By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
With two weeks left in the regular season, playoff berths are a hot commodity in football.
Some teams already have one, while others are on the verge of clinching one.
The next-to-last week of the regular season begins in the Brownsville area at 7 p.m. today with Hanna (3-5 overall, 1-2 District 32-6A) playing host to Los Fresnos (2-6, 1-2) at Sams Memorial Stadium.
It appears the winner between the Golden Eagles and Falcons will secure a trip to the playoffs since two wins has been good enough to reach the postseason in 32-6A in the past.
Right now, Harlingen High (7-1, 3-0) and San Benito (4-4, 2-1) are the only two teams from 32-6A that appear to be in the postseason. All four other 32-6A teams — Hanna, Los Fresnos, Rivera and Harlingen South — have just one win in district.
The Eagles know it won’t be an easy task to defeat Los Fresnos, a team that has shown steady improvement throughout the season, particularly on offense with quarterback Adrian Longoria and running back Chris Resendiz as the main ones advancing the ball. Los Fresnos also has been giving more touches to talented receiver Nico Valencia on end-around plays and other such calls, which is adding additional potential for success to the Falcons’ offense.
The Falcons run an option offense like the one Hanna faced on Sept. 28 in a non-district 55-7 loss against Amarillo Tascosa.
“You have to play assignment football (defensively) against the triple option,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “You have to cover the dive, the quarterback (keeping the ball) and the pitch (to the outside to a running back). Hopefully we do a better job defending it this time.
“Los Fresnos has gotten better week by week with that (triple option) offense they put in, and their defense may be the strongest part of their team,” Guess added. “We just have to take care of business, do our jobs and play Eagle football.”
Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown said two of the best players in the district are on the Hanna roster. They are QB Victor Campos and defensive tackle Brandon Esteves.
“Hanna has an incredible QB and probably the best defensive player in our district,” Brown said. “They will be very tough to control. We have to contain their QB, control the clock and run the ball.”
District 32-6A action continues at 7:30 p.m. Friday with Rivera (2-6, 1-2) at San Benito and Harlingen High playing Harlingen South (3-5, 1-2) in the “Bird Bowl” at Boggus Stadium.
Sams will be the site of The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a District 16-5A Division I showdown as Brownsville Veterans Memorial (6-2, 5-2) goes against Pace (5-3, 5-2) with the winner appearing to clinch a playoff spot.
Also in 16-5A Division I at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a game involving a Brownsville team, it’s Porter (3-5, 2-5) at Donna High (2-6, 1-6). Yet another 16-5A Division I game involving a Brownsville team takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday at Sams as Lopez (1-7, 1-6) plays host to PSJA Memorial (0-8, 0-7).
Another area team playing at 7:30 p.m. Friday is Port Isabel in a District 16-4A Division II game. The Tarpons (3-5, 1-1) play at Rio Hondo (4-4, 1-1) in their final regular-season game as they are open next week.
Also, St. Joseph Academy (2-6) plays host to San Antonio St. Anthony (5-3) in a non-district game at Canales Field at 7 p.m. Friday.