 yards).
For a moment it looked like the Raiders were on pace to do what McHi couldn't do last week in overtime. But Salinas scored his first rushing score on Southwest's next drive to give the Dragons a 14-7 lead with 3:54 left in the quarter.
The Raiders answered by putting together an impressive drive, taking it from their 22 down to the Dragons 25, but they turned the ball over on downs after Leo Garza was brought down for an 11-yard loss on fourth and long. Southwest countered with a 12-play, 64-yard drive as Johnson scored from four out to give them a 21-7 lead with 5:25.
The Raiders then went four-and-out, and three plays later Johnson took a handoff 50 yards into the end zone, giving the Dragons a 28-7 lead with 2:38 left in the second.
Noe Garcia was picked off twice in the last two minutes and Southwest capitalized. Justin Rodriguez got the first one at midfield and Salinas took it in with 26 seconds left giving Southwest a 35-7 lead.
Paris Johnson took the other 52-yards for six points and a 41-7 lead as the clock expired.
