The wet conditions resulted in a combined five first half fumbles between the two, but the Diamondbacks were first to find their footing.
“They fought and never gave up. They battled through adversity and it defines who they are as people — when you’re faced with a challenge it’s about how you respond to the challenge,” Pioneer head coach Eddie Galindo said. “We definitely have some things to clean up and our young guys have to grow up but they came out and fought and I’m proud of these guys.”
Pioneer’s pair of junior runners Tijerina and Perales complemented each other on the ground after the slow start and RGC had trouble bottling them up.
The Diamondbacks drew first blood on a 13-yard touchdown run off right tackle by Tijerina for a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Rio Grande City responded with a 32-yard pass from junior quarterback DeAndre Rodriguez to David Chapa to enter the red zone. Rodriguez then punched in a 4-yard run on a quarterback keeper as the Rattlers pushed the pile over the goal line to tie things at 7-7 at the half.
Pioneer went back to its rushing attack of Tijerina and Perales in the second half as Tijerina scored on a 1-yard plunge despite losing his helmet on the play and Perales hit pay-dirt on a winding run up the gut of the RGC defense for a 21-7 lead in the fourth.
“We started off a little rough but we powered through it,” Perales said.
Sharyland Pioneer Dylan Tijerina (24) carries the ball against Rio Grande City in a non-district game at Richard Thompson Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Mission. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)
Diamondback’ defensive back Evan Rodriguez ended a Rattlers’ drive in the third quarter with an interception at the Pioneer 3-yard line and ran it back for 34 yards to set up Perales’ eventual touchdown run in the fourth.
“I was just backing up, I stayed in my coverage with my eyes on the QB. I saw the quarterback peek this way and once I saw the quarterback scramble my way I just saw it and read the ball and came down with the pick,” Evan Rodriguez said.
RGC scored again late on a DeAndre Rodriguez pass to senior running back Alex Alanis to make it a 21-14 game, but that’s as close as the Rattlers would get before time ran out.
Next for Pioneer (1-1) is a non-district contest against Edinburg North (1-1) scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
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