KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
Week 9 will provide many answers for district 32-6A. The Rivera Raiders, who have been the surprise team this season, will look for their second district win in as many weeks when they travel to Boggus stadium to meet Harlingen South.
The Raiders are coming off an emotional win against Los Fresnos last week and are feeling confident behind first-year head coach Beto Leal. The win against the Falcons was their first district win in four years.
“Believe it or not, all year long the kids have been optimistic,” Leal said. “Our kids are out there and loving it and the excitement is there. Having our first district win in four years is even more exciting. We have the game plan in and we had our walk through today and hopefully the kids get a good night’s rest and will be ready to go.”
Tonight’s matchup will be magnified with Rivera sitting at 1-1 and South at 0-2 in district play. The winner will get back in the race for the playoffs. While a loss for South will put it well behind the eight ball, but a won’t erase them from the mix with a potential 1-2 record with two weeks to go.
“We are definitely not out of it this week and it is a must-win now,” said Hawks coach Brian Ricci. “We got ourselves into a corner now but we are excited about the game and we are excited to be back home. It has been a month since we last played at home and the kids are excited about that.”
With a cold front expected to sweep though the Rio Grande Valley, the weather just might have a factor in tonight’s game. The temperature at kickoff is projected to be clear with the temperature at 61 degrees with a northwest wind at 23 miles per hour.
“As far as the weather goes, we have lucked out as far as our games go,” Leal said. “We haven’t had any bad weather. I know it is supposed to clear up and we haven’t put too much thought into the weather we are going to do what we have to do.”
Despite the chilly conditions, it just may favor both the Raiders and Hawks, who both like to run the football. Rivera’s Ramio Vega ran for 133 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown last week against the Falcons, while South’s Marcos Gonzales had a career day running for a pair of scores on 16 carries and 170 yards.
“Rivera likes to the run the ball; they have a good running back and their QB is an athlete so they can throw the ball as well,” Ricci said. “They have a big target in the passing game too and can their receivers can catch we just need to be ready for that as well.”
The Hawks are looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Last week against San Benito, the Hawks feel there is plenty to build off of and with the 0-2 hole, Ricci remains upfront with the team and feels the pieces are in play to right the wrong.
“I think at this point the kids need to know what is at stake,” Ricci said. “We have a goal to make the playoffs and this is an opportunity for us to stay alive and archive that goal and I’m upfront with them and they know the importance of the game.”
The Hawks and Raiders are scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m.