DONNA — Everything starts with the letter ‘D’ over at Donna High.
It’s been five years since the Redskins last qualified for the postseason. But now, Donna High is 7-3 in District 32-5A action and on the verge of ending its playoff drought. And it’s all because of its defense.
“You have to put all your effort into it. Every time we play, we give it our all and defense is what’s helping us win games,” Donna High senior Brandon Chavez said. “We just try to go out there like underdogs, like we’re down already. We just want to try to come out and hit teams in the mouth.”
Fourth-year head coach Manuel Epperson and the Donna boys basketball team is in the midst of a 20-win season, and while they’re hardly the biggest team around, their intensity and defensive pressure often puts opponents in a stranglehold.
“We’re small, we’re quick, so now we’re applying a lot of pressure and now it’s forcing teams to turn the ball over or to feel uncomfortable, teams aren’t used to that,” Epperson said.
Through 10 district games, Donna is allowing just 46.2 points per outing. As a team, Donna averages nearly 14 steals per led by Eddy Epperson, coach Epperson’s son, who often guards the opposing teams top scorer.
“I watch a lot of film, so I know what they’re better at and what they’re weaknesses are and I just try to force them into their weaknesses,” said the younger Epperson, who comes away with 4.2 steals per game. “Sometimes I get the steal, but it’s our whole team working to come away with that steal.”
At Donna’s 7 a.m. practices, the intensity matches that of Tuesday and Friday nights.
“We go hard on each other and it benefits us because we’re working hard and making each other better every day,” Eddy Epperson said.
And because their defense translates into wins, Donna’s confidence as a team is high. A wire-to-wire overtime loss to Brownsville Veterans, the No. 23-ranked team in the Class 5A according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches most recent poll, had Donna reevaluating its potential.
One week after losing 45-42 to Veterans, Donna knocked off Brownsville Pace 61-42 on the road, handing the Vikings their first defeat in 32-5A action.
“The Brownsville Veterans game, going into overtime, made these guys believe. Honestly, I don’t think they believed in themselves, but once they saw they can play with Brownsville Veterans, I told, Coach, ‘The sky is the limit,’” coach Epperson said. “We turned around and beat Edcouch-Elsa here, then we go to Pace and we beat them good. That was the turning point to me, that Vets game, even though we lost it in overtime, it was a turning point of our season to show these kids to believe in themselves.”
“I learned that we can hang with them,” senior guard Trey Rodriguez said. “At the beginning of the year, we thought we weren’t going to be capable of hanging with them (Veterans, Pace). We looked at them as ‘Ls’ on our schedule, but once we started playing, we know we can play with them, so we just have that confidence and we’re looking forward to playing them (Veterans) the last game of the season.”
While Rodriguez and Epperson are a nuisance at the guard spots for Donna, Chavez (14.2 points, 7.8 rebounds per game) and post Avery Bowen (2 steals per game) hold down the paint. They make offenses earn every bucket inside.
With four district games remaining, it’ll continue to be all about effort and locking up a spot in the postseason.
“We’re just trying to go out there, play our hardest, that playoff spot is what we’ve been working for all summer, all year long,” Chavez said.
A win tonight for Donna (20-11, 7-3 in 32-5A) against Mercedes (5-5 in 32-5A) clinches a playoff spot for the Redskins.
“Tomorrow, on our goal sheet, on the very bottom, it says ‘Win the game, clinch a playoff spot,” coach Epperson said.
Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Donna High School.
“I’m here to win. I want to win and winning starts with defense, and that’s what I take pride in the most,” Eddy Epperson said.