The Port Isabel Tarpons participated in the Los Fresnos 7 on 7 Football League for the last time this past Monday (July 13th) and were matched up against the San Benito Greyhounds 2nd team. The last time these two teams played, the Tarpons easily routed the Greyhounds 58-12, but this time Port Isabel would have to overcome adversity in order to triumph.
The Tarpons opened up the game on offense and engineered a long, time consuming drive which concluded with a 5 yard touchdown pass from Kyle DeMoss (22/24 218yds 4td 0int) to Matt Garza (8rec 112yds 3td) to take an early 6-0 lead. After the drive, Port Isabel took a big blow as DeMoss came to sideline complaining about a thumb injury. DeMoss decided to pull himself from the game and did not return the entire 1st half. Wide Receiver Garza who caught the touchdown pass would find himself tossing the ball instead of catching it. San Benito and Port Isabel’s defense each made consecutive stops causing repeated turnover on downs. Port Isabel Safety Blake Sapp intercepted a Greyhound pass which would spark a long Tarpon offensive drive, but San Benito’s defense prevailed with a big stop. San Benito would then put on an impressive offensive drive of their own, which resulted with a 10 yard touchdown. The Greyhounds also converted the 2 point conversion to take an 8-6 lead. The Tarpons tried to score before the 1st half came to a close but Garza (6/12 44yds 1td 1int) was intercepted. The score remained 8-6 in favor of San Benito at halftime. The Tarpons looked confused and dysfunctional offensively without DeMoss at quarterback, but the defense was standing strong.
The Tarpons opened up the 2nd half with a new quarterback. Blake Sapp took over on the Port Isabel’s opening offensive series. Sapp did not fare very well as his 1st pass attempt was intercepted for a touchdown which gave the Greyhounds a commanding 14-6 lead. The two point conversion attempt was intercepted by Garza. DeMoss knew it was time for himself to get back into the game and lead his team to victory. DeMoss drove the Tarpons the length of the field and found Garza from 7 yards out for his 2nd touchdown reception of the day which cut the deficit down to 2. The Seawall Defense held San Benito in check as Blake Sapp made his 2nd interception of the game. DeMoss acted as a field general leading the Tarpons on another authoritative scoring drive. DeMoss hit numerous passes to his security blanket tight end EJ Holland (9rec 70yds) throughout the drive. In the redzone DeMoss found his other tight end Johnny Delgado (2rec 19yds) on consecutive passes which set up a 5 yard touchdown strike from DeMoss to CJ Barrera (3rec 25yds 2td) giving Port Isabel their 1st lead since the opening possession. The Tarpons kept on rolling offensively as DeMoss found Garza yet again, this time on a 45 yard touchdown connection. Chris Jones (3rec 13yds 1xp) added the 2 point conversion to extend the Tarpon lead, 26-14. The Tarpon defense would not be overshadowed as Sapp recorded his 3rd interception of the day and took it in for a touchdown. San Benito saw their lead quickly diminish into a Port Isabel romp. The Greyhounds hopes of getting back into the game were crushed as middle linebacker Jair Cortez made a crucial interception giving San Benito their 4th turnover of the game and 3rd of the 2nd half. Garza finished the game at quarterback for the Tarpons, and found Barrera who juked a defender and sped past another on his way to a 15 yard touchdown. The Tarpons stopped San Benito on their last drive to end the game. “I just was not going to let us lose our last game,” said DeMoss after the game when asked what made him go back into the game despite injury. It looked like the injury did not affect DeMoss at all, as he completed an astonishing 92% of his passes.
Port Isabel 38 San Benito14 was the final score. The Tarpons completed their season in the Los Fresnos 7 on 7 league and will more than likely not have anymore 7 on 7 games this summer. The Tarpons garnered big victories over Los Fresnos, Edcouch Elsa, and Hidalgo this summer while losing close to Weslaco, San Benito, and Lago Vista. Congratulations to the Port Isabel Tarpons on a great 7 on 7 summer!
