CORPUS CHRISTI — The Rio Grande City Rattlers knew they were the underdogs.

The San Antonio Southwest Dragons knew they were the heavy favorites.

That same mentality both teams entered Friday night’s bi-district playoff game at Phil Danaher Stadium is the same mind frame both teams left with after the Dragons dominated in a 58-29 victory.

CORPUS CHRISTI — As meaningful as last week’s victory was for Rio Grande City, Rattlers coach Jesus Lozano admitted the celebration only lasted through the night. Hours removed from the Rattlers’ win against La Joya coupled with Donna’s stunning rally over McAllen Memorial, which sent RGC back to the postseason since 2006, Lozano says it was back to the drawing board last Saturday morning.

LA JOYA — With less than 2 minutes remaining in Friday night’s game against Rio Grande City, La Joya Palmview quarterback Javier Femat started moving the ball the way he did the whole game, down the field. But this time Femat and company fell short at the 1-yard line, enabling Rio Grande City to hang on for a 48-45 victory in a District 30-5A game at La Joya ISD Stadium.

“The defense came through when they had to,” RGC coach Jesus Lozano said. “I know we had a hard time with number 10 (Femat) cause he’s a good quarterback.”

The Rio Grande City-La Joya Palmview game at 7:30 Friday night at La Joya ISD Stadium is by no means a must-win for either team but the losing team would be in the position of having to win its final three games of the year to make the playoffs.

“Every game is important,” Rattlers coach Jesus Lozano said. “By all means it is not a must-win but we want to win our last four games. We want to go out (Friday night) and execute.”

MISSION — Sharyland defensive coordinator Rudy Gonzalez said the bottom line for the Rattlers defense is keeping teams out of the end zone.

Gonzalez knows with the high-powered offenses the Rattlers have faced and will face, Sharyland is not always going to keep its opponents’ yardage to a minimum.

Third-ranked Sharyland’s defense will be tested again when it travels to take on Rio Grande City on Friday.

RIO GRANDE CITY — The performances displayed by No. 5 McAllen Memorial and Rio Grande City Friday night are performances that will be remembered for a long time.

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their performance is one that will be overshadowed by the Rattlers’ resiliency that drove them to another thrilling 42-35 upset victory of Memorial at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium.

RIO GRANDE CITY — Fifth-ranked McAllen Memorial will look to remain undefeated when it travels to face Rio Grande City at 7:30 tonight at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium.

Although the Rattlers are 1-3 overall and 0-1 in league, Mustangs coach Bill Littleton said RGC will not be a breeze. Last season, the Rattlers gave the defending District 30-5A champs all they could handle.

Last week, RGC played neck-and-neck with McAllen High before fading late in the game. Littleton said his team can’t overlook RGC.

Rio Grande City’s loss of running back Justin Ortega hurt a little less two weeks ago.

Despite losing Ortega for the rest of the season and dealing with a slew of injuries, the Rattlers managed a 30-29 win over Weslaco High in Week 2.

“It felt real good to get that win,” said Jesus Lozano, whose team takes on McAllen High at 7 tonight in the first District 30-5A game of 2009 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Author: TheSHOCKER360
Keywords: PORTER COWBOYS VS RIO GRANDE RUMBLE (FOOTBALL GAME GONE WILD)
Added: August 16, 2009

Remember your roots!

You hear it too much sometimes that it tends to lose its meaning.

Fathers tell their kids. Civil rights leaders preach it to the masses.

Remember your roots! On Friday night, the Valley remembered its sports roots in grand fashion at the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame at the Victoria Palms Hotel in Donna.

And the stories were endless.

And everywhere you looked there was a piece of Valley sports history on display.