By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
Week 1 of the of the Valley high school football season was pretty much a mixed bag that included some losses, impressive performances and unexpected wins for District 32-6A teams.
Los Fresnos, Brownsville Hanna, Rivera and Veterans were unable to get into the win column to start the season.
One of the teams that picked up a victory was Harlingen South in what was probably one of the biggest Week 1 surprises as the Hawks beat Weslaco 28-18 at Weslaco’s Bobby Lackey Stadium.
The word going into the game was how a young South team would respond.
Despite some traditional Week 1 mistakes, South head coach Lanny Wilson was pleased, but isn’t reading too much into the win.
“Like a lot of teams in Week 1, you’re going to make some mistakes and we made a lot; we were just fortunate enough to come out with a win,” said Wilson. “Our effort was pretty good, our guys believed we could win and we executed. Anytime you play a good football team like that the win is the important thing.”
Quarterback Jimmy Morton felt comfortable in his first live-action regular-season game since before he broke his leg as a sophomore last year.
“We came out and did what we needed to do, it wasn’t always pretty. We just had to go out there, play tough and I think we did that,” Morton said.
Now, Wilson and the Hawks will face Edinburg Vela, who Wilson feels will present a different look than Weslaco.
“It was a big win, but football is matchups,” Wilson said. “Vela is a well-coached team and they have a lot of people returning. That staff works hard and takes advantage of weaknesses. We’re going to have to be ready.”
GABRIEL VASQUEZ LEADS THE HOUNDS TO VICTORY: The San Benito Greyhounds looked sharp in a decisive 53-7 win over Edinburg, starting the Dan Gomez head coaching era off on a winning step.
The Hounds’ Gabriel Vasquez was the highlight of the night for San Benito as he ran for four touchdowns and 154 yards.
Now, the Hounds will face Weslaco East this week.
Weslaco East defeated Brownsville Rivera in Week One.
Eyes will be on the Greyhounds to see if they can find some more of that Week one magic when they hit the road this Thursday night.
HARLINGEN STARTING LATE: With District 32-6A having an up and down week, its preseason favorite, Harlingen, will start their season this week on the road due to their Week 1 bye.
Awaiting the Cardinals is the San Antonio Regan Rattlers.
Both teams will look to get their first win of the season as the Rattlers fell in their opener to O’ Connor 28-23.