Football Recap: Harlingen Comes Up Short Despite Jay Garza's Big Defensive Game

Harlingen fought the good fight in their overtime contest against Los Fresnos on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 35-28 to the Falcons. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 529th, while the Falcons are ranked 135th).

Despite the loss, Harlingen still got an impressive performance from Noah Huerta, who rushed for 190 yards and three scores.

Jay Garza

Total Tackles

09/19/25 vs United South	3
09/25/25 @ Mission Veterans Memorial	3
09/12/25 @ Vela	4
10/25/25 @ Hanna	5
09/05/25 vs Harlingen South	6

Harlingen didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Jay Garza, Dayton Mireles, and Davian Renteria picked up one apiece. Garza also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with 12.

Robert Pineda was his usual excellent self, rushing for 139 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing for 140 yards and one TD for Los Fresnos. That's the most rushing yards Pineda has posted since back in September.

Harlingen's defeat was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 3-6. As for Los Fresnos, the win keeps them at an undefeated 9-0.

Harlingen has already played their next matchup, a 24-10 victory against San Benito on the 7th. As for Los Fresnos, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next game, a 28-7 win against Hanna on the 7th.