When one comes into a six-team district, it has to come in swinging, ready to go as teams from the Fall sports found out.
It is not like the 10-team Class 5A districts where a loss might not sting as bad; one can make it up later, hopefully. Six-team districts are less forgiving, especially in the highly competitive District 32-6A.
“In our district, you can go 10-0 or 0-10,” Brownsville Hanna head coach Fermin Lucio said.
Good competition in the buildup is important before those eventual dog fights.
The Los Fresnos Falcons and the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles welcome stern competition from outside the Rio Grande Valley today.
Brownsville Hanna takes on Corpus Christi Miller at 1:30 p.m. at Hanna High School, while Los Fresnos hosts Laredo United South at 2 p.m. at Los Fresnos High School.
Brownsville Hanna and Los Fresnos has had a successful non-district and tournament campaign.
Hanna currently sits on a 19-6 record, as well as a BISD tournament championship. The Eagles finished fourth in the district a season ago and are looking to make a run with a senior ball club that features talented seniors like Ricardo Roman, Kevin Flores, Emiliano Hernadez and others.
| Brownsville Hanna’s Ricardo Roman (2) looks for an opening against IDEA Riverview in the BISD tournament at Brownsville Hanna High School on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. (Edward Severn) Edward Severn |
The experienced ball club has been able to react well in different situations, leading to the 19-win start of the season, Lucio said.
“Obviously when district starts, it is another animal,” Lucio said. “We know that we have a lot of room to improve to be ready for that.”
The Eagles take on a Miller team that won the C.E. Vail tournament in La Feria.
“Coming off our five-day Christmas break and to play a team like Miller with their speed and athleticism, it is really going to get us ready for teams that we play in District 32-6A,” Lucio said.
| Brownsville Hanna’s Jordan Matamoros (10) drives to the basket against San Perlita at Brownsville Hanna High School on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (Edward Severn) Edward Severn |
The team that Brownsville Hanna will have to be ready for first in district is Los Fresnos. The two teams meet in the district opener at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13 at Hanna High School.
The Falcons did not make the playoffs in the 21-22 season, the first time in eight seasons under head coach Marco Hinojosa.
| McAllen High’s Christian Echazarreta (21) and Los Fresnos’ Tony Lerma (23) eye the rebound during the championship game in the City of Palms Tournament at Nikki Rowe High School on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, in McAllen. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
Los Fresnos has started strong in Hinojosa’s ninth season. The Falcons finished second at the City of Palms, only losing by a point to McAllen High, and hold a 17-5 record.
“The season is going good, we have had a good start,” Hinojosa said. “But, we know, it is not how you start, it is how we finish the season. Once district starts everyone is 0-0, what we have done in the pre-season really doesn’t matter. So far, so good, great start and the kids are working hard.”
Junior guard Jj Salazar is leading the Falcons in scoring with 18.7 points per game, while sophomore Gio Galvan and senior Luis Ramirez average 12.8 and 11.9 points, respectively.
| Los Fresnos’ Jj Salazar (11) battles with Brownsville Pace’s Tyler Rudder in a non-district meeting at Los Fresnos on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. (Edward Severn) Edward Severn |
The three have their work cut out for them against Laredo United South (17-6), a team that Hinojosa said was one of the best in South Texas and a realistic playoff opponent.
“We are excited to play them,” Hinojosa said. “We want to play those good teams. They are a good ball club. I hear they are one of the best teams in the Laredo area, south of San Antonio. They have a winning record, good coach and they can shoot the ball.”