Sophomore Oscar Jasso scored two first-half touchdowns to lead Edinburg High to a 28-20 victory over Brownsville Hanna on Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
The first-year varsity player scored on a 57-yard touchdown pass from JT Santa Maria and later on a 7-yard run to help the Bobcats (2-1) atone for a 44-13 Week 2 loss to Edinburg Vela, the No. 4-ranked team in this week’s RGVSports.com 5A/6A Top 10 poll.
“He’s got great vision,” coach Rene Guzman said of Jasso. “Once he gets the ball, he could do anything in a split second — cut right, cut left. Great things come from him.”
Jasso’s first score gave Edinburg a 14-7 first-quarter lead after exchanging scoring drives with Hanna (0-3) to start the contest.
After the Golden Eagles’ Esteban Rodriguez responded with a 3-yard run to tie it, Jasso scored on the ground to regain the advantage at 21-14 heading into halftime.
“The kids bounced back great,” Guzman said. “The coaches executed well tonight. Proud of them.
“Sometimes, coming off a big loss like that (to Vela) — the game was hyped — I told them to take it one game at a time. … It’s hard to shake off the hangover. But the kids did it tonight. And Hanna, they’re no slouches. Hats off to (coach) Mark Guess.”
Most of Edinburg’s offense came through the air Thursday, a stark contrast from its loss to Vela the week before in which both Bobcats quarterbacks combined to complete 2 of 11 passes for 18 yards. Against Hanna, Santa Maria would have connected with three different receivers for touchdowns during the opening half, if not for a penalty wiping away the third reception.
It was the first of two penalties that negated Edinburg scores. The other was called back during the third quarter, when linebacker Moises Hernandez returned an interception for a 44-yard TD.
Instead, Santa Maria was credited with two first-half scores, including an 11-yard strike to Jude Vega on the game’s opening drive.
“He came out throwing the ball a lot more,” Guzman said. “That was the game plan.”
After next week’s matchup against Edcouch-Elsa, the Bobcats wrap up non-district play against Los Fresnos. Following a bye, it will take on PSJA High in its district opener Oct. 10.
This marks the first time since 2014 that Brownsville Hanna has dropped three games in a row to open the season. The Eagles lost to McAllen Memorial 37-13 in Week 1 and 35-14 the following week to Sharyland High. They face Sharyland Pioneer, La Joya High and Mission Veterans, respectively, to close out non-district. On Oct. 11, they travel to San Benito to begin a four-game district schedule.
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