By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Falcons didn’t just lose a game heading into the bye week, they lost a couple of key starters on offense.
In a physical 56-0 loss at Odessa Permian, standout wide receiver Nico Valencia suffered a knee injury and running back Albert Banuelos came out with a broken arm.
Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown said the best-case scenario for Banuelos would be returning for the season finale at San Benito.
Valencia’s status is up in the air, as the Los Fresnos staff isn’t yet sure if the injury will put him on the shelf for a couple of weeks or end his season, but the junior receiver recently had an MRI.
Brown said there are a few others dinged up at the moment and that the team spent the bye trying to remedy the aches and adjust the personnel.
“There were seven or eight kids that we lost, including some of our best players,” Brown said. “We’re raiding our JV and freshman levels, bringing up some kids to try and make it through the next few weeks, when we get some kids back and healthy.”
The Falcons are on a bit of a skid as they have dropped two straight heading into the District 32-6A play.
Los Fresnos opens on the road at Harlingen South, another team coming off two straight losses.
Brown said his team is ready despite the recent bumps.
“We all took the loss pretty hard,” Brown said. “Our kids met, the players only, and ever since then we’ve had really good practices. Our kids are focused. We have some kids that have never started at the varsity level, and they’ve done a good job getting ready for this week.”
BATTLE READY: After a Week 5 bye, District 32-6A play finally gets going this week, and it will do so with a bang as San Benito plays host to Harlingen High in this year’s Battle of the Arroyo.
This will be the 88th meeting between the programs, with Harlingen High leading the all-time series with a 59-23-5 record.
While the Cardinals dominate the series, the Greyhounds have won three of the four meetings since Dan Gomez took over as coach in 2014, including a resounding 53-0 win in the district finale last season.
Aside from last season, the three previous matchups have been filled with drama.
In 2014, San Benito rallied after being down 21-3 with less than nine minutes to play in the fourth to win 25-21.
The following season, San Benito opted for a go-ahead, two-point conversion instead of a tying extra point with 1:39 left to play, which made the difference in a 22-21 win.
In 2016, a late Harlingen High field goal with fewer than two minutes to play ultimately gave the Cardinals a 29-27 win.
BROWNSVILLE CLASH: Elsewhere in District 32-6A, the Rivera Raiders will play host to the Hanna Golden Eagles on Friday night at Sams Stadium.
Hanna comes in riding wins over Sharyland High and Amarillo Tascosa and is 3-1 on the season.
The Raiders are still hunting a win after starting the season 0-5. Rivera comes in off a 21-14 loss to La Feria.