ROY HESS | Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS— The Harlingen High Cardinals continue to draw closer to the District 32-6A championship.

Friday’s 31-21 victory against the Los Fresnos Falcons at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium put the Cardinals one step closer to capturing the outright 32-6A crown in a mega-competitive district.

The Cardinals (7-1 overall, 3-0 district) can clinch at least a share of the 32-6A championship with their next victory.

“The district title is what we want,” said Nathan Huerta, a sophomore defensive lineman for the Cardinals who scored his team’s first touchdown against the Falcons. “We put in hard work every day, and we’re just trying to get better and win district.”

Huerta grabbed a Los Fresnos fumble out of mid-air four plays into the game and returned it 25 yards to the end zone with 10:01 showing in the first quarter. The extra point by Jacob Garza made it 7-0.

“The ball just popped out (from a Los Fresnos player) near one of my teammates, I caught it and headed to the end zone,” Huerta said. “It was amazing. (Scoring) with all my teammates around me, it was great.”

Still, the Cardinals had to rally and break out of a tie during the second half to get the win.

Los Fresnos, now 2-6 and 1-2, went ahead 14-7 during the second quarter before Harlingen High pulled to within 14-13, which was the score at halftime.

The Falcons scored their first touchdown to pull within 7-6 on a 2-yard run by Chris Resendiz at the 9:53 mark of the second quarter. The extra point was blocked, leaving Los Fresnos down one point.

A trick play helped the Falcons take the lead, 14-7, with 1:09 left in the second period. Los Fresnos’ Nico Valencia appeared to be taking a handoff around the right side of the line on a run when he pulled up and threw a 21-yard scoring pass to Cody Taylor, who had slipped past the Harlingen High defense.

Los Fresnos quarterback Adrian Longoria rushed for the two-point conversion to make it 14-7.

The Cardinals pulled to within 14-13 with 13.3 seconds to go before intermission.

The TD came on a 37-yard pass from Cardinals QB Jaime Galvan to Justin Galvan, but the extra point was blocked, leaving Harlingen High down a point.

It was tied at 21 late in the third period before the Cardinals tallied 10 points during the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.

Jaime Galvan threw a 4-yard TD pass to Joe Zuniga at the 8:13 mark of the third quarter as the Cardinals went ahead again 21-14. A two-point conversion pass was successful to provide Harlingen High a seven-point lead.

The Cardinals needed it because Los Fresnos scored on its ensuing possession on an 8-yard run by Resendiz to pull even at 21 thanks to Job Esquivel’s extra point. The Los Fresnos TD came with 2:23 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals owned the fourth period by scoring on a 36-yard run by Jaime Galvan with 10:35 remaining and on a 37-yard field goal by Garza with 5:44 to play.

The 10-point scoring outburst during the final period was something Harlingen High coach Manny Gomez was glad to see.

“It’s a 48-minute game, and it’s games like this that make programs grow mentally, and things like that,” Gomez said. “It’s one of those things that it’s going to take every ounce of want-to and grit that we’ve developed (to win).

“It was definitely a great team effort on both sides,” Gomez added. “Los Fresnos played hard and showed a lot of resiliency because they’re well-coached over there. But the bottom line was we found a way to get it done in Cardinal Land.”

Harlingen High plays Harlingen South in the Bird Bowl next Friday and then closes the regular season Nov. 8 at Brownsville Rivera.

Los Fresnos is at Brownsville Hanna next Thursday and ends the regular season Nov. 8 at home against San Benito.

“We just had to readjust tonight and find what could affect us more (positively) and help us win,” Huerta said. “It was a great win.”

The beauty of winning 500 career volleyball matches for Rivera’s Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra is the fact that life as a coach goes on.

Her milestone victory came at home Friday night before an enthusiastic crowd as the Lady Raiders defeated Edinburg High 25-17, 25-12, 25-12 in non-district action.

Avelar-Guerra, now in her 25th season of guiding the Lady Raiders, says she still has a lot of coaching left in her, particularly with District 32-6A competition beginning next Saturday. She has no intention of slowing down any time soon.

With assistant coach and husband Richard Guerra at her side, along with a number of former players, the remainder of her coaching staff and a host of supportive parents, Friday night was something “Coach Ave” will always remember.

“The timing was perfect,” she said. “Of course, I was nervous. There was some pressure with so many people there. I was hoping it would all work out, and it did. I think the girls felt some pressure also and weren’t too talkative to start out, but they were playing fairly well. Then they really got into the match and we went ahead (by taking Game 1). I’m happy. The girls played very well.

“It’s meaningful to me that all 500 wins have come here at Rivera,” added Avelar-Guerra, who will go for career coaching victory No. 501 in a non-district match Tuesday at Mercedes. “I remember when (former Pace coach) Paula Gonzalez won her 500th some time ago and I was wondering if I would ever get there. It seemed so far away back then.”

Litzy Medina and Stephanie Garza, both senior team captains on Rivera’s current squad, said it’s an honor to be on the team that helped “Coach Ave” reach 500.

“I’m just very happy that we were able to work together as a team and give her that 500th win,” said Medina, an outside hitter. “We have been entering our matches with confidence and the assurance that we could do well. This (500th win) gives us more momentum for district. I’m just super proud of ‘Coach Ave.’ She’s obviously the best coach.”

Added Garza, an outside hitter/all-around player, “‘Coach Ave’ has done a lot for us, so we knew we had to get this done for her. It was our way of saying thank you.”

During Avelar-Guerra’s 25-year head coaching tenure at Rivera, the Lady Raiders have gone to the playoffs 17 times, including eight seasons as district champions. The Lady Raiders have won 11 area championships in the playoffs and have reached the regional tournament six times. The last time to make it that far was 2013.

“Coach Ave” estimates that 10-12 of her former players have gone into her profession, including head coaches Jacquelynn Touchet at Lopez and Lisa Saldivar Mares at Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

Last season, the Lady Raiders advanced to the postseason from 32-6A, while the Lady Lobos and Lady Chargers qualified from District 32-5A.

“I could write a book about how I feel about ‘Coach Ave,’” said Touchet, who played for the Lady Raiders from 2003-07 before playing at UT-Brownsville/TSC. “I’m so proud of her and the program at Rivera that I’ve come from. She’s an amazing coach and I’ve learned so much from her. I feel that most of my knowledge (as a coach) comes from what I learned in her program.

“As a coach myself now, I have even more respect for her and what she has done,” Touchet added. “She has put together a strong program that is built on pride, tradition, hard work and commitment. She demands the most from everyone in her program, including the (assistant) coaches. She’s definitely someone I look up to and aspire to be like.”

Mares is equally appreciative of the influence “Coach Ave” has had on her coaching career. Mares, playing under her maiden name of Saldivar, was a standout for the Lady Raiders from 1996-99 and also played in college.

“I’m so excited and happy for her,” Mares said. “She has been a great role model, coach, mentor, friend and colleague. ‘Coach Ave’ was the reason I got into coaching, and hopefully I can get to the 500 mark someday, too.

“She is a competitor who never stops learning and is always willing to give a helping hand to others,” Mares added. “It’s evident with her victories thus far.”

Avelar-Guerra said her success is due in great part to her coaching staff, which includes her husband, Shirley Zuniga, Cinthia Sierra and Thomas Brashear. She also credits all the players she has had both past and present.

“I strive to teach my girls that they can reach their goals even though those goals sometimes look like they’re unattainable,” the veteran coach said. “You just have to work hard, never give up and never think that an opponent is so much better than you are. All I ask is that my players do the best they can.

“It’s just like that in life,” she added. “You’ve got to do the best you can, go all out and give it everything you’ve got. Yes, you make mistakes, but you continue working hard. If you hold back, you’ll never know how good you can be.”

A seemingly unshakable pattern continues for the Hanna volleyball team.

Another relatively slow start, followed by another strong finish.

The Lady Golden Eagles played a non-district match at Lopez on Tuesday, and just like a number of their previous outings so far this season, they dropped the opening game before coming back with a more determined effort to capture a 19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 victory against the Lady Lobos.

“Unfortunately, that pattern is still in effect,” said Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann, whose squad plays in District 32-6A. “But in this match, I have to hand it to Lopez. It’s not that we didn’t come out to play, it’s that Lopez played very strong during the first game.

“I think we’ll be hearing good things about Lopez in District 32-5A this season,” Hagemann added. “The way they played in this match, I think they’re going to be very competitive in their district if they maintain their play like they did against us to start out.”

Added Hanna’s Melina Morales, a senior defensive specialist/libero, “It feels very good to get this win. We started off slow, but we found our chemistry and came together as a team. It’s good to win, especially since District (32-6A) starts next week. We’re trying to practice hard and focus so we can be ready for district.”

In the opening set, Lopez was up by as many as 11 points, 21-10, before Hanna battled back to close the gap to 25-19 by the end of the game.

The second game was the closest and it featured 10 ties, the last of which was 23-23. From there, a kill by Hanna’s Ariana Arceneaux and an ace by teammate Xitlali Montes de Oca accounted for the final two points in giving the Lady Eagles the 25-23 Game 2 triumph.

Other than a 1-1 deadlock, the Lady Eagles led the entire way in the third game. Three straight aces by Montes de Oca gave Hanna an early boost and made the score 9-4. It set the pace as Hanna remained in the lead and held off the Lady Lobos even when they pulled to within 12-11, 15-14 and 18-17 but came no closer. Hanna took the third game 25-18.

The Lady Lobos were ahead 6-0 in the fourth set before Hanna battled back again. The Lady Lobos hit the ball out of bounds on a volley and fell behind for good 10-9 as the Lady Eagles surged to a 25-14 victory to capture the match.

Lopez coach Jackie Touchet was a little disappointed that her team didn’t maintain its successful showing all the way through the match. Still, she said it was a valuable experience to go against a solid team such as Hanna, especially with 32-5A action soon approaching.

“This definitely helped us and it helped that we were going against a competitive opponent,” Touchet said. “It’s not so much about winning right now. It’s more about finding out what we need to tweak before district comes around.

“We’ve already made a lot of progress in the past month that we’ve been in our preseason,” she added. “This match was kind of good to see where we’re at and see what else needs to be tweaked.”

Leading the way for the Lady Eagles were Arceneaux (seven kills, one block), Montes de Oca (seven kills, four aces), Ryann Wood (six kills, two blocks), Tabitha Fernandez (18 digs, seven assists), Isabella Tatum (12 digs), Morales (11 digs), Salone McManus (11 digs) and Elyani Perez (nine assists).

Players active at the net for the Lady Lobos included Georgina Fraga, Carla Lopez and Jennifer Cisneros. Also a standout for Lopez was setter Noemi Gallardo.

Hanna continues non-district play at home at 6 p.m. Friday against Brownsville Veterans Memorial, while Lopez next plays a non-district match at La Feria at 1 p.m. Saturday.