Football Game Preview: Port Isabel Tarpons vs. Grulla Gators

The Port Isabel Tarpons will venture away from home to face off against the Grulla Gators at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Port Isabel's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three games.

Port Isabel is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing La Feria: they outscored them in every quarter. The Tarpons put the hurt on the Lions with a sharp 37-14 win on Friday. The Tarpons pushed the score to 29-8 by the end of the third, a deficit the Lions had little chance of recovering from.

Luis Ramos

Rushing Touchdowns

09/19/25 vs Hidalgo Early College	4
10/24/25 vs La Feria	3
10/09/25 vs St. Joseph Academy	2
09/12/25 @ Valley View	2
09/04/25 @ Rio Hondo	2
+ 3 more games

It was another big night for Luis Ramos, who rushed for 198 yards and three TDs while picking up 9.4 yards per carry. Port Isabel is 4-1 when Ramos posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise.

Ramos was just one part of a punishing run game: Port Isabel was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 426 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.

Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Grulla's offense. They were dealt a 40-0 defeat at the hands of King on Friday. The shutout was out of character for the Gators seeing as the last time the team failed to score was back in September.

This is the second loss in a row for Grulla and nudges their season record down to 1-7. As for Port Isabel, they now have a winning record of 5-4.

Everything came up roses for Port Isabel against Grulla in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, as the squad secured a 54-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Tarpons since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.