BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
Brownsville Rivera has lost its playoff berth as a result of forfeitures due to the use of at least one ineligible player, pending the school’s appeal of a district executive committee ruling Tuesday.
As it stands right now, many 31-6A teams have new opponents. The change in win totals forced a three-way tie for first between Los Fresnos, Brownsville Hanna and Weslaco High. The teams flipped for seeding and Los Fresnos came out first, leaving the Falcons’ matchup against Edinburg North unchanged. Brownsville Hanna was second, putting the Eagles against PSJA North.
“We were scheduled to play Weslaco,” PSJA North coach Rene Soza said. “We scrimmaged Hanna earlier in the year. We scrimmage them up there, so we have some familiarity.”
Weslaco drew the third seed Tuesday, and the Panthers will face the PSJA High Bears. Rivera fell all the way out of playoff contention after the ruling. That allowed Harlingen High, which was originally eliminated, to become the new fourth seed and opponent for District 31-6A champion Edinburg Vela.
“It doesn’t really change our preparation,” Vela coach Jaime Perez said. “It’s just one of those deals where right now, our guys are in their routine of practice. It doesn’t really matter who our opponent is. Our preparation stays the same.”
Soza is eager for the series, and he said he likes his team’s chances.
“We have enough pitching, that’s for sure,” he said. “It will just be a matter of us putting the ball in play.”
Every 31/32-6A series begins Thursday, with the exception of the series between Vela and Hanna, which begins Friday.
The Brownsville Herald’s Andrew Crum contributed to this report.