Tarpons Run Past the Tigers in 37-16 Win

By: TarponFever.Net

            After their loss to Porter the prior week, coach Strunk vowed to clean up the Tarpon rushing game miscues and boy they did. The Tarpons racked up 454 rushing yards against the Tigers. The first home game of the season brought in a huge crowd in support for the Tarpons and they were not disappointed. After last year’s 34-7 loss to the Tigers, this time it was the Tarpons with the dominating performance.

            The Tarpons set the tone from the get go as the “Seawall Defense” forced the Tigers to punt on three consecutive drives. Meanwhile the “Tidal Wave Offense” got a boost in their running game with the return of running back Brayan Medina. Early in the game the Tarpons marched down to the Tigers goal line, but fumbled the ball into the endzone. The Tigers were able to jump on a loose ball for the touchback. On the ensuing Port Isabel drive wideout, Mac Strunk fooled the Tiger’s defense and most of the fans as he threw a 28-yard pass to receiver Will Camacho. The Tarpons reached the Valley View’s 9-yard line before settling for a 27-yard field goal with 1:30 to go in the first quarter putting the Tarpons up 3-0.

            In the 2nd quarter the Tarpons were facing a 2nd and 4 as Medina broke lose for 66-yard touchdown run with 10:20 left in the half. A successful extra point kick put the Tarpons up 10-0.  The Tigers were finally able to get on the scoreboard by hitting a 43-yard field goal with 5:54 left in the 2nd quarter. The Tarpons not taking the foot off the pedal scored twice more behind the 1-2 punch of Medina and Strunk as the Tarpons went into halftime with a commanding 24-3 lead.

            At the start of the second half, the Tarpons continued to lean on running back Medina as they drove down 70 yards on a 10-play scoring drive which put the Tarpons up 31-3. The work Medina put in was by design as coach Strunk said, “Brayan was rusty. That’s why we stuck with him all night. Had to squeeze in four weeks of practice and two scrimmages into one game for him. He got better as we went.”

            The Tarpons got a little sloppy by committing a handful of penalties which led to the Tarpons first punt of the night late in the third quarter. Benefiting of a short field, Tiger’s QB, Aksel Cerda hit receiver, Richard Ordaz on slant route for a 43-yard touchdown, making it a 31-10 game. The Tigers seemed to shift the momentum as they forced Port Isabel to punt on the ensuing drive, but it was short-lived as Tarpon’s defensive end, Edgar Orduna intercepted a pass by Cerda.

            In the 4th quarter, Port Isabel’s quarterback, Joey Krieghbaum lead the offense on a 72-yard scoring drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass to fullback, Tito Zamarron. The missed extra point kick put the Tarpons up 37-10 with nine minutes left in the game. The Tigers managed to scored once more on the Tarpon reserves with 7:18 left in the 4th quarter for the final score of 37-16.

Tarpon running back, Brayan Medina who did not play the previous week against Brownsville Porter lead the team with 314 total yards and three touchdowns. Utility man, Mac Strunk threw for 28 yards and ran for 109 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown. Defensively, linebacker Zaid Calderon led the team with 10 tackles including two tackles for a loss. (1-1)Port Isabel Tarpons will travel next Friday night to Hidalgo to take on the (1-1)Hidalgo Pirates. Port Isabel won last year’s matchup 33-6 at Tarpon Stadium.