MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
The San Benito Greyhounds are by themselves at the top of the District 32-6A standings.
The Greyhounds are now 4-0 in district play and have accomplished that feat in clutch fashion through the last three weeks.
In Week Six they defeated the Los Fresnos Falcons on a late field goal, erased a 21-3 fourth-quarter deficit in Week Seven to beat Harlingen and beat the Brownsville Veterans Chargers in a shootout on Saturday to take the lead atop the district.
The Chargers, Falcons and Cardinals are the three teams right behind them in the standings.
The Greyhounds, behind an offense averaging 445 yards of total offense, are riding a four-game win streak and have a favorable schedule coming up with Brownsville Lopez, Harlingen South and Brownsville Rivera left on the schedule.
Those teams are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the 32-6A playoff picture.
INJURY WOES: In a loss to Los Fresnos in Week 8, Harlingen High already bitten by the injury bug early and often had more issues against the Falcons. Harlingen coach Manny Gomez said two players aggravated previous injuries and another player on the Cardinals squad suffered a setback. To make matters worse, several Harlingen High players were experiencing muscle cramps throughout the game.
“Its something we’re going to have to investigate,” Gomez said. “Maybe we need to do something different. A lot of our guys were cramping up and (Los Fresnos’) guys weren’t.”
The Cardinals have dealt with several injuries on both sides of the ball, including senior quarterback Bowie Davis, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
“It’s part of the adversity that we’re dealing with this year,” Gomez said. “We’re trying to stop the bleeding. Hopefully we can catch a break here and there and get an opportunity to get healthy.”
SOUTH’S WOES CONTINUE: The Harlingen South Hawks have looked pretty solid when they aren’t doing the other team any favors.
Mistakes have cost the Hawks lately and Friday night it caused their offense to sputter after posting what would be another squandered strong start.
The Hawks led at the half 14-7 but two fumbles, including a muffed punt, led to scores.
Those mistakes combined with costly penalties on key drives were big reasons why they gained only 149 yards of offense against Brownsville Rivera in a 28-14 loss.
Despite having only five penalties for 37 yards, their timing was costly.
Staff writer Andrew Crum contributed to this report