Mustangs can’t overcome Greyhounds’ 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points

High school football

McALLEN – McAllen Memorial Head Football Coach Bill Littleton summarized Friday night’s football game against San Benito very simply:

“If you’re going to give up a kickoff return for a touchdown, the best time to do it is with 47 minutes remaining in the game,” he said. “It’s those touchdowns at the end of the game that are tough to overcome.”

That’s exactly what happened Friday night as San

Benito scored 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points en route to a 31-7 victory after the Mustangs had held their own against the speed-and-spread offense of the Greyhounds for three quarters.

“We played pretty good football for three quarters but just let it get away from us in the fourth,” Littleton said. “This was a big ballgame, and we made some costly turnovers in the fourth – and those will bite you in the foot.”

The Greyhounds’ Tyrone Harper took the opening kickoff 96 yards, finding a seam, and 14 seconds into the game, San Benito led 7-0.

“Our special teams’ coverage has been good all year long,” Littleton said. “You have to give them credit, they got Harper, and he has speed and was running downhill.”

Memorial came into the game with hopes of churning the clock with a slow and methodical offense. It worked to perfection on the first series and culminated when Memorial quarterback Sean Skaugen found an opening on a quarterback keeper, reversed field and scored on a 41-yard drive.

Neither team did much for the next two quarters. The Mustangs missed an opportunity to go up 10-7 on a field goal with time winding down, and they went into the locker room tied at 7.

“We probably beat ourselves – we had a couple turnovers and came up short on a fourth-and-short,” Littleton said. “Those things can wear on you both mentally and physically. We could’ve been up 10-0 if we didn’t give up a kickoff return and then missed a field goal. It’s just part of the game – you’ve got to be good in all three part of the game (offense, defense, special teams).”

San Benito used its no-huddle offense, attempting to wear down the Mustangs. As the game progressed, running back Tyrone Harper continued to show his speed, and gained 182 yards on 24 carries while also catching one pass for 21 and scoring his other touchdown on the kickoff. Greyhound quarterback Erick Retta added 106 yards rushing on 12 carries. He completed only three of 13 passes for 37 yards, but one of those completions was a 10-yard scoring strike to Ryan Riza.

“Momentum is a strange thing,” Littleton said of the fourth-quarter scoring spree by San Benito. “When it gets on one side you have to have some type of reaction to stop it and swing it back, otherwise it gets contagious and everyone on the other side is filled with it.”

Skaugen led the Mustangs offensively with 126 yards rushing on 15 carries. Trevor Speights added 91 yards on three carries. Defensively, Kelechi Nwachuku had 15 total tackles, and the Mustangs collected four sacks while giving up 332 yards.

Pedro Gomez had 19 tackles for the Greyhounds. San Benito Head Coach Dan Gomez did not return repeated calls and texts seeking comment.

McAllen Memorial fell to 2-1 on the year and plays at home Thursday against Los Fresnos. San Benito improved to 3-0 and has the week off before hosting Los Fresnos on Friday, Sept. 29.

“We’ve got to stop Los Fresnos’ running back and quarterback,” Littleton said. “They run a spread and come out in a whole bunch of different formations, and they’re good at what they do.”