PROGRESO — When Raul Rivera made the move from Santa Maria to become the head boys basketball coach at Progreso, his goal was to turn around the program.

The Red Ants won eight games during his first season at the helm in 2018-19. Since then, Progreso has rattled off an 18-win season, a 16-win season, and right now, has put together a 23-8 overall record with a 10-2 mark in District 32-3A.

“It’s just playing disciplined and playing as a team. Our motto is ‘Play hard, play smart, play together’, that’s what we’ve been doing all year,” senior forward Isaiah Aleman said.

The Red Ants have been led by a senior group with Aleman, David Garcia, Sergio Moreno and Vlady Rivera, son of coach Raul Rivera.

Vlady Rivera averages a team-high 18.1 points per game with 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals. Moreno is Progreso’s leading rebounder with 14.8 points, 6.6 boards and 1.5 blocks per game. Aleman is averaging 12.1 points to go with 6.1 rebounds and a team-high 2.1 steals.

“These seniors are a special group,” Raul Rivera said. “They’ve been playing together for four years. We have tons of experience, and hopefully that experience gets us to where we need to get and hopefully make a deep run in the playoffs.”

One more district victory secures the Red Ants’ spot in the state playoffs. The program hasn’t advanced to the second round since the late ’90s, according to Raul Rivera. This year’s team has the poise and potential to change that.

“We’re just trying to set the tone and tradition here for the younger kids coming in. We’re just trying to get to the playoffs and see what happens when we get there,” Vlady Rivera said.

The Red Ants are scheduled to face district leader Santa Rosa (18-7, 11-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Santa Rosa.

“We just have to be consistent both offensively and defensively, and come out each and every night ready to play and play hard,” Raul Rivera said.

COYOTES SHAKE UP 31-6A

La Joya High’s 53-52 victory over Edinburg North on Tuesday shook up the six-team district standings and created a three-way tie for the No. 1 seed in 31-6A between the Cougars, Coyotes and Edinburg High Bobcats, who all hold 3-1 records.

Ethan Moya led the Coyotes with 20 points against the Cougars, and Hunter Morales and Arian Quintanilla added 12 apiece. Big-man Eddie Gonzalez scored 19 points for Edinburg North (19-14, 3-1).

There’s one game remaining in the first round of league play before the three squads tied for first are set to meet again, starting with Edinburg High (20-9, 3-1) versus La Joya High (20-11, 3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in La Joya.

VELA LEADS 31-5A RACE

Edinburg Vela sits alone atop District 31-5A following McAllen Memorial’s 67-50 takedown of Sharyland Pioneer on Tuesday, which put the Mustangs and Diamondbacks in a tie for second with 10-2 records.

The SaberCats, meanwhile, handled business against McAllen Rowe with a 71-46 win Tuesday to improve to 19-12 overall and 11-1 in district.

The SaberCats are scheduled to face district title challengers Sharyland Pioneer (19-12, 10-2) on Feb. 2 and McAllen Memorial (22-5, 10-2) on Feb. 14, the final day of the regular season.

EARNED HONOR

Brownsville St. Joseph senior guard Gerry Martinez earned Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball Player of the Week award for Week 10 after delivering a standout performance during a 71-67 win over San Antonio TMI-Episcopal on Jan. 10.

Martinez posted a stat line of 45 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal to lift the Bloodhounds over S.A. TMI-Episcopal.

Martinez and Brownsville St. Joseph are in first place in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Class 5A District 4 at 6-0.

The Bloodhounds are back in action against San Antonio St. Anthony at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in San Antonio.

MMA POISED FOR PLAYOFFS

The Harlingen Marine Military Academy Leathernecks are set for the Texas Charter School Academic and Athletic League’s regional semifinal round of the playoffs against Mission IDEA at 7:30 p.m. Monday at MMA in Harlingen.

The Leathernecks finished first in their district with an 11-1 record and will attempt to reach the regional final round of the postseason with a win over Mission IDEA.

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PROGRESO — The Progreso Red Ants set the tone from the opening tip in their District 32-3A game against Monte Alto on Tuesday with ball movement, shooting from long range and a ferocious full-court press.

The Red Ants powered past the Blue Devils for a 59-29 win at Progreso High School to improve to 23-8 overall and 10-2 in District 32-3A.

“Every game is important, so we have to set the tone and it starts with causing turnovers, getting fastbreak points and making shots, and that’s what we did to start tonight,” Progreso head coach Raul Rivera said.

Progreso leaned on its full-court pressure to keep Monte Alto out of sync. The Red Ants forced 14 first-half steals to race out to a 39-13 halftime lead.

“All year it’s been, ‘come out with energy to get out ahead of our opponents and stay ahead,’” Isaiah Aleman said.

The Red Ants rested their starting unit the entire fourth quarter with a comfortable lead.

Vlady Rivera led the Red Ants with a game-high 19 points, Aleman had 13 and Sergio Moreno scored seven points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

“It’s about playing disciplined and playing like a team,” Vlady Rivera said.

Next for Progreso is a showdown against District 32-3A power Santa Rosa (19-7), which is unbeaten in league play at 11-0. Tipoff between the Red Ants and Warriors is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Santa Rosa High School.

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Sharyland High alumnus and former Texas Longhorns and Washington Nationals catcher, Tres Barrera, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals organization, he announced on Twitter on Friday.

Want to thank the Washington Nationals organization for giving me the chance to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a Major League Baseball player. Forever grateful for the opportunities and relationships made. Excited for next chapter.
Go Cards! 🤙🏼

— Tres Barrera (@TresBarrera13) January 20, 2023

The 28-year-old Barrera joins the St. Louis Cardinals on a minor league contract for 2023 with a non-roster invite to Spring Training. A non-roster invite is an invitation for a player whois not on a club’s 40-man roster to attend Major League camp in Spring Training and compete for a roster spot.

Tres Barrera. Photo via MLB.com.

Barrera, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, has played in 51 games over the last four seasons with the Nationals. He’s recorded a .231 batting average with 33 hits, four doubles, one triple, two home runs, 14 RBIs, 14 walks and 10 runs scored.

Barrera graduated from Sharyland in 2013 and played for the Texas Longhorns from 2014-2016, earning All-Big 12 honors during his sophomore and junior seasons.

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EDINBURG — The UTRGV women’s basketball team was without two of the three centers on its roster due to illness and injury in its Western Athletic Conference tilt against Texas at Arlington on Thursday.

The short-handed Vaqueros pushed the Mavericks late into the fourth quarter before ultimately falling 71-65 at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.

UTRGV’s 6 foot, 4 inch junior center, Zariah Sango, stepped up in the absence of Charlotte O’Keefe and Burcu Soysal to post 11 points, six rebounds, six blocks and two assists.

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Zariah Sango (3) passes the ball against University of Texas Arlington in a WAC game at Bert Ogden Arena on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez

Sophomore guard Iyana Dorsey led the Vaqueros (7-10, 1-5 WAC) with a game-high 24 points and three assists.

“Man, I’m really proud of this group. We were without our starting post player, and how about Zariah Sango, that was just fantastic tonight,” Lord said. “Really, it’s just the turnovers that beat us. … I’m proud of our group. Every conference game we’ve lost, we’ve had the lead or had a chance to win the fourth quarter. We’re going to figure it out, and once we do it’s going to be, ‘Katy, bar the door’ because here we come.”

Sango wasn’t the only Vaquero who went to work down low. Sophomore forward Deborah Ogayemi recorded an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double and came through during the second half when UTRGV needed to keep things close.

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Deborah Ogayemi (33) drives to the basket against University of Texas Arlington in a WAC game at Bert Ogden Arena on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez

Junior guard Mele Kailahi scored 10 points and dished out four assists, and sophomore guard KaCee Kyle added nine points. The Vaqueros pulled within one at 45-44 midway through the third quarter.

“I think we all played really hard. I think it was definitely a battle,” Dorsey said after playing all but 13 seconds of Thursday’s game. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and they were going to come out and hit us really hard. I think we responded well, it just didn’t go our way.”

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Iyana Dorsey (2) drives to the basket against University of Texas Arlington in a WAC game at Bert Ogden Arena on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez

Starr Jacobs led UT Arlington with a team-high 22 points, and De’Sha Benjamin added 17.

The Vaqueros turned the ball over 23 times to just 13 for the Mavericks, which proved to be the difference. Ogayemi and Sango both played the fourth quarter with four fouls, limiting their impact in the paint on the defensive end of the floor late.

UTRGV is back in action at 1 p.m. Saturday against Abilene Christian (9-8, 3-3 WAC) at Moody Coliseum in Abilene.

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EDINBURG — The UTRGV women’s basketball team is set to take center stage at Bert Ogden Arena with a Western Athletic Conference game against Texas at Arlington at 6:30 p.m. today in Edinburg.

It’ll be the first time the UTRGV women’s basketball team will play its own game at Bert Ogden Arena without a doubleheader also featuring the men’s basketball team. It’s also the 50-year anniversary of Title IX, a federal civil rights law passed in 1972 prohibiting sex discrimination in educational and athletic programs.

Title IX requires that women and men be provided equitable opportunity to participate in sports, that female and male student-athletes receive athletic scholarship dollars proportional to their participation, and requires the equal treatment of female and male student-athletes in the provisions of equipment and supplies, scheduling of games and practice times, travel and daily allowance, access to tutoring, coaching, locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities, medical training facilities and services, housing and dining facilities and services, publicity and promotions, support services and recruitment of student-athletes, according to the NCAA.

Tickets for UTRGV-UT Arlington can be purchased at BertOgdenArena.com.

“We’re excited to be back at Bert Ogden Arena,” UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said. “We call it our second home, and we love to play here, love the environment, it gets you that big-time atmosphere. We hope we can get a lot of people out to watch us play.”

UTRGV (7-9, 1-4) will look to right the ship against UT Arlington (8-10, 2-4), a team the Vaqueros previously defeated 83-73 on Jan. 4 in Arlington. Sophomore guard Iyana Dorsey scored a game-high 31 points in the first matchup against the Mavericks. Junior guard Mele Kailahi finished with 22 points and Deborah Ogayemi added 12 in the UTRGV win.

The Vaqueros nearly delivered an upset in their last outing against Grand Canyon, leading a top-three team in the conference for three quarters before squandering the lead during the fourth. Now, the Vaqueros have a chance to return to the win column against the Mavericks.

“I think our team is about ready to turn the corner,” Lord said. “We’ve been in every game, had a chance to win all five conference games. We’ve come up a little short on a few of them, but I like the direction our team’s going. I think we have the talent to continue to get better and play our best basketball here at the end of the season.”

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MISSION — La Joya Palmview drilled seven 3-pointers during the first half of its District 30-5A game against Rio Grande City en route to a 55-45 win Tuesday at Palmview High School.

The Lobos improved to 22-7 overall and 6-0 in district play. The loss sends the Rattlers to 15-13 on the year and 4-2 in 30-5A.

Rio Grande City turned up the intensity during the second half with defensive pressure that allowed the Rattlers to creep back in the game. Each time they got close, the Lobos found an answer to keep the lead floating around 10 points.

“I think we started hot, then in the second half we went a little cold. We went away from what we were doing and a lot of the layups we missed turned into easy buckets for them,” Palmview head coach Albert Carrillo said.

Senior guard Matthew Cruz led the Lobos with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Joe Gonzalez scored 12 of his 14 points during the first half, and Richard Murillo delivered late with 12 points and nine rebounds.

“We just had to play with all we got and listen to our coach. He tells us what to do, we listen and execute,” Cruz said.

Rio Grande City guard Diego Martinez led the Rattlers with 14 points, and Andre Treviño added eight points and eight rebounds.

Rio Grande City has a chance to rebound against Laredo Nixon at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Rio Grande City High School.

Meanwhile, the Lobos shift their focus to a battle of 30-5A’s top two teams between Palmview and Laredo Martin, which is also 6-0 in district play.

Palmview and Laredo Martin tip off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Laredo Martin High School.

“We’re going to have to bring down our turnovers. I think today we had too many turnovers that we shouldn’t have had, careless passes,” Carrillo said. “It’s going to come down to us being hot from the outside, and if we can’t, throwing it inside.”

DISTRICT 31-6A

EDINBURG NORTH 50, EDINBURG HIGH 42: At Edinburg, the Cougars took down the crosstown rival Bobcats in a matchup of 31-6A title contenders at Edinburg North High School.

The Cougars (18-13, 2-0) move on to face Edinburg Economedes at 6 p.m. Friday at Economedes High School in Edinburg. The Bobcats (18-9, 1-1) will look to bounce back with a home game against PSJA High at 6 p.m. Friday at Edinburg High School.

DISTRICT 31-5A

McALLEN MEMORIAL 48, McALLEN HIGH 38: At McAllen, the Mustangs completed the season sweep of the rival Bulldogs with a win on their home court Thursday.

Rosendo Martinez led the Mustangs with a game-high 14 points and Caden Keller added eight. McHi’s Erasmo Alvarado scored a team-high 13, and Mario Villegas had 10.

Next for the Mustangs (17-5, 8-2) is Sharyland High at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sharyland High School in Mission. The Bulldogs (12-15, 6-4) meet Sharyland Pioneer at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sharyland Pioneer High School in Mission.

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EDINBURG — The UTRGV women’s basketball team led Grand Canyon for nearly 30 minutes of game time during their Western Athletic Conference matchup Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

When the clock showed zeroes at the end of the fourth quarter, however, it was Grand Canyon that finished on top 61-52. The loss sends UTRGV to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in WAC play. Grand Canyon improved to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in conference.

The Lopes outscored the Vaqueros 23-8 during the final 10 minutes to escape with the victory.

“Man, we played great for three quarters — problem is it’s a four-quarter game. I couldn’t be happier with our effort,” UTRGV head coach Lane Lord said. “On the defensive end we were just fantastic until the fourth quarter. We made a couple communication mistakes on switches that led to an open 3-pointer and a turnover that went to the other team for a layup. That 7-0 run there kind of turned the game around.”

The Vaqueros led by nine points early in the fourth quarter before the Lopes began to chip away at their lead. Grand Canyon’s Olivia Lane converted two timely buckets down low to help keep her team in front. Lane finished with a team-high 13 points, fellow post Evan Zars had 12, and Aaliyah Collins and Dominique Phillips both scored 11.

Tiffany McGarity led the Vaqueros with 14 points and five rebounds off the bench, and Deborah Ogayemi scored 11 points and grabbed five boards.

Lord was pleased with their defensive effort, which produced seven steals and six blocks, and the production the Vaqueros received from their bench unit, which combined to score 25 of UTRGV’s 52 points.

“I really thought the energy they brought us was fantastic. Tiffany McGarity was flying all over the floor, Halie Jones, I really thought Zariah Sango gave us some great minutes today as well,” Lord said. “They brought us energy, scored basically as much as our starters today, which we hadn’t had, so that was nice. We had a few starters do well and a couple that didn’t do well, so it’s all about consistency and we’ll get there. We’ll keep fighting and keep believing.”

The UTRGV women’s basketball team is back in action against Texas at Arlington (8-10, 2-4) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg. The Vaqueros defeated UTA 83-73 in their first matchup on Jan. 4 in Arlington.

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EDINBURG — Topping Edinburg High’s list of priorities in its District 31-6A opener against La Joya High was containing Coyotes senior standout Ethan Moya.

Moya entered the game averaging 20.1 points on the year, but the Bobcats scratched and clawed their way to a 45-38 victory and limited La Joya’s lethal scorer to 17.

Edinburg High improved to 17-8 overall and 1-0 in 31-6A. La Joya High fell to 17-11 on the year and 0-1 in district.

“We know who Mr. Moya is and what he’s capable of, and we just had a good plan for him. We did several things we haven’t done all year, then again we haven’t played a player like him, so we knew we had to contain him,” Edinburg High head coach Zeke Cuellar said. “It’s hard to stop a kid like that.”

The Bobcats started fast and finished strong as senior guard Jahi Fagan scored seven points during the first quarter and six more in the fourth for a team-high 13. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded one steal and one block.

“This was a good win, and we have to keep it going,” he said.

Ian Garcia finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and came through with clutch buckets in the paint during the fourth quarter to create some separation against the Coyotes. Ryan Rivera scored nine points with four assists, Joaquin Soto had seven points and four boards, and Noah Garza scored five points off the Bobcats’ bench.

“We talked to each other, gave each other confidence and helped build each other up,” Garcia said.

Although he didn’t register a point, Edinburg High senior Gabriel Negrete spearheaded the Bobcats’ defensive attack against Moya with relentless pressure, multiple looks and help from teammates. The Bobcats held Moya to two points during the decisive fourth quarter.

“Gabriel is our top defender. He’s our scrappy player, he’s a guy that’s going to fight for every rebound and dive on the floor when he needs to dive on the floor, and every team needs one of those types of players,” Cuellar said. “We’re just fortunate to have a player like him on our team.”

La Joya’s Arian Quintanilla found success inside against the Bobcats with 12 points and six rebounds. The Coyotes trimmed the Bobcats’ lead to 35-33 during the fourth quarter by turning to full-court pressure before Edinburg High pulled away.

“Both teams played tough. They played hard defensively, I thought Edinburg just made a couple more shots than we did, and that hurt us,” La Joya High head coach Eric Montalvo said. “We just have to bounce back. We’re an experienced group so they know that every game, every quarter, every possession counts, so they got to bounce back and be ready for the next one.”

The Coyotes will look to rebound when they face Edinburg Economedes (12-14, 0-1) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at La Joya High School.

On deck for Edinburg High is another high-profile matchup as the Bobcats pay a visit to crosstown rival Edinburg North (15-13, 1-0) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Edinburg North High School.

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EDINBURG — The East and West All-Stars saved their best for last as this year’s edition of the RGV Coaches Association Football All-Star Game was decided in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with the East team prevailing 10-9 on Saturday at Richard R. Flores Stadium in Edinburg.

“This was Valley high school football at its finest. Both teams were loaded with players that are the pride of their communities,” Brownsville Veterans defensive coordinator and East All-Stars head coach JC Ramirez said. “They’re used to being the man on their team, and at the same time, they had to pull together and show that they can be a team-player when they’re surrounded by nothing but other big dogs.”

East ball carrier Gunner Willams (1) is stopped by West defender Amando Ramirez III (4) in a RGVCA All-Star Football game at Richard R. Flores Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez

La Feria’s Justin Rodriguez scored a 20-yard touchdown to put the East All-Stars ahead 10-3 with four minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

The West All-Stars answered almost immediately with a 55-yard touchdown pass by McAllen Memorial quarterback JP Cortez to McAllen Rowe wide receiver Nelson Ramirez to make the score 10-9 with 1:49 left to play in the fourth.

Krell elected to go for the win, but Raymondville’s Hunter Posas came up with a tackle for loss on the two-point try to keep the score 10-9 in the East’s favor.

“We all came out to compete against the best in the Valley. We’re very competitive guys and just came out to do what we do,” Posas said.

La Feria’s Rodriguez converted a 2nd-and-8 to keep the clock moving and allowed the East to close the show in victory formation.

“They have a tough defense but our offensive line just kept pushing and we came through in the end,” Rodriguez said.

Sharyland High and West kicker Kali Nguma drilled a 40-yard field goal to give the West a 3-0 lead during the first half. Brownsville Veterans and East kicker Tyler Achleitner nailed a 23-yarder to start the fourth to tie the game at 3.

“It’s always great when it’s a close game. For this to come down all the way to the last play of the game, it’s been a great experience,” Sharyland High head coach and West All-Stars coach Craig Krell said.

At halftime, the RGVCA paid tribute to former Edinburg High, Lyford and Rio Hondo head football coach Richard R. Flores, who passed away Oct. 27, 2022, by presenting his wife Estelle Flores with a plaque. Former players of Flores and coaches who coached under him were alongside Estelle during the halftime presentation.

The RGVCA honored former Edinburg High, Lyford and Rio Hondo head coach Richard R. Flores, who passed away Oct. 27, 2022, at halftime of the RGVCA East-West All-Star Game. Bryan Ramos

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McAllen High alumnus and current TCU senior wide receiver Gunnar Henderson is set to play in the College Football Playoff national championship game when the No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs face the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. Monday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Henderson’s college football career began with two years at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, a brief time as a walk-on at Texas A&M in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the past two years with the Horned Frogs of TCU.

“My time at TCU has been awesome. I’ve met a lot of cool people and been coached by a lot of awesome coaches, and I’ve had a great experience with football overall,” Henderson said. “I’ve been able to play at the University of Texas, the University of Oklahoma in front of 100,000 fans and it’s been a dream come true for me. This year, obviously, us playing extremely well and having the season we’re having, it’s been awesome because we’re getting all the media attention and it’s truly given me a taste of what playing big-time football is like. I’m just really blessed to be in the position I’m in, and I’m soaking it all up.”

McHi alum and current Texas Christian (TCU) receiver Gunnar Henderson runs a route in a game earlier this season. Courtesy – TCU Athletics

TCU is 13-1 this season and went 9-0 in Big 12 competition during the regular season to reach the CFP title game. Georgia, which won last year’s national championship, stands 14-0 overall and went 9-0 in the Southeastern Conference. TCU has two national championship wins in its history in 1935 and 1938.

Henderson earned a role as a reliable receiver in TCU’s offense this season, which ranks No. 4 in the nation, scoring 41.1 points per game, according to NCAA.com. He has appeared in all 14 games for TCU this season and has recorded 11 receptions for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He ranks No. 1 on the team in yards per reception among players with more than one catch at 20.27 yards.

Henderson had two catches for 12 yards and two tackles on special teams as a junior at TCU in 2021 and earned second-team academic All-Big 12 honors.

The College Football Playoff national championship game between TCU and Georgia will be televised on ESPN.

Twitter: @bybryanramos