ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons went from starting off as a volleyball team with unknown potential to becoming a repeat District 32-6A champion during the 2019 season.

The nucleus of their title team from one year ago — 10 seniors — had graduated, leaving just a couple of players with varsity experience to test the waters and make their own way during the 2019 season.

As anyone familiar with the Los Fresnos volleyball program can attest, it’s a program with plenty of depth that attracts more than 100 athletes at the start of every season in August.

Drawing upon that depth, the result in 2019 was yet another 32-6A championship with many new faces in the lineup. The Lady Falcons won the district title with a 10-0 record before advancing two rounds in the Class 6A playoffs.

Becky Woods, The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Volleyball Coach of the Year, was the architect of another district winner. It came during a season in which Woods completed her 35th year of coaching at Los Fresnos and reached the 700-win plateau in August at the Poundfest Tournament in McAllen.

The All-Metro area includes Brownsville, Los Fresnos and Port Isabel.

“The credit for what we’ve done goes back to the players, the coaching staff and everyone who has helped these girls learn to play volleyball, including their club coaches,” Woods said. “I’m blessed and fortunate to have these girls playing on our varsity team. There are many people who deserve the credit for our success.”

Two Los Fresnos players from this past season’s 36-9 team are among the top honorees on the All-Metro squad. They are seniors Jasmin Garcia and Clarissa Esquibel. Garcia is the All-Metro MVP and Esquibel is the co-setter of the year with Rivera’s Clarissa Olivares. Both finished with a little more than 1,000 assists.

The girls say they’ve enjoyed playing for their coach.

“It’s amazing and fun to play for Coach Woods,” Garcia said.

Added Esquibel, “Coach Woods is the best. She loves to win, and we love to win for her.”

For the record, Esquivel finished her one year on the varsity as a senior with 1,066 assists.

“I’m glad I decided to play my senior year,” Esquibel said. “It was exciting because we all played together and pulled through.

“Getting an award as a setter was something I didn’t expect to do,” Esquibel added. “It’s because of the ones I had by my side (as teammates).”

Woods said she was impressed with the way Esquibel adapted to varsity competition as the season continued.

“It was unreal how Clarissa progressed,” Woods said. “All the sets were on her shoulders. She worked her tail off and did it all with a smile.”

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Jasmin Garcia picked an ideal time to shine as a volleyball player.

A 5-foot-11 senior middle blocker, Garcia was the primary offensive and defensive force at the net for the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons as they repeated as District 32-6A champions and recorded a 36-9 season record with a trip to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. They won 32-6A with a 10-0 mark.

Garcia is The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Most Valuable Player in volleyball for 2019.

The All-Metro area includes Brownsville, Los Fresnos and Port Isabel.

As a junior, Garcia contributed off the bench to the Lady Falcons’ district championship season. Elevated to the starting lineup, her senior year became even better.

She finished her senior season with 489 kills and 176 blocks along with 79 digs.

“Jasmin was a force in the middle for us,” said Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods, who is the All-Metro coach of the year. “If she was given a good set, we knew she would put it down (for a kill). It all had to do with teamwork. Everyone did her part, and Jasmin came through to score the point.”

Garcia said it was an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

“It was fun to be on this team,” Garcia said. “We were a new team (playing together this season), and we came together to win every match (in district). It felt amazing to do something for the whole team. Everyone pitched in. What I learned this season is you can do a lot when you play as a team.”

The All-Metro MVP honor was a surprise for the Lady Falcons’ senior standout. Garcia said she did so well in volleyball this season she’s decided volleyball is now her favorite sport — not basketball — and is hoping to play volleyball in college.

“I’m actually pretty excited (about being the All-Metro MVP) because it’s something I really wasn’t expecting,” Garcia said. “It’s really not about me, though. It’s more about what you can do with teamwork and playing together. We came together as a team and accomplished a lot.”

Woods said Garcia was one of the newcomers in the starting lineup this season who was intent upon continuing Los Fresnos’ district championship tradition in volleyball.

“It was basically a brand new team this year because we graduated 10 seniors from the varsity the previous season,” the Lady Falcons coach said. “Jasmin was one of the new starters in the lineup. They knew they were good. They just had to put it together and play together. They were determined. They had to win back-to-back district titles.”

Woods believes Garcia’s best volleyball may be ahead of her if she plays in college judging by the way she improved as a player during her senior year.

“Yes, I feel she just started being more aggressive as a hitter when she became a senior,” Woods said. “Just think what she would’ve been like if she started hitting aggressively three years ago (as a freshman).

“(Now) she’s very explosive, and she knows right where she wants to put the ball,” Woods added.

The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Volleyball Team

Most Valuable Player

Jasmin Garcia, Los Fresnos

Offensive Player of the Year

Kenya Ibarra, Rivera

Defensive Player of the Year

Odalys Gonzalez, Hanna

Setter of the Year

Clarissa Esquibel, Los Fresnos; Clarissa Olivares, Rivera

Libero of the Year

Alexandra Parchmont, Brownsville Veterans Memorial

Newcomer of the Year

Richelle Guerra, Rivera

Coach of the Year

Becky Woods, Los Fresnos

First Team

Tate Halford, Los Fresnos; Giovanna Godoy, Los Fresnos; Alondra Guzman, Rivera; Valentina Tijerina, Brownsville Jubilee; Ally Stachowiak, St. Joseph; Micaela Garcia, Porter; Vivian Lucio, Pace; Dominique Mena, Brownsville Veterans

Second Team

Rebekah Schlatter, Hanna; Caydence Castillo, Los Fresnos; Julissa Garza, Brownsville Jubilee; Alexis Robinson, Brownsville Jubilee; Monica Garcia, Brownsville Veterans; Mildred Verlage, St. Joseph; Azaneth Perez, Porter; Brenda Savariego, Lopez

WESLACO — Valley View junior Dafne Aguilar-Martinez was bounced out of the winner’s bracket by San Antonio Johnson’s Melissa Villarreal on Saturday at the Tomas Garces Wrestling Tournament held at Weslaco High.

Villarreal (11-2) went on to win the 119-pound weight class by defeating McAllen Memorial’s Victoria Gomez (10-2) in the championship.

Martinez (10-3) settled for third, defeating Edinburg High freshman Rubi Emiliano (10-4).

“I just wrestled with the techniques I’m able to do,” Martinez said. “I got third place and I’m happy with it.”

Valley View junior Dafne Martinez is seen pinning her opponent Edinburg High freshman Rubi Emiliano on Saturday at the Tomas Garces Wrestling Tournament at Weslaco High in Weslaco.

San Antonio Johnson came away with the team win, leading the way with 96 points. Donna High placed second with 95 points, and Edinburg High finished third with 78 points.

Martinez said she realized her potential after going up against her San Antonio Johnson opponent, and it was the wrestling experience she needed to learn from.

“Now she knows she can really produce at a higher level,” Valley View girls wrestling head coach Crystal Franz said. “Her work ethic is what has put her in this position, and we are getting to the place we have to be, and are learning from their mistakes and we are trying to fix them.”

Martinez joined the wrestling team last year and found instant success in the sport as she advanced to the regionals.

She said this year her goal is to make it to the state meet any way she can. One of those ways she enjoys is psyching out her opponents with her long themed socks pulled up high just below the knee. Saturday’s black socks came with Christmas light wrapping around the socks.

“I was at the store on Friday night and I saw the socks and I just had to have them for my wrestling tournament,” Martinez said.

Franz said the San Antonio Johnson School has a really good wrestling program on both the girls and boys side.

One of the most anticipated championship matches was between Edinburg High freshman Tanya Mendoza (14-1) and San Antonio Johnson freshman Mikayla Herber (8-3), ranked No. 13 in the state in the 110-pound weight class, according to wrestlingtexas.com. Mendoza, unranked, entered the match undefeated.

Edinburg High freshman Tanya Mendoza (14-1) and San Antonio Johnson freshman Mikayla Herber (8-3) are seem wrestling in their 102 pound weight-class championship match at the Tomas Garces Wrestling Tournament held at Weslaco High in Weslaco.

The match ended after Herber was able to scoop Mendoza on the mat as they each struggled to find a pin, but it was Herber pinned Mendoza, for Mendoza’s first loss of the season.

San Antonio Johnson head coach Lee Miller said he brought his teams to the Valley because of the welcoming wrestling community and to get some mat time with Valley competition.

“We wanted to come down and see the competition, and what to expect when we get to regionals,” Miller said. “We have had a few head-to-head matches, and we’re getting good competition down here.”

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McALLEN — McAllen High track and field standout Alejandro Rodriguez signed on the dotted line Friday confirming his intent to run track and field for the Duke University Blue Devils next year.

“This has been a big dream of mine for as long as I can remember,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, a senior, was surrounded by family, friends and teachers at his signing day celebration held in the McAllen High gymnasium.

His coaches and mentors praised him for his accomplishments, and reminded him Duke will not be easy, to rely on the work ethic that got him there and never to forget his support system back home is rooting for his success.

Growing up, Rodriguez said he always dreamed of attending Duke. He fell in love with the school’s basketball program.

And for years heading into his high school freshman year, all Rodriguez did was bounce the basketball around and shoot hoops.

One other important choice Rodriguez made was to attend McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate program offered at the Lamar Academy to prepare his academic training to be a successful Duke student.

Rodriguez said the International Baccalaureate program was such an important aspect of why he is attending such a prestigious university like Duke.

Growing up Rodriguez had aspirations of playing for Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and hitting the big shot for the Blue Devils.

But it wasn’t “Coach K” who came calling for Rodriguez’s athletic ability. It was Duke track and field head coach Norm Ogilvie who ultimately offered him a spot on the team and the chance to continue Duke’s winning tradition in track and field.

“I’m looking forward to everything that the experience has to offer,” Rodriguez said about running for the Blue Devils.

Rodriguez will be running the 200- and 400-meter dash for Duke, he said.

Before heading to Tobacco Road in North Carolina to run track, Rodriguez has some unfinished business on the high school track and field stage.

“Alex, I am so proud of you, but you have a lot more to do,” McAllen High head coach Bob Beachtold said as he addressed Rodriguez and his audience. “We have some records to break, we have the area meet, regional meet and we have state to go too.”

Rodriguez’s personal record in the 200 meter is 22.1 seconds and 48.49 in the 400.

Since his sophomore campaign, Rodriguez has made appearances to the regional competition in the 200 and 400. As a junior, Rodriguez won the district championship and area championship in both the 200 and 400 meter.

Rodriguez said he didn’t realize his potential for running track until his freshman year when he joined the team to stay conditioned for basketball season.

He found instant success as a runner. After his coach moved him up to varsity for the area competition, he decided to put his basketball dreams on the shelf and concentrate on running track to one day become a Blue Devil.

To help him reach his goal and live and breathe being a “Dukie,” Rodriguez signed up for a Duke track and field camp his freshman year.

“It has been a dream of mine to run for Duke since my freshman year,” Rodriguez said. “I want to thank everyone who has supported me through this and it would not have been possible without everyone who is part of the McHi team.”

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It’s McAllen versus Laredo as the UIL Class 6A regional volleyball semifinals take place tonight. Both games begin at 7 p.m.

McALLEN HIGH VS. LAREDO UNITED AT ZAPATA

The Bulldogs are coming off a convincing four-set victory over Harlingen South on the road.

They had a scare, however, in the second set when their leader, Lexi Gonzalez, came down awkwardly after a kill and slowly went to the ground, grabbing her foot.

The score was tied at 4 after a dominant performance in the first set. Trainers evaluated her and when she returned, clearly ready to play, the roar of the crowd on the McAllen side was almost as loud as the deafening silence on the other side. Gonzalez returned with the Bulldogs trailing 19-15 and failed to overcome the deficit, but once again dominated the final two sets to claim the area victory and advance.

Gonzalez was missing earlier in the year when she had a college visit scheduled, and the Bulldogs visited state-ranked Los Fresnos. There, they dropped the first set but bounced back to win the next three.

The difference in that match and the Harlingen South match was that they prepared and knew Gonzalez would be missing. Watching her, however, crumble to the floor was shocking to the McHi players and seemed to take all the momentum away from McHi, while breathing new life into Harlingen South.

Still, players like Haidee Moore and Celina Saenz showed they were ready to step up and had two of their best performances of the season.

One thing head coach Paula Dodge wasn’t happy with were the number of service errors that the Bulldogs had, especially while Gonzalez was in the front row. While the Bulldogs apply pressure with their serves, putting them in the net or sailing them out of bounds only helps their opponent.

If the Bulldogs put on another offensive attacking performance like they showed when at full force against South, the Bulldogs could punch — or kill — their way to the regional semifinals.

McALLEN MEMORIAL VS. LAREDO ALEXANDER AT ALICE

The Mustangs lost their regular-season finale against McAllen Rowe in four sets, then took five sets to win their first-round playoff matchup. They looked like a completely different team in the area round, disposing of Edinburg Vela in three sets to set up a rematch with Alexander.

Ironically, Alexander advanced with a win over Los Fresnos and Memorial hosted a tri-match with those two teams earlier in the season. The Mustangs fell to Alexander and defeated Los Fresnos.

Against Vela, Memorial’s big middles dominated. Sets were tight to the net and they controlled the game against an undersized SaberCats squad. Those middles — Jocelyn Fernandez and Demy Banks — are game changers and will need to have a similar, or better, performance to face Alexander, which also brings some big hitters along.

If Memorial’s bigs can minimize the damage from Alexander’s bigs, one thing is for sure: it will open up the outside for Memorial’s other hitters including the high-flying Sidney Marburger, who does a little bit of everything for the Mustangs.

Defensively, libero Cori Talamantez and defensive specialist Mercedes Lara should give the offense plenty of extra opportunities to strike. But even the strongest back row can be weakened by constant pounding, that’s why it will be critical for Memorial’s big two to at least break even in the battle for the net.

If those scenarios happen, Mustangs could clinch yet another trip to the regional semifinals.

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ROY HESS | Staff Writer

ROMA— There are some very strong volleyball teams in the UIL state playoffs.

The Rivera Lady Raiders faced one of them Saturday in the Class 6A area round of the postseason at Roma.

District 29-6A champion Laredo United, with a tall and talented senior-laden team that advanced to the 6A regional tournament last year, was just too much for the District 32-6A runner-up Lady Raiders.

The Lady Longhorns swept past Rivera 25-12, 25-9, 25-16 to improve to 39-5 on the season. United next goes against District 30-6A champion McAllen High (44-2) in the regional quarterfinal round during the coming week with the winner qualifying for the regional tournament.

Rivera is a young team that returns all of its starters next year. Only one senior from the team is graduating. The Lady Raiders ended 28-13 this season.

Lady Raiders coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra was upbeat about her team Saturday, even after its setback against United.

“United is a really good team, they’ve got a senior group and they were hungry for it,” the Rivera coach said. “That makes a difference. Our girls were hungry and worked hard for it, too, but we’re a little younger. We’ve got a lot of sophomores, some freshmen, three juniors and one senior.

“I thought we played well,” Avelar-Guerra added. “United just lasted a little longer than we did, and they hit their spots with their hits. They’re a good team, they did well, and they deserve it. Congratulations to them.

“Our girls played well, and they didn’t back down. They didn’t get scared. They just kept playing. I think that (experience) will help us in the future. I congratulate United, and I also congratulate our girls because they gave it everything they had. They have a couple more things to learn because they’re still young, and that will make all the difference.”

United advanced to the third round of the playoffs seven times before defeating McHi last season in the regional quarterfinal round and making it to the regional tournament for the first time.

Lady Longhorns coach Leticia Longoria is anxious for her team’s rematch with the Lady Bulldogs to see which of them makes it to next weekend’s regional tournament.

“These girls enjoy each other and they have fun (playing volleyball),” Longoria said of her team. “They were just ready to execute today and play for each other. I told them as soon as they came over here (to Roma for this match), to enjoy it. I told them to win for their families, for the jersey they wear and for our community of Laredo. They did an excellent job. I’m so proud of them.

“Last year we opened the door and made it to the regional tournament for the first time,” she added. “That is something we’re looking forward to doing again. McHi has a great program and is well-coached. We just have to fine-tune some little things here and there, and we’ll be ready to play them. We want to continue representing our school in the playoffs.

“I thank every single player on this team and their families. I’m honored to coach them.”

Stat leaders for the Lady Longhorns included Lauren Arzuaga (12 kills), Destiny Chavera (nine kills), Ivanna De La Pascua (six kills), Tina Trevino (30 digs), Jazmin Salvador (20 assists) and Daniela Mares (18 assists).

For Rivera, the stat leaders were Kenya Ibarra (10 kills, 12 digs), Alondra Guzman (four kills, 12 digs), Clarissa Olivares (21 assists), Richelle Guerra (18 digs, one kill) and Christina Garza (five kills, two digs).

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE— The Harlingen High Cardinals are District 32-6A champions for the first time since 2016.

Thanks to Friday’s 65-28 victory over Brownsville Rivera at Sams Memorial Stadium, the Cardinals are back as 32-6A champions and headed to next week’s Class 6A Division II playoffs against Edinburg Vela.

“Winning district feels great,” said Harlingen High running back Rayden Berry, who scored three times during Friday’s game. “That was one of the goals we set for ourselves and we’ve accomplished it, but we’re not done. We’ve got playoffs to worry about, and now we’re focusing on that. It’s the next chapter (in the book) for us.”

Harlingen High improved to 9-1 on the season and 5-0 in district with its seventh straight win.

“We have a lot of team camaraderie,” Berry said. “We’re like a family, and that’s been a big difference for us this year.

“What’s ahead are the playoffs,” he added. “We’re going to be focused and take it week by week.”

Rivera, which showed improvement this season under first-year coach Beto Leal, ends its season at 2-8 overall, 1-4 in 32-6A.

The Cardinals led 20-8 after the first quarter and 41-15 at halftime. They took a 48-15 advantage into the final period.

After Harlingen High went up 7-0 by scoring on its first possession thanks to Berry’s 1-yard touchdown run and a Jacob Garza extra point with 9:55 showing in the opening period, Rivera then briefly took the lead, 8-7. It came on a 1-yard TD run by the Raiders’ Ramiro Vega and a two-point conversion run by quarterback Chito Perez at the 5:07 mark of the first quarter.

Following that Rivera score, it was pretty much all Harlingen High.

An 11-yard TD pass from quarterback Jaime Galvan to brother Justin Galvan, a wide receiver, with 4:31 to go in the first period put the Cardinals back in the lead for good, 14-8.

Actually, Harlingen High scored on five straight possessions during the first half to make it 41-15 at intermission.

With 2:17 to go in the opening period, an 11-yard TD run by Jaime Galvan increased the score to 20-8 after a two-point conversion pass attempt fell incomplete.

Jaime Galvan hooked up with Berry on a 31-yard scoring pass at the 11:30 mark of the second quarter to make it 27-8. It became 34-8 with 10:26 left before the half when Berry sprinted across the goal line from 13 yards out.

The Galvan brothers hooked up on another TD pass with 6:28 left before halftime to increase the lead to 41-8. This time, the TD pass play covered 34 yards.

Rivera closed the gap to 41-15 with 37 seconds left in the second quarter. Vega, who went over 100 yards rushing on the night, broke loose on a 14-yard scoring scamper. During the second half, Vega also scored on a 75-yard sprint down the left sideline.

Still, the night belonged to the Cardinals.

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Sooner or later, Rio Grande Valley teams run into strong Laredo challengers in the Class 6A state volleyball playoffs.

It happens today during the area round of the postseason. District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos (36-8) takes on District 29-6A runner-up Laredo Alexander (27-10) at 2 p.m. in Alice, and 32-6A runner-up Brownsville Rivera (28-12) goes against 29-6A champion Laredo United (38-5) at 3 p.m. in Roma.

Also, Harlingen South (35-8), the No. 3 playoff seed from 32-6A, plays host to District 30-6A champion McAllen High (43-2) at noon today in an area-round playoff match.

McHi is considered the top team in the Valley.

“I’m telling our girls just to keep their composure,” South coach Anissa Lucio said. “McHi is a great team and we know it’ll be a high-intensity match, so we just want to play our game.”

The Lady Hawks opened the playoffs Tuesday with a 25-12, 25-9, 25-20 bi-district win over District 31-6A runner-up Edinburg North, Also Tuesday, McHi won its bi-district match 25-15, 25-17, 25-14 against 29-6A fourth-place Laredo United South.

Los Fresnos is getting a rematch with a Laredo Alexander team the Lady Falcons lost to in four games Sept. 7.

“I’m telling our girls to just stay humble and calm, and just play the game like any other match we have played this season,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “We have a very good team, and if we can play together as a team and play our positions well, we will be OK. We can’t get down on each other or ourselves. We need to stay focused every point.

“We are excited because this is the fun part of the season,” Woods added. “It’s like icing on the cake. I tell the girls, ‘It’s one (loss) and out (in the playoffs). Make the best of it, because you don’t get a second chance.’”

Los Fresnos defeated 31-6A fourth-place Weslaco High 27-29, 25-16, 25-20, 25-16 in bi-district Tuesday. The same night, Laredo Alexander was a 27-25, 25-10, 25-19 bi-district victor against 30-6A third-place PSJA High.

Rivera hasn’t played Laredo United yet this season. Still, Lady Raiders coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra knows to expect a strong showing from the 29-6A champions, who have their share of tall, talented players.

“It’s going to be a tough match,” Avelar-Guerra said. “We’ve been working on different situations and how to handle them to give us a better chance to do well. If we play like we’re capable of playing, I think we have a good chance.”

The Lady Raiders were led in Monday’s bi-district match at Edinburg High by sophomore hitter Kenya Ibarra, who registered 35 kills. Rivera won 25-22, 25-15, 25-17 over 31-6A third-place Edinburg High.

“I think Kenya will give it her best again,” Avelar-Guerra said. “She had a great match in bi-district.”

Laredo United won its bi-district match Tuesday against 30-6A fourth-place McAllen Rowe 25-18, 25-17, 25-16.

Meanwhile, Jubilee Brownsville is advancing to next week’s third round of the Class 3A playoffs after winning an area-round match in epic fashion Thursday in Kingsville. The Lady Titans prevailed against Skidmore-Tynan 19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 26-24, 18-16.

Jubilee plays either Corpus Christi London or George West next week in a 3A regional quarterfinal.

MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER

With Week 11 of the Rio Grande Valley football season underway, the Los Falcons and the San Benito Greyhounds already know they are in the postseason, but what seed and against whom is still to be determined.

The seeding part of the equation will be solved when the Falcons host the ‘Hounds at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Los Fresnos’ Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

The winner will be the District 32-6A top seed in Division I, while the other will go in as the second. Awaiting both teams is either Edinburg North or Weslaco High, who will figure out the same seeding situation when they face off tonight.

Los Fresno’s (3-6, 2-2) believes they are playing as well as they have all season and are relishing the opportunity to finish the season strong.

“I may be one of the first football coaches in history to say this,” Brown said jokingly. “But we’re having a great week of practice and we’re as healthy as we’ve ever been since I’ve been here. We’re starting to get depth and our young kids are starting to grow up and they’re starting to believe in our system offensively and defensively. We feel that our kids can play the way we think the can play, we can be pretty good.”

San Benito (5-4, 3-1), meanwhile, has strung together three straight wins and still has an outside chance at a share of the district title should it win and Rivera upset Harlingen High. Still, head coach Dan Gomez said his team is focused on the Falcons and nothing more.

“Right now, there’s concerns that we have with Los Fresnos,” the San Benito coach said. “There are concerns that we have with Los Fresnos; they’re a ballclub that’s been getting better every week. That’s been our main focus this week, is to take care of the task at hand.”

Both the Falcons and Greyhounds have run the ball effectively, especially in this district season, but bring completely different styles of attacks.

Los Fresnos’ switch to the flexbone offense was rocky early as they almost completely cut the passing game out of their attack and rushed for more than 300 yards just once in the pre-district season.

But once district play started, the Falcons have averaged 336 yards per game, led by running back Chris Resendiz, who has rushed for 548 yards and six touchdowns in district play, including a 185-yard, two-touchdown performance against Harlingen High and a 147-yard, three TD game against Harlingen South.

“I think our kids see how we can have success with this offense and our defense sees how they can get rest and keep the opposing offense off the field and limit possessions,” Brown said. “I think our coaches, down to our managers believe in what we’re doing right now and I think you can feel it around our practice and around our program.”

Browns also knows that keeping San Benito’s offense on the sidelines will be important with the running attack the Greyhounds bring to the table, starting with quarterback Smiley Silva., who Brown said is the district’s best in terms of running the ball.

Silva leads the district in rushing with 1,189 yards and 14 touchdowns this season and can also hand the ball off to Kyler Castilleja, who, despite only rushing for more than 100 yards twice this season, has been a nice complement, rushing for 714 yards and seven touchdowns.

With both teams rushing the ball well, Gomez said the battle upfront will be where the game will be decided.

“It’s hard-nosed football is what it is,” he said. “That’s where this game will be won or be lost. That will be inside in the trenches on the offensive line and defensive line. We look forward to the challenge of playing Los Fresnos, just like I know they are looking forward to playing us. So we’re just getting ready for Friday night.”

On defense, Los Fresnos is second in the district, allowing 319 yards per game (173 yards on the ground), while San Benito is third in the district, allowing 343 yards per game (215.5 rushing).

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

A surprise awaited the Brownsville Veterans Memorial volleyball team and its fans Tuesday in the Class 5A bi-district playoffs.

Brownsville Veterans, only last week, beat state-ranked Edcouch-Elsa twice to capture a District 32-5A co-championship and the district’s No. 1 seeding in the postseason.

After those wins against E-E, expectations for the Lady Chargers were running high for the playoffs, especially since their bi-district match Tuesday was at home against PSJA Southwest, the No. 4 playoff seed from District 31-5A.

But sometimes things don’t always turn out as planned when athletic events are involved.

The Lady Javelinas (22-16) proved that beyond doubt as they came into Tuesday’s match showing a lot of confidence and played consistently enough to upset the Lady Chargers (30-10) in straight sets 25-18, 25-17, 26-24.

“It’s the playoffs, and I think my girls were ready for this match,” PSJA Southwest coach Jaclyn Olvera said. “That’s what happens when you’re ready to play and you play together as a team.”

The Lady Chargers, their coaches and the Brownsville Veterans fans were disconsolate following the setback.

“Unfortunately, some of my top players were not ‘on’ for this match,” Lady Chargers coach Elizabeth Mares said. “This was a match where (our) inconsistency played a big role. Southwest played very consistently. They were picking everything up, and we weren’t. That was basically what happened in this match.

“We had too many hitting errors, too many passing errors and too many serving errors,” Mares added. “Southwest just played a better game and more consistently than we did.”

The stats for the Lady Chargers weren’t all that great, Mares said. Hannah Edelstein led the team with seven kills. Teammate Galilea Martinez had six kills and five blocks, and Alex Parchmont added 22 digs.

The Lady Javelinas, sparked by the blocking of senior middle hitter Karen Prado, build leads of 5-1, 15-8, 20-10 and 23-13 before winning the opening game 25-18 when the Lady Chargers hit the ball out of bounds.

From the first game on, Prado’s blocks seemed to alter the hitting strategy of the Lady Chargers.

The second game went much the same. The Lady Javelinas led by scores of 10-3, 19-11, 20-12 and 23-17 before a serving ace by PSJA Southwest’s Angela Clerch won the second set 25-17.

Brownsville Veterans jumped out to a 12-5 advantage during the third game thanks to a block by Monica Garcia. Still, it couldn’t hold the lead.

After ties at 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 24, the Lady Javelinas pulled ahead to win the third set and take the match.

A PSJA Southwest hit went off a Brownsville Veterans player and carried out to make it 25-24 for the Lady Javelinas. A kill by Kassy Bucio then gave the Lady Javelinas the third game 26-24.

Prado finished with five blocks, 13 digs, three aces and two kills. Also for the Lady Javelinas, Bucio had 11 kills, nine digs and one ace; Clerch had nine kills, 16 digs, and five assists; Blanca Mendoza had 20 digs; and Jackie Soto had 16 assists.