High Octane: Bears roar past Falcons
PHARR — PSJA High quarterback Myles Lopez and receiver Ryan Vallejo surgically sliced up the Los Fresnos defense in the second half as the Bears erased a 10-point halftime deficit to take down the Falcons 40-24 on Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
The victory marks the second straight by the Bears, moving them to 3-1 on the year, while also marking the first loss of the year by the Falcons, dropping them to 3-1.
Lopez finished the day 38-of-58 for 459 yards and six touchdown passes, while Vallejo racked up 19 catches for 224 yards and five scores.
“The sky is the limit with those two,” PSJA High head coach Lupe Rodriguez said. “The chemistry is great. They were giving us a lot of little things, so we kept taking what they gave us. They never really adjusted, and we just kept doing it. In the end they tried to come up, so we went deep on them. We knew we were going to have to be patient. They were playing pretty deep, but it was just an outstanding job by those two tonight.”
An hour lightning delay pushed Friday’s game back to 8 p.m., with the two teams waiting anxiously in the locker room to take the gridiron.
The Falcons seemed unphased by the delay, with running back Diego Torres taking the team’s first offensive play 75 yards to the house to give Los Fresnos a 7-0 advantage just 26 seconds into the game.
Meanwhile, PSJA High struggled to keep offensive drives going in the first half, with multiple possessions stalling out inside enemy territory due to penalties.
A touchdown pass from Lopez to Vallejo tied the game after Torres’ touchdown, but a long run by junior quarterback Robert Pineda put the Falcons back on top, adding to their lead on a field goal by Ethan Nolasco to take a 17-7 lead into the half.
During the second half, however, the Bears went to work. A 17-yard touchdown pass from Lopez to Vallejo to start the third quarter sparked a run of four straight touchdowns by PSJA High, with Lopez adding a touchdown pass to Arroyo on the ensuing drive and another two touchdown passes to Vallejo to take a 34-17 advantage during the fourth.
“We came out a little slow in the first half, but I just let my teammates know to trust in me and I’ll trust in them as well,” Lopez said. “We knew we could definitely win this ball game.”
The Falcons stopped the Bears scoring streak late during the fourth quarter, with Pineda hitting tight end Joshua Laster over the middle for a 21-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit down to 10.
Los Fresnos would get no closer, with Lopez and Vallejo connecting one final time for a 36-yard touchdown to seal the Bears victory.
“You just have to read the corner,” Vallejo said. “If they’re playing back, you just got to eat them up. Once they start biting down on that, the deep routes are going to be there. I told all my guys I was going to go for five. I just got to ball out and show out for my teammates tonight.”
The loss by the Falcons marks their first of the year, falling to 3-1 with two non-district games remaining. They’ll take on Edinburg High (3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Richard Flores Stadium as they look to get back in the win column.
The Bears improved to 3-1 with the win, marking their second straight victory after their loss to PSJA North in Week 2. They’ll look to keep rolling at 7 p.m. Friday against Brownsville Veterans (2-2) at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
“We just have to keep putting in the work,” Vallejo said. “We can’t get satisfied and keep showing up to work.”
