Despite being a rather young, inexperienced team, the Hawks got two touchdowns apiece from Steven Rodriguez and Alec Garza to stun the Panthers on their home turf.
The Hawks now must prove that the win was not merely an early season fluke as they host Edinburg Vela on Friday in the Valley Morning Star’s Game of the Week.
Vela opened the season with a win of its own, beating Brownsville Pace 56-21 on Friday.
In other Week 2 action, the No. 2 Harlingen Cardinals finally take to the field after a Week 1 bye as they travel to San Antonio to take on Reagan on Friday night at Heroes Stadium.
The Cardinals are looking to capture their seventh straight district title this year and a win in their season debut would go a long way in setting the stage for another dominant season.
Speaking of dominant, the San Benito Greyhounds were nothing but against Edinburg on Friday as they routed the Bobcats 53-7. The ’Hounds play Thursday this week at Weslaco East, which beat Brownsville Rivera 41-28 this past Thursday in their season opener.
The Los Fresnos Falcons look to bounce back from a tough 22-19 loss to Edinburg North when they take on Edcouch-Elsa this Friday in Elsa. The Yellowjackets are also hoping to redeem themselves as they lost in their season opener 48-28 to McAllen Rowe, which takes on Mercedes on Friday.
The Tigers, meanwhile, did not begin the Roger Adame era as well as they hoped, losing to Calallen 28-0 on Friday at home.
In Class 4A, the Raymondville Bearkats opened the season with a disappointing 38-34 loss to Brownsville St. Joseph on Friday. This weekend, The Kats host Grulla, which also lost its season opener, 29-9 to Port Isabel.
Speaking of the Tarpons, they look to improve to 2-0 as they host Rio Grande City on Friday. RGC, meanwhile, enters Friday’s contest licking its wounds after an ugly 41-14 loss to Ingleside.
The Rio Hondo Bobcats got a 35-0 season-opening win at home on Friday against Santa Rosa. The Cats hope to make it two in a row as they host La Joya Juarez-Lincoln this week. As for Santa Rosa, the Warriors host La Feria in the annual Battle of FM 506. La Feria enters the game riding high after a 35-13 win over Donna North.
Finally, the La Villa Cardinals, who opened the season with a solid 26-14 win over Lyford, are at Taft this Friday. Lyford, meanwhile, hosts St. Joseph.