As expected, the game between Porter and Pace didn’t follow an exact script.

The Cowboys and Vikings battled back and forth through the first half, and finally Porter took over after the break to defeat Pace 28-21 in District 32-5A action Friday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.

Porter scored a pair of rushing touchdowns during the second half and held off a late comeback by the Vikings. The Cowboys’ Jorge Gutierrez accounted for 211 yards and two touchdowns as Porter rushed for 306 yards against their crosstown rivals.

“We went into halftime, made adjustments. We told the kids, ‘we execute this we’re going to win the football game,’” Porter coach Tom Campos said. “I told them if we get a stop on defense, we’re going to drive the field and score. Everything we talked about at halftime, every adjustment, the kids executed it perfectly.”

The win puts Porter (5-2, 3-1) in a three-way tie for second place in the standings and in good shape to earn a postseason berth with three games left to play.

“It’s real good,” Campos said. “I told the kids, ‘Are you satisfied with going to the playoffs, or do we want to still fight for that district championship?’”

It was Pace (1-6, 1-3) that took the early lead. The Vikings’ defense forced a fumble on Porter’s first drive and Luis Rodriguez needed just one play to run 71 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Porter fumbled on its second drive but cut out the mistakes on the next drive and tied the game at 7 as Gutierrez scored on a 10-yard run during the second quarter.

Later in the quarter, Pace retook the lead as Rodriguez scored on a 3-yard run to give the Vikings a 14-7 lead.

Less than one minute before halftime, the Cowboys tied the game at 14 as Israel Yanez found Jonathan Gonzalez on a 24-yard pass for a touchdown.

Porter took control and shifted momentum after holding Pace to a three-and-out to start the third quarter, and then the Cowboys grinded out an almost nine-minute drive that was capped off by Gutierrez, who scored on a 1-yard run to take a 21-14 lead.

“They came out and got a three-and-out. We needed to score there,” Pace coach William Deen said. “With a team like them, you have to stay a touchdown ahead, you have to make them chase. We were making them chase in the first half, but they turned the tables in the second half and we had to chase.”

The Cowboys’ defense kept the Vikings in check offensively and, late in the fourth quarter, Porter’s Yanez scored on a 14-yard run to extend the lead to 28-14.

“They controlled the ball, they did what I knew they were going to do,” Deen said. “We struggled defensively, giving up 5-yard plays. You can’t do that play after play, you have to put them in third-and-long situations, and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”

Pace received a late score as Rodriguez hit Andres Salgado on a 4-yard pass to cut the deficit to 28-21, but the Vikings ran out of time against the Cowboys.

Deen was pleased with his team’s effort, he just felt like Porter controlled the clock and, ultimately, the game.

“It wasn’t for lack of effort, the kids busted their tails,” he said. “That’s a damn good offense, they put points on everybody, they do a great job. It was a clock management game, and they won the clock management game tonight.

“My hats off to Coach Campos and the Porter Cowboys, they’re a good football team.”

Campos was proud of his team and excited for the chance to earn a playoff berth this season.

“The door’s wide open,” he said. “We can write our own destiny or sit back on our heels and hope to get in. We want to kick that door down and win our way into the playoffs.”