By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — Perfection was achieved Friday at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium as the Harlingen South Hawks traveled into enemy territory and defeated the Los Fresnos Falcons.
With the 29-10 victory, the No. 2 Hawks completed an undefeated season, going 10-0, 7-0 to clinch the District 32-6A championship. “Undefeated” chants echoed throughout the stadium as the clock wound down, followed by cheers as the Hawks hoisted the championship trophy.
“I’m just grateful. I give all the glory to God, and I thank all the coaches that came in and helped us turn this program around,” South senior quarterback Xander Casarez said. “The talent has always been here. We just needed the right leaders to take us in the right direction, and that’s what these coaches did. (They) came in and showed what Harlingen South’s really about.”
The district title showdown was just as competitive as expected. The No. 9 Falcons (6-3, 5-2) were looking for their sixth straight win to claim a share of the championship and the No. 1 playoff seed. Los Fresnos’ defense and special teams have been stellar during the winning stretch and showed up again in the regular season finale.
The first half was dominated by defenses that kept the offenses contained. Los Fresnos kept the Hawks off the board until the final minute of the first half. Defensive lineman Vicente Rocio and linebackers Greg Jones and RJ Limon helped Los Fresnos stifle South’s run game, and defensive backs Rex Halford and Ethan Gonzalez led a shutdown secondary.
Los Fresnos had good starting field position on most first-half drives, but the offense couldn’t get going. The Falcons took a 3-0 lead on a 40-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Jose Contreras early in the opening quarter, but turnovers kept them from extending it.
South’s Andrew Luna forced a fumble with a sack and senior linebacker Levi Ince jumped on the loose ball to stop one Falcons drive. Senior Devin Montemayor reeled in an interception to stop another and set up a score.
With less than two minutes on the clock, the Hawks went up-tempo and drove 80 yards to jump on top. Casarez found senior athlete Elias Ledesma all alone for a 35-yard touchdown. Los Fresnos blocked the PAT, making it 6-3 at halftime.
“They did shut us down a little bit in the first half, but our coaches adjusted. They’re probably the best coaches in the RGV,” Ledesma said.
Both teams came out firing during the third quarter and scored on their opening possessions. Casarez found the end zone on a 20-yard scamper. Los Fresnos answered with a 27-yard passing touchdown from senior quarterback Matthew Padilla to senior receiver Hector Muniz.
South cashed in another interception, this one from Jayden Galindo, to extend its lead as Casarez and Ledesma connected again for a 21-yard touchdown. With momentum on their side, the Hawks dominated the remainder of the game.
Carlos Mossboss and Gilbert Lerma were solid defensively to prevent any big plays from Los Fresnos. Senior running back Marcos Gonzalez ran hard to keep the chains moving, and Casarez orchestrated an efficient offense. The Hawks scored 10 points during the fourth to seal the victory, first with a 3-yard run by Casarez and then on a 37-yard field goal by senior Joaquin Ovalle.
“My coaches came and told me, ‘I need you to have that swagger that you have.’ And I trusted in them and the play calls, and executed what I had to do,” Casarez said.
Ledesma played both ways and made countless plays to headline the big win.
“My friend Jeremiah Rivera, he’s a star player and he went down with an ankle injury. They needed somebody to step up, and I’m glad they chose me,” Ledesma said.
First-year coach Israel Gonzalez was grateful and proud of his players after the win. Mostly, he was emotional about the late Monty Woodall, his mentor who came with him to the South program nine months ago.
“I’m thinking about Coach Woodall, about how excited we were to come over and make a change in this program. I know he’s smiling down on us now,” Gonzalez said. “He helped us out this whole season. I wish he was here to experience it in the flesh, but we know there’s a party going on in heaven and he’s leading it.”
Jayden Moreno, who recovered a fumble, and Samuel Burton played tough to aid the Falcons defensively. They’ll aim to bounce back from the loss and reset their focus on the postseason.
“It’s going to hurt tonight, and it should hurt,” Falcons coach David Cantu said. “We all walked on the field tonight and really expected to win. But we faced an opponent that was better than we were tonight.
We just couldn’t get it going offensively, and that’s on me. Our kids did everything they could. We played hard to the very last second. These kids really wanted to win a gold ball, but you know what? They have another chance next week.”