By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Falcons are undefeated on their new artificial surface field at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium, and they certainly would like to remain that way.
The PSJA North Raiders figure to have some decisive input into the matter when they take on the Falcons at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Los Fresnos in the final non-district game this season for the home team. PSJA North still has one more non-district contest to play next week against Mission Veterans Memorial.
The Falcons (2-0) are ranked No. 3 in the Rio Grande Valley and coming off last week’s 40-6 win against Edcouch-Elsa at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium. It was a debut win for the Falcons on their stadium’s new synthetic turf field that was installed over the summer and just recently completed. The Falcons opened the season Aug. 27 with a 34-14 victory at Edinburg North.
With Friday’s final non-district game to play before next week’s open date and the start of District 32-6A competition coming up Sept. 26 at Lopez, Los Fresnos coach Clint Finley said it’s been a good showing, but the Falcons can do better.
“I have been pleased so far with the team’s performance this season,” Finley said. “This week I would like to see better execution on a (more) consistent basis from our special teams unit. I’d also like to see fewer penalties.
“Overall, I am pleased with our development to this point,” he added.
The Falcons are going up against a PSJA North team from District 31-6A that is 1-1 after opening the season Aug. 28 with a rousing 78-26 victory against PSJA High and then suffering a 49-31 setback against Brownsville Veterans Memorial last Saturday in Pharr.
Veteran coach Jorge Pena came in last season and guided the Raiders to a 5-6 record and a trip to the playoffs after the team went 0-10 in 2013. With a solid nucleus of players back, including quarterback George Olivarez, PSJA North is looking for a return to its glory days this season.
Pena said going against strong teams in non-district will help his squad get ready for the start of 31-6A later this month.
“I can’t think of anyone who has back-to-back weeks of playing ranked teams like we do (in facing No. 7 Brownsville Veterans and No. 3 Los Fresnos),” Pena said. “Mission Veterans is a good team, too. We feel our schedule will prepare us very well for district.”
This week, the Raiders are focused on Los Fresnos.
“To me, it’s a typical Los Fresnos team — well-coached and athletic with size and skills,” Pena said. “We’re concerned about their quarterback (Rene Ortega). He’s very solid, and he gets the ball to his receivers. Right next to him is a running back (Jose Hernandez), who is one of the top 100 (meter) guys in the Valley. There’s a strong line with size in front of them.
“We have to be very aware of their quarterback and running back, and take them to the ground and not allow a lot of yards after contact,” Pena added. “It’s going to take us playing very sound defense. On offense, we have to control the ball, get some first downs and keep their offense on the sideline. It’s a tall task.”
Friday’s game very well could develop into a tale of two quarterbacks.
The Falcons have a standout signal caller in Ortega, who is flying high with his passing. He’s thrown for 507 yards and eight touchdowns with only two interceptions in two games.
The Raiders also have a solid, experienced QB in Olivarez, who hit on six of seven passes for 145 yards during PSJA North’s season-opening win against PSJA High. Also a threat to run the ball, Olivarez will be looking to bounce back from his subpar passing night against Brownsville Veterans last Saturday when he completed only six of 20 aerial attempts for 78 yards with an interception.
It’s likely neither team has forgotten what happened last year when they played at PSJA Stadium in Pharr. The Falcons trailed 34-14 in the second half before rallying to win 35-34.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.