JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — There’s no better way to kick off the district loop than with a win over your crosstown rival.

The Harlingen South Lady Hawks did just that on Tuesday as they defeated the Harlingen Lady Cardinals on rival territory 55-49 to notch their first 32-6A win of the season.

With packed stands, the fans were eager to cheer for their respective teams and they sure brought the intensity. In a tightly contested first quarter, the Lady Cardinals held on to a three-point lead at 12-9 that didn’t last for long.

The Lady Hawks exploded in the second quarter with 21 points that helped them gain 30-27 halftime lead.

“We picked up the pressure with our press, which led to us scoring some easier baskets,” said Lady Hawks head coach Kelly Garrett.

The second half erupted with chants from both groups of fans. Back and forth, the fans tried to outdo each other with shouts of, “Lets Go Hawks” and “Lets Go Cardinals.”

Every time the Lady Cardinals seemed like they were on their way with a comeback, the Lady Hawks answered with a few bucket of their own.

The Lady Hawks were able to push their lead up by five at 41-36 at the end of the third thanks to a technical foul called on Lady Cards head coach Ashley Moncivaiz.

With momentum on their side, the Lady Hawks were able to hold on for the win thanks to the efforts of Karla Reyes, Sienna Sierra and Laura Ramirez.

Reyes lead the team with 15 points and two steals, while Sierra chipped in 10 along with three steals. Ramirez had the sticky fingers of the group, coming away with five steals and putting up seven points as well.

“I can’t explain how I feel,” said Sierra “I’m a senior this year and I’m so happy we were able to finally beat the Cardinals.

Garrett echoed Sierra’s joy.

“I told the team that all the tournaments and games beforehand really led up to this and it’s a great start for us to win this one,” she said.

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

McALLEN — The West team of Class 6A players rallied to prevent East squads from winning all three volleyball matches at Sunday’s high school all-star event at McAllen Memorial.

The all-star competition featuring Rio Grande Valley senior standouts was presented by the Tip of Texas Volleyball Officials Chapter.

Having seen East squads win the sub-Class 5A and the 5A matches, the 6A West All-Stars didn’t want to allow it to become a sweep for the East. They came alive and unleashed their power hitting after dropping the first two games to defeat the East All-Stars 20-25, 22-25, 25-12, 25-13, 15-12.

The 6A West All-Stars were led by players from the McAllen High and McAllen Memorial teams that advanced to last month’s Region IV-6A Tournament. Among them were standout hitters Sydney Pemelton and Julia Monday of McHi plus all-around player and Baylor-bound Taylor Marburger of Memorial.

It’s so much fun (to coach an all-star team with this caliber of players),” said McHi’s Paula Dodge, who directed the 6A West All-Stars along with Memorial’s Lorena Lopez. “These girls have all the skill and talent in the world. They get out there and play hard, so it just makes it a lot of fun.

We started off a little slow,” Dodge added. “Some of them haven’t been playing for a month. We had a couple practices, but we didn’t work them out like we would during the season.”

The 6A East All-Stars were led by a steady back row that included San Benito’s Larisa Garcia and Rivera’s Lilian Vera, and some thunderous kills by UT-Rio Grande Valley commit Jackie Kingsbury of Los Fresnos.

It’s always fun coaching a team like this where they’re all hard workers and they all like to play hard,” said Rivera’s Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra, who coached the 6A East team along with husband Richard Guerra, also a coach at Rivera. “They had no fear and they gave it their all. Each one is a leader for their team, so they all wanted to do their best. It’s awesome to coach these girls. They’re so talented.

“Our girls did real well,” Avelar-Guerra added. “They had some good blocks and good pick-ups (against the West’s big hitters). Sometimes, the West girls would hit it where we weren’t and there wasn’t much we could do about it other than just keeping working hard. Our girls did an awesome job. They never gave up.”

The East won the sub-5A match 25-15, 13-25, 25-15, 25-18. And then another East team swept the 5A match 25-18, 25-19, 25-18. There was a fourth “courtesy game” to cap the 5A match. It was also won by the East 15-11.

By JOSEPH TELLO and FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writers

LA FERIA — Six teams survived Day 1 of the C.E. Vail Classic boys basketball tournament on Thursday and all were eager to inch their way closer to the championship.

When the dust finally settled on Day 2 of the tourney on Friday, the two teams left standing were Los Fresnos and Edinburg Vela. The Falcons and SaberCats will now face off in the championship game today at 3:30 p.m. at La Feria High School.

The first match of the day began with Harlingen taking on Edinburg Vela for the chance to play Sharyland Pioneer in the semifinals. The SaberCats immediately showed their dominance by raining eight three-pointers in the first half to help establish a 42-12 lead.

The defending champs’ smothering defense didn’t allow the Cardinals to get into any type of rhythm throughout the game and the SaberCats went on to defeat the Cards 69-38 to advance.

Meanwhile, Corpus Christi Miller duked it out with Edinburg Economides in another match for a shot at Los Fresnos in the other semifinal.

Miller was in control the majority of the game until the lights went out – literally. Midway through the third quarter, the gymnasium lost power and the game was delayed until power returned five minutes later.

The Jaguars regrouped and were able to gain a 62-56 lead with 1:31 left in the fourth. Miller’s efforts of a comeback came up short and the Jags defeated the Bucs 64-58 to advance to the semis where they faced Los Fresnos on Friday night.

EDINBURG VELA 37, SHARYLAND PIONEER 35: Everything was on the line for the Diamondbacks as they looked to dethrone the defending champs and nothing could have been sweeter. And while Vela did indeed have their hands full with against Pioneer, they ultimately proved why they are the defending champs.

Pioneer held Vela scoreless in the third quarter to cut the Cats’ lead to 27-24. In a seesaw fourth quarter, emotions were running high and tempers were flaring.

A Pioneer technical foul allowed Vela to sink crucial free throws that helped the SaberCats take a 35-33 lead with 2:37 left in the fourth. Pioneer’s Andrew Ogletree drilled a bucket with 49 seconds left to tie the game at 35-35 and got the ball back for what would be the final possession.

Unfortunately, Pioneer’s Jordan Wilson was called for an offensive foul and Vela got the ball back for the last possession with four seconds left. At this point, Vela head coach Lalo Rios called a timeout to discuss the play he desired for his team to execute.

In the final seconds, Vela’s Alec De La Cruz was able to get a shot off and he nailed the buzzer-beater to send his team back to championship game of the tournament.

“Luckily my guy went in to double-team (Vela point guard Chris) Ochoa and I shot the ball with hopes it would go in.” De La Cruz said.

“It was designed for our point guard to bring the ball down and give it to Alec to take the shot,” Rios said. “We were very fortunate the shot went in and are able to return to the championship.”

LOS FRESNOS 57, EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 53: “D-up” echoed throughout the La Feria gymnasium Friday night as the contest between the Los Fresnos Falcons and Edinburg Economedes came down to the final minute.

Unfortunately for the Jaguars, late fourth-quarters mistakes proved costly as the Falcons held on for a 57-53 victory to solidify a spot in today’s C.E. Vail finals against Edinburg Vela at 3:30 p.m.

“Edinburg Economedes is a good team that’s well coach and they’re up and coming,” said Los Fresnos head coach Marco Hinojosa. “I know they struggled last year, but they are going to be a playoff team this year and you have to give them credit for defending us very well. They contested a lot of our shots and we missed a lot of easy shots, but you got to give credit to Economedes.”

Despite the narrow victory, Los Fresnos began the game on fire and quickly went ahead 12-2. However, just before halftime, Economedes erased the 10-point deficit as Angel Salinas hit his second of four three-point shots to pull Edinburg to within two points at the half. Salinas finished the game with 14 points, while teammates Johnathan Barrientos scored 13 and Joshua Sauceda added 12.

Los Fresnos’ two-point lead didn’t last long after the break. Down 28-26 Edinburg’s Miguel Gonzalez (10 points) quickly drove the ball down the court and tied the game at 28-28.

“At the break I told the coach to put some of the blame on me because I missed six layups and we should have been up 22 points,” said Los Fresnos’ Jordan Urbina.

Urbina didn’t wait long to repay his team as the junior quickly hit from beyond the arc to put the Falcons back up by three.

In the fourth period with the score tied at 38 a piece, points from the free throw line became a commodity and Los Fresnos’ Gabe Martinez came through big for the Falcons as the junior went 9 of 10 from the strip.

Teammates Albert Alarcon led the team with 20 points, Alex Garcia added 17, and Urbina contributed seven points.

The Falcons will play SaberCats today in a rematch of an earlier game between the two where Los Fresnos notched the win in overtime.

“I expect another great game. Hopefully it won’t be another overtime game this time,” said Hinojosa. “They’re well-coached and they’ve got probably the best player in the Valley in Ryan (Garza) and we have to find a way to contain them. We’re just going to show up and try to get better for district.”

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN— What a ball game!

The non-district contest between Edinburg Vela and Harlingen South on Tuesday was truly a nail bitter as the game came down to the last possessions.

In the end, the Lady Hawks defended their nest against the Lady SaberCats in a close, hard-fought 30-27 victory.

The Lady Hawks got off to a slow start, committing several turnovers in the beginning minutes which allowed the Lady SaberCats to take control.

The Lady Hawks’ offense was out of tune early on and head coach Kelly Garrett loudly urged her players to pick up the pace.

“I told them we had to be more active, attack their defense and get into the open gaps,” she said.

Garrett’s pep talk worked as the Lady Hawks racked up the points after that and took a 17-13 lead heading into halftime. The team’s nine steals may have been the difference in the game early on.

Edinburg Vela entered the bonus with 1:14 left in the third and cut into South’s lead.

After notching several free throws, Vela cut the lead down to four with South holding onto a razor-thin 29-25 lead with 1:58 left in the game.

The Lady Hawks felt the pressure when Edinburg Vela’s Kayleen Rios hit a three pointer with 25 second left that closed the lead to 29-27 South.

But in the finals seconds, Harlingen South’s Cameron Del Angel took a trip to the line and drained a crucial free throw to push the lead to 30-27.

Del Angel not only made the crucial free throw, but she sealed South’s victory with a block on Vela’s Rios to close the game.

It’s often said that defense wins championships and solid D certainly helped the Lady Hawks push their winning streak to three games.

South freshmen Laura Ramirez and Karla Reyes combined for 11 steals and 11 points in the team’s three-point victory.

“They’re doing a great job and are really coming in to it just in time for district,” Garrett said. “They compliment each other and the team very well”

“Once we get our defense going our offense gets in rhythm and helps us win games,” Reyes added.

South opens up District 32-6A play against crosstown rival Harlingen High next Tuesday at 7:30.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — The San Benito Lady Greyhounds had their hands full against the La Joya Palmview Lady Lobos on Tuesday as the two teams duked it out on the basketball court in a phenomenal contest.

La Joya Palmview definitely had the height advantage in the matchup, but San Benito’s stifling defense proved to be the key in their 37-35 victory.

Lady ’Hounds head coach Abel Moreno knew what the Lady Lobos were capable of after already facing them earlier in the season.

“We had played them in a tournament a few weeks back and knew we were going to have to rebound the ball in order to win,” Moreno said.

Although the Lady ’Hounds were undersized, that didn’t stop them from playing their aggressive style of defense. The Lady ’Hounds finished the first half with four steals and two blocks, which helped them establish an 18-17 lead early on.

However, the Lady Lobos pushed back, taking a 35-34 advantage with 1:05 remaining in the game. But with just seconds left on the clock, San Benito’s Emilee Barraza hit a basket to put the Lady ’Hounds back on top 36-35.

With San Benito clinging to the one-point lead, the game came down to a jump ball call that gave the Lady ’Hounds possession. After being fouled, San Benito’s Haley Lopez sank a free throw to seal the victory.

“I got a little excited after the shot and I almost didn’t get back on defense,” Barraza said. “My teammates definitely helped me keep my head up when I missed some free throws, but they had my back.”

Lopez and Barraza lead the charge for the Lady Greyhounds combining for 16 points.

The Greyhounds improved to 11-3 on the season and will host PSJA North on Saturday afternoon at 2:30.

JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

SAN PERLITA — The Rio Hondo Bobcats were crowned champions at the San Perlita tournament as they beat the Grulla Gators 74-59 in the boys finals on Saturday evening.

The Bobcats’ Albert Adames was the star performer of the game as he led the team in scoring with 17 points.

Both teams competed well early on, proving their worth. However, the Bobcats’ hounding defense eventually took control of the game as it slowed down the pace of Grulla’s offense with a stifling half-court press and capitalized on the Gators’ turnovers.

Rio Hondo coach Jose Guzman noticed his defense performing well and rode it all the way to the title.

“We run a number of defenses and since we were clicking, we stuck with our half-court defense,” he said.

Not only were the Bobcats rolling on defense, but on offense as well. The Bobcats scored a total of 42 points in the second and third quarters, which gave them a comfortable lead.

By JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — It certainly wasn’t the start the Harlingen Cardinals were looking for as they dropped their season opener to Brownsville St. Joseph 75-60 on Tuesday.

The Bloodhounds took advantage of a young Cardinal team that was out of sync for most of the night.

Coach Lee Roy Sanchez stressed early on that the Cards would have to play aggressive defense to win games this season. Sure enough, the Cardinals did play tough D, but found themselves in foul trouble in the beginning minutes of the match.

“We were out of position and the guys weren’t rotating properly,” Sanchez said. “Matt Sesler got in foul trouble early and that didn’t help us defensively.”

The Bloodhounds attempted 14 free throws in the first half of the game and that was ultimately the reason for their 38-22 lead heading into halftime.

“They were patient moving the ball and definitely took advantage of us in the fouling game,” Sanchez continued.

Moving into the second half the fouls continued to commence as the Cardinals committed four within two minutes of play. The Bloodhounds attempted 13 free throws in the third quarter alone, finding themselves in the bonus early on.

Point guard Michael Arellano led the Cards with 19 points hitting four 3-pointers and is a bright spot for the team moving forward. Arellano also finished the night with three steals.

The Cardinals will face the Bloodhounds again in the upcoming Brownsville ISD tournament this weekend and will look to fix their defensive strategy.

By JOSEPH TELLO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — It was nothing new for the Rio Hondo Bobcats as they faced a familiar foe in the Sinton Pirates for the Class 4A Division II bi-district title.

These two teams have quite the history together and what occurred at Boggus Stadium on Friday was nothing short of a thriller.

In a game where both teams played tag on the scoreboard, the Pirates eked out a 30-29 win.

Although the Pirates were in control the majority of the contest, the Bobcats clawed their way back numerous times to make it a close contest.

However, the difference in the match was the missed opportunities and penalties that chained the Bobcats from establishing dominance.

The Bobcats attempted a field goal before half time but the kick was blocked, which helped Sinton hold on to its 14-12 lead.

Rio Hondo head coach Rocky James knew the game against Sinton wasn’t going to be easy so every opportunity was crucial.

“The blocked field goal could’ve been the difference in the game,” James said.

In the second half, the Rio Hondo defense stepped up its game by not allowing Sinton quarterback Colt Gorman to bully them like he did in the first half. However, Gorman still made the Bobcat defense pay as he threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Tristan Canales to give the Pirates a 21-14 lead late in the third. The Pirates padded their lead to 30-21 after Andrew McGowan returned a 22- yard punt for a touchdown late in the fourth.

The Bobcats’ season was in jeopardy, but that didn’t stop them in their last attempt to put up points on the board.

In the final seconds of the game, the Bobcats scored on a 30-yard TD from QB Tyler Bush to Danny Vasquez that left a lasting impression on the Bobcat fans.

Bush threw for three touchdowns in the Cats loss but will be returning next year.

“It was his first playoff game and we were able to put up 29 points, so I’m very proud of him.” James said of Bush.

JOHN CANNON | Special to the Star

SANTA ROSA — Coming into week four of the Texas High School football season, the Aransas Pass Panthers were looking to end their three-game skid and finally get into the win column.

Lucky for them, their offense absolutely exploded on Friday night as they finished with 471 yards on the night and picked up their first win of the season thanks to a convincing 47-20 win over Santa Rosa (2-2).

Aransas Pass made quick work getting on the scoreboard as quarterback Banya Owen busted through the Santa Rosa defensive line and took the ball 84-yards to the house to take the early 6-0 lead with 9:56 left in the opening quarter.

The Warriors responded quickly as on their first play of the ensuing drive, quarterback Alex Ayala connected with Leo Lara who took it to the house for a 70-yard score to tie the contest at 7 with 9:33 left in the first quarter.

Owen then helped the Panthers push their lead to 19-7 thanks to a 1-yard and a 70-yard touchdown run still in the first quarter.

The running game of Aransas Pass continued to cause fits for the Warriors defense as its scored three more times on the ground while going into the half with a 40-13 lead.

Roy Pleasant was the key contributor for those scores as he converted on all of them. On the ground, Aransas Pass totaled 465 yards and was led by Owen who tallied 186 yards on 15 carries and had four touchdowns to his credit.

Santa Rosa scored its second touchdown of the night on a 10-yard run by Nathan Bentley with 4:42 left in the second quarter.

But Owen added another score to his total in the third as his 18-yard run pushed the Panthers’ lead to 47-13 with 5:53 left in the third.

The Warriors were able to tack on one more score midway through the third as Ayala and Lara hooked up one more time on a 7-yard touchdown pass that trimmed the lead to 47-20.

Santa Rosa’s offense had a productive night as it accounted for 301 yards of offense and was led by Ayala, who chalked up 254 total yards on the night. Ayala threw for 122 yards and had two passing touchdowns and rushed for 132 yards on 15 carries.