Pioneer grinds out win over RGC
The Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks rode their ground game and stingy defense to a 21-14 victory over the Rio Grande City Rattlers on Thursday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission.
The win is Pioneer’s first of the season while RGC drops to 0-2 in non-district action.
A rainy start led to a sloppy first quarter from both sides but Pioneer was able to find its rhythm by riding Its two-headed backfield of juniors Dylan Tijerina and Marcus Perales. Perales did most of his damage in between the 20s while Tijerina used his muscle to finish drives for Pioneer.
“It’s kind of a Yin and Yang and they each bring a certain characteristic and attribute to the game,” Pioneer head coach Eddie Galindo said. “I couldn’t be prouder of those guys, they grinded it out. We’re blue-collar, man, and that’s how we play and if we’re going to talk about it we have to be about it.”
Tijerina broke free for a 13-yard score off right tackle in the second quarter and added a 1-yard touchdown run in the third by plowing his way into the endzone despite losing his helmet for a 14-7 Diamondbacks lead.
Perales hit paydirt later in the fourth to help put the Rattlers away after he broke two tackles on a 20-yard touchdown run for a 21-7 advantage.
“I think we played hard offensively and defensively. I think our defense is very good and we need to improve on offense but we’re a team in progress and I think we’re going to do good things this season,” Perales said.
Rio Grande City put up its points on a 4-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback DeAndre Rodriguez in the first and late in the fourth on a short pass from Rodriguez to senior running back Alex Alaniz.
Pioneer senior defensive back Evan Rodriguez helped shut the door on RGC with an interception at the Pioneer 3-yard line to keep the Rattlers out of the end zone.
“We prepared all week for this and it was good to see our team not give up. We prevailed and came out with the win,” Rodriguez said. “We were all communicating and all gears were moving. It was a good feeling.”
Sharyland Pioneer will look for a second-straight win next week against Edinburg North at 7 p.m. Thursday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
Rio Grande City’s next shot to land in the win column is a Week 3 test against Brownsville Veterans at 7 p.m. Thursday at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium in Rio Grande City.
