By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Falcons and the Harlingen South Hawks have the same record in District 32-6A, but each is coming into the game off a different experience on the road in Week 6.
Last week, Los Fresnos was doomed by several penalties and fell short on the road to San Benito . Harlingen South took advantage of a handful of Lopez’s miscues to win easily at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Falcons and Hawks each look to earn their second district win of the season when they match up tonight at Boggus Stadium.
While the Falcons look to regroup from one week ago, the Hawks hope they can continue to improve week to week.
“Los Fresnos is a really good football team, so we’ll see,” South coach Lanny Wilson said. “We’re getting better, but so is everyone else this time of the year. It’s a really big game for us.”
The Falcons boast one of the top offenses in the district, especially running the ball. Los Fresnos averages 304 yards per game, the majority from its rushing attack.
Running back Eli Cruz has run for 364 yards and eight touchdowns already on the season, and quarterback Pierce Ruiz is a dual threat. Ruiz has thrown for 421 yards and four scores and run for 348 yards and three scores for the Falcons (3-2, 1-1).
The Hawks (2-3, 1-1) have prepared particularly for the Falcons’ ground game during practices.
“(The Falcons) run the ball well, and they play good defense,” Wilson said about his team’s preparation this week. “They’ve played some tough opponents this year, so they’re experienced. They played San Benitoreally tough.”
The Hawks have steadily improved on both sides of the ball despite injuries that have had Wilson scrambling at times. But it’s nothing new to the veteran coach.
“We’ve got some injuries to key players, and it hurts us,” Wilson said. “But that’s just part of the game.”
Los Fresnos has had only one game this season in which the difference was larger than four points. The Hawks’ closest margin was seven points, but Wilson isn’t sure how the game will go against the Falcons. Last season, South won a high-scoring but close game against Los Fresnos.
“You never know, we have totally new faces (from last season),” Wilsonsaid. “But we’re going to get after it, and we’re at home. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. We’re going to try to play well in all three phases of the game and play four quarters.
“If we can do that and get a few breaks and cause a few breaks, we expect to come out on top.”
Los Fresnos coach Clint Finley could not be reached for comment.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.