Rio Hondo 40 Grulla 0

Marco Garate gave the homecoming crowd plenty to smile about Friday night at Bobcat Stadium, rushing for 233 yards and two touchdowns

 

 

 

FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer

RIO HONDO — Marco Garate gave the homecoming crowd plenty to smile about Friday night at Bobcat Stadium, rushing for 233 yards and two touchdowns to guide the Rio Hondo Bobcats to a comfortable 40-0 win over the Grulla Gators.

“The team played great football on both sides of the ball and I think the overall effort was just unbelievable,” said Rio Hondo head coach Rocky James. “I think this is probably the best game we’ve played so far this year as a whole. I think the offense had over 400 yards rushing again, very hard to do against a good Grulla team.”

“It was just something the kids had been doing all week; they beat us last year 30-0 so we need some payback here at home.”

On his first carry of the night Garate broke loose on a 94 yard run that gave the Bobcats an early 6-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first quarter.

On the next possession Rio Hondo’s Joshua Gonzalez scrambled for a 13 yard touchdown run capping a nine play drive, which began at their 32 yard line, giving the home side a 13-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first.

Gonzalez, Elijah Pitones, and Garate would add three more touchdowns to the scoreboard before the half, as the Bobcats began to pull away 34-0.

Garate had 176 yards on 15 carries the before the half, while Grulla’s offense had just under 40 yards.

“It feels great and want to thank my offensive line and coaches that are doing a great job teaching me what I do and moving forward and getting all the yards that I can,” said Garate.

The Gator offense struggled though out the night totaling 120 yards in the game; a testament to the Bobcat defense that forced three fumbles and an interception on the evening.

“I think we had them under 100 yards before they got that one run on us,” said coach James. “I was a tremendous night, I don’t know what it ended up being but we were number three in the valley before tonight’s game so hopefully it gets us to second or to first.”

“We have a lot of pride in our defense here in Rio Hondo so were shooting for number one in the Valley.”

With the win the Bobcats improve to 4-1 and get ready to begin district play in two weeks against West Oso on the road in Corpus Christi.

The loss gives Grulla an 0-5 start to the season as they prepare to travel to La Feria to begin district play on October 10th.

Bobcats, Garate brutalize Gators in rushing onslaught - San Benito News

(Photo by Edward Cruz)
Rio Hondo Bobcats running back Marco Garate is seen running through the Grulla Gators defense with ease on Friday night at Bobcat Stadium.

By ARMANDO GARZASpecial to the NEWS
RIO HONDO — Marco Garate seems to have this 200-yard rushing thing down pat.
And he’s showing no signs of slowing down, either.
The Rio Hondo running back turned in his second-straight game over two bills, rumbling for 247 yards and two touchdowns as the Bobcats cruised past Grulla 40-0 at Bobcat Stadium on Friday night.
Garate went 94 yards for a touchdown on his first carry and spearheaded a Bobcat rushing attack that churned out over 400 yards as the boys in black improved to 4-1 on the season. The senior had 277 yards against Hidalgo last week for his first 200-yard effort and said he’s definitely in a groove right now thanks to help he’s received.
“I have to give thanks to my o-line and my running backs coach for always being there for me,” Garate said afterward. “It’s great. Every game I want to go out and try to set records and be the best that I can be. That’s my goal every time we play.”
The long TD from Garate put the Cats up early in the first and QB Josh Gonzalez made it 13-0 on his 12-yard scoring scamper with 1:54 left in the first.
Thanks to a fumble recovery by Isaiah Heredia, the Rio Hondo lead swelled to 20-0 on a 13-yard keeper by QB Eli Pitones at the 9:40 mark of the second quarter.
Garate’s second score, a 3-yarder, was all effort as he pinballed his way in a few minutes later while Gonzalez tacked on a 14-yard TD run to make it 34-0 Cats at intermission.
In that first half, Rio Hondo’s defense stymied Grulla to one first down and forced six punts in the first half. The Gators had just 33 total yards at the break and were stumped against the Cats’ D all night long. On the night, the injury-riddled Gators totaled just 123 total yards as they fell to 0-5 on the year.
“That was the best performance so far for us this year,” Rio Hondo head coach Rocky James said. “It was an all-around effort. Our o-line was tremendous and our backs ran hard all night. And getting the shutout, that goose egg gets the kids fired up. Now we go into a week off and rest up and get ready for West Oso.”
The second score for Pitones came with 5:45 to go in the third as he finished a 20-yard keep to round out the scoring. Defensively, Rio Hondo’s Eliseo Guerrero fell on a fumble and Joey Guzman recorded an INT for the Cats to close things out and send the Homecoming crowd home happy.

Part 2: The Valley’s Hurricane of 1933 - Valley Morning Star : Local News

Part 2: The Valley’s Hurricane of 1933 - Valley Morning Star : Local News



Posted: Thursday, September 4, 2014 11:00 pm                                                           

 By JIM HENSLEY Special to the Star Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — From the Hurricane of 1933, also known as the Cuba-Brownsville Hurricane, came stories of bravery and courage. One of the best was that of Bill King and the Snake King Ranch in Brownsville.

After the hurricane hit the Valley on Sept. 5, Bill King stayed with his family in a brick office building. The Snake King Ranch had some 17,290 wild creatures within its fenced walls. There were five lions, eight or 10 mountain lions, a savage old chimpanzee, bobcats and javelinas, but the majority were rattlesnakes.

The tremendous speed of the wind and the power of the frightened lions allowed them to escape; they went on a killing rampage. They first met up with a pony. It did not take long for the lions to make a skeleton of the pony. One of the lions came to an office window that had been broken out by the wind and looked through at the occupants, scaring the people half to death: The lion had the pony’s bloody head in his mouth. Had they screamed or moved, the lion might have come through the window and attacked the family. Finally, the lion left and found a barn full of mules. It was not long until the other lions joined him. Bill King heard the roar of the lions as they fought over the choice piece of the mules.

Shortly after the lions entered the barn, Bill heard his brother-in-law crying out for help. He was in a frame building on the other side of the barn, about 50 yards from the office, and it was being torn apart by the terrific winds. Bill went from the office to the house in order to help bring six children through death’s alley. On Bill’s first trip from the house to the office, he was looking for an object to use for protection against the wild animals. He saw a board lying under the water, but when he started to pick it up, it started to move. It was a snake.

After a few more unsuccessful trips, Bill found a five-foot pole. When he got to the house, he discovered that it had fallen off one of its supports. His brother-in-law carried one child while Bill stood guard. They had to lean backward so that the wind would not force them off their feet. As they passed the barn, they could hear the lions fighting and killing. As they neared the house, a black streak passed between them. It was a javelina. Had it been a foot closer, it would have put Bill in the hospital, for a javelina tusk can rip a leg wide open. As soon as the first child was delivered to the office, a new trip began.

They tried to find the brother-in-law a weapon, but after they picked up the four-foot tail of a python that was over 20 feet long, they decided Bill’s pipe was enough protection. On the trip back, Bill stepped on a snake. The snake wrapped around his leg, but fortunately did not bite him. After a few more trips, they saw the house fall off two more supports. The mother and baby were in the house. Just as they were rescued, the house crumbled and lumber flew in every direction. Bill was hit by the falling debris but recovered and continued his journey toward the office. As they passed the barn, a female lion came out. Bill stayed behind to fight the lion.

As he raised his pipe over his head to get a good stroke, the lion heard the other lions in the barn roaring over another mule they had just killed, and the female lion retreated into the barn for her share of the spoils. Bill continued toward the office. After the hurricane passed, they had the hazardous job of getting the wild creatures back into pens.