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SAN BENITO — San Benito quarterback Erick Retta threw for four touchdowns to help build a huge lead it never relinquished as the Greyhounds breezed past Brownsville Hanna 49-20 on Friday at Bobby Morrow Stadium, keeping the Valley’s top-ranked team unbeaten on the year.
Retta, the junior quarterback who’s steered the Valley’s top-ranked offensive unit all season, upped his season TD pass total to 22, while backup Aaron Medrano came in and tossed another as San Benito rolled up more than 300 yards in the air.
With the victory, San Benito (8-0 overall, 5-0 in 32-6A) remains tied atop the district with 5-0 Harlingen High, a winner over Los Fresnos on Friday. With two games remaining, the neighboring rivals (San Benito at Weslaco; Harlingen at Hanna) could be headed for a colossal Battle of the Arroyo at Boggus Stadium in two weeks.
After Hanna, which dropped to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in district, decided to punt to start the game, Retta and the offense began firing. On the fifth play from scrimmage, halfback Mars Morales ran a crossing route and took his reception 52 yards to paydirt.
Another Eagle punt gave it back to the ‘Hounds and Retta connected with Jacob Cavazos, who atoned for a couple of early drops with a 54-yard scoring play, making it 14-0 San Benito with 4:05 in the first. Yet, another punt resulted in a touchdown for the ‘Hounds when Retta found a wide-open Mitch Guajardo, who dove into the end zone to complete a pretty 19-yard touchdown with 10:33 to go in the second quarter.
The ‘Hounds’ lead swelled to 28-0 when Rene Garcia took a Retta pass and scored from 17 yards out. With 2:26 to go before half, Medrano came in and lofted a pass for Isaac Pope, who hauled in a three-yarder to make it 35-0, the score at halftime.
An uneventful third quarter ensued until San Benito’s Tyrone Harper ran in a six-yard score, pushing the lead to 42-0 late in the third.
It was then that Hanna, suffocated by a swarming San Benito defense in the first half, showed signs of life late in the game.
Chris Cardenas got behind the Greyhounds defense to catch a 33-yard TD, while Jaime Gonzalez cashed in the Eagles’ next possession with a 36-yard scoring run. Quarterback Ernie Benavides rounded things out for Hanna with an 11-yard run midway through the fourth.
San Benito’s Medrano closed the scoring with a 27-yard score with 2:35 left.
WESLACO HIGH 20, HARLINGEN SOUTH 10: At Weslaco, the Panthers won a back-and-forth game to move to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in District 32-6A.
Weslaco High built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, Harlingen South pulled into a 10-10 tie by halftime, and Weslaco High scored 10 unanswered in the second half.
The Panthers sit alone in third place in the district standings but close with tough games against San Benito and Los Fresnos.
Harlingen South falls to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in district.
DISTRICT 31-6A
PSJA HIGH 31, PSJA MEMORIAL 26: At Pharr, senior running back Mark Castillo scored three touchdowns and teammate Joachim Almaguer added another as the Bears won their second straight game.
Up 24-20 heading into the fourth quarter, Castillo scored the insurance run to help improve PSJA High’s record to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in district.
“Just the overall team effort (stood out),” Bears coach Steve Marroquin said. “ The kids really played well together. Our kids, to their credit, they’ve had some tough, close losses but they have not hung their heads. They keep fighting.”
PSJA Memorial kept things close through halftime, when both teams were knotted at 17-17, before PSJA High pulled ahead 24-17. The Wolverines dropped to 0-8 on the season, including 0-5 in district.
EDINBURG HIGH 28, EDINBURG NORTH 14: At Edinburg, the Bobcats won their third straight game of the season to improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in district, a vast improvement from their 1-9 season in 2015.
The game was tied at 7 at halftime before Nathan Marez scored twice on the ground to help Edinburg pull away. The Bobcats’ insurance touchdown came with 8:54 left to play, dropping Edinburg North dropped to 2-6 overall and 2-3 in district.
DISTRICT 30-6A
LA JOYA JUAREZ-LINCOLN 23, LA JOYA HIGH 6: At La Joya, Elias Gutierrez scored offensively and defensively for the Huskies, leading them to a win against the Coyotes.
Adonis Barillas also had a big game running the ball for Juarez-Lincoln, scoring a touchdown. Gutierrez ran in one score and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
“We came together and finally put four quarters together,” Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia said. “We created three or four takeaways, and then the offense got going.”
Garcia said linebackers Joseph Valdez and Benito Gonzalez were key on defense.
The win lifts the Huskies to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in District 30-6A, while La Joya High falls to 3-5, 2-2.
District 32-5A
EDCOUCH-ELSA 47, BROWNSVILLE PACE 7: At Elsa, the Yellowjackets responded to last week’s disappointing loss to Mercedes with a thumping of a pesky Pace team.
“It was just a little more team chemistry,” E-E coach Joe Marichalar said. “Our kids put all the highs and lows to the side and came together and played four quarters. They stuck together and pulled it out.”
Fullback Joel Cardoza starred for the offense, while Seth Garcia and Nathaniel Rodriguez shined for the defense.
Now the ‘Jackets get a crack at Brownsville Lopez next week. Lopez upset Mercedes on Friday now. E-E, Lopez and Mercedes each stand 4-1 in 32-5A play.
“We know it opens up a lot of possibilities and we’ll take it day by day,” Marichalar said. “We’ll see what happens.”
DONNA HIGH 20, DONNA NORTH 0: At Donna, the Redskins won the third rivalry game against the Chiefs.
Donna High also won its second straight 32-5A game, improving to 2-3. Donna North fell to 1-4 in district.
District 31-5A
SHARYLAND PIONEER 56, VALLEY VIEW 24: At Mission, Pioneer never punted in running past Valley View.
The Diamondbacks averaged eight yards per carry, and though the defense struggled with two starters out, Pioneer (5-1 31-5A) clinched a playoff spot with two games left.
“We came out flat defensively and they made a few plays. That quarterback (Adam Solis) is tough and athletic,” Pioneer coach Jason Wheeler said. “But they never stopped our offense. Once we played good defense and made some adjustments, we pulled away.”
Pioneer intercepted Valley View four times and rushed for 333 yards and threw for 145.
The Tigers fell to 1-5 in 31-5A.