(San Diego) — The Navarro Panthers advanced out of the Area round of the UIL Class 4A Division-II playoffs with a 29-13 win over the Port Isabel Tarpons on Friday night at Vaquero Stadium in San Diego.
The Panthers were unable to score on their first three possessions of the night as the Tarpons took advantage of a Navarro fumble on their second possession to get on the scoreboard first. Port Isabel running back Tristan Garcia scored on a two-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to give the Tarpons a 7-0 lead.
Navarro would finally find the endzone on their fourth drive of the night in the second quarter when quarterback Colton Shuelke connected with tight end Mack Berry on a long 57-yard TD pass. Gabe Rangel would run in the two-point conversion and the Panthers took the lead at 8-7.
Berry and Schuelke would hook up again for a long pass on Navarro’s next drive leading to a Diego Chapa two-yard rushing score. After a pass interference on the two-point conversion against the Panthers, kicker Sam Sneed booted a 34-yard extra point to give Navarro a 15-7 lead just before the end of the half.
Port Isabel would get the second half kickoff and take the ball 68 yards downfield and score on a Garza 10-yard run to paydirt on a fourth down play. The touchdown run was the second fourth down conversion by the Tarpon offense on the drive that trimmed the Navarro lead to 15-13 as Port Isabel used more than half the third quarter to bring the score to within two points.
The Panthers would answer with a six-minute plus drive of their own that ended with a four-yard Antwoin Mebane rushing score to put Navarro up, 21-13 less than one minute into the fourth quarter. Shuelke converted a fourth and five play during the drive with a seven yard run before Mebane’s touchdown.
Less than four minutes later, the Panthers would pad their lead to 16 points when Nick Schwarzlose ran the ball into the endzone from three yards out. Shuelke ran in the two-point conversion for the final points of the game.
With the win, Navarro moves on to play Sinton in the third round of the UIL playoffs. The Pirates beat Lago Vista, 45-35 in their Area round playoff on Friday night. The Panthers and Pirates will meet on Black Friday at Jourdanton High School. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.