KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Kickers often are overlooked for a variety of reasons, but that is not the case at Harlingen High.

Senior kicker Jesus Reyna has found his spot on the Cardinals’ football team as its long distance kicker. The two-sport athlete is heading into the Cards’ regular-season opener with swagger and plenty of confidence.

“All the work that I put in the offseason, it is paying off,” Reyna said. “It all starts with mental toughness, and that is a big thing here at Harlingen. I kept my focus and continued to work, and now I get a shot to play under the lights and that is an amazing feeling.”

Reyna, who also plays soccer, always has had a knack for kicking. The senior came through the ranks and looked up to former Cardinals kicker Giovanni Guillen.

Guillen sealed his name in Cardinals history by nailing a 52-yard field goal with 3:51 left in the game, and it proved to be the game-winner in front of a packed Boggus stadium in the 87th Battle of the Arroyo.

“Since that kick, we kickers are looked at differently now,” Reyna said. “Coach Manny Gomez loves kickers, we play a big role in our game plans.”

The ironic thing was, Reyna, who was a sophomore that year, was in fact watching the game from the stands.

“It is crazy because I remember seeing that play and seeing the ball go through,” Reyna said. “I thought to myself, wow, that was a long field goal, I think I can do that one day and maybe even break the record.”

Reyna and Guillen remain close friends. The two played soccer together while Guillen was still in school.

“We’re great friends, he helped me in so many ways, he taught me a lot,” Reyna said.

Against Sharyland this past Friday, Reyna nailed a 52-yard field goal with room to spare, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to the Cardinals faithful. Reyna consistently knocks 52-yarders through at practice.

“Coach Lucio called my name; I went out there and just knew I had to make the kick. I have made long field goals before in practice, so it was a matter of me keeping my focus. It was a great moment for me and the team for sure.”

Reyna and the Cards will open the regular season at 7:30 p.m. Friday at home against Sharyland Pioneer.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

RIO HONDO — The Rio Hondo Bobcats will begin their 2018 season with a stiff road test at 7 tonight at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln tonight.

Last season, the Bobcats looked shaky during the opening minutes by giving up a kickoff returned for a touchdown, but this year Rio Hondo is eager to get a little payback against a tough 6A squad.

“We came out of our scrimmages healthy, and that is always a plus,” Rio Hondo coach Rocky James said. “I’m happy on where we are sitting right now as we’re getting ready to play the Huskies.”

Rio Hondo’s defense will have its work cut out for it as running back Albert Martinez looks to lead the Huskies’ rushing attack. Last year, Martinez rushed for 1,375 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Bobcats will counter with senior back Danny Vasquez who is slated to have a strong year. Jesus Garay and Adrian Torres also will get some touches against a strong defensive front.

“The Huskies are a running team, and for our defense it is simple, we need to stop the run,” James said. “We want to put them in a position that they’re not used to, and it will be a test for our defense.”

Senior Josiah Ortega will make his regular-season debut under center. Ortega had a strong offseason and preseason that has Rio Hondo buzzing.

“Josiah has started for me since he was a sophomore, he started out at safety, but made the move to quarterback and he has done an excellent job on leading the guys,” James said. “He has always been a leader; he leads by example.”

One of Ortega’s weapons will be senior wideout Cross Gonzalez. The speedy wideout had high praise for his QB and is eager to hit the field with a new field general.

“Josiah has done a great job,” Gonzalez said. “Over the offseason we worked on our routes and timing, and we all have confidence in him to get the job done. It’s Week 1 of the season and we’re all ready, we want to start the year off right with a win, and anytime you can do that against a 6A school, that is a plus.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN—The Harlingen South Lady Hawks were glad to be back on their home court for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Over that time, the Lady Hawks toured the Rio Grande Valley and made a trip to Sinton for tournament play.

On Tuesday, however, South met a familiar adversary in Sharyland Pioneer. This past weekend at the Sharyland tournament, South fell to the Lady D’Backs. Tuesday was a different story.

Harlingen South, led by junior hitter Mikela Mireles, put on a show with a 30-kill performance as South took down Pioneer in four sets, 25-17, 25-15, 20-25, 25-19, avenging their weekend loss and improving to 13-10 on the year. Up next is a road test Saturday at Brownsville Pace.

“It feels great to be back on our home court,” Mireles said. “We needed this and this win. It was a tough weekend, (Pioneer is) a tough team. We lost to them over the weekend, but we learned some things and we corrected some things and it showed tonight.”

Mireles was up and down the court with her aggressive attacking, and helped South to two quick wins during the first two sets.

Although the district portion of the season is still a few weeks away, South looked to be in midseason form. In both sets, South built leads and held on to win.

“This is what we needed, we needed to come back home and get some confidence back,” South coach Anissa Lucio said. “Our leadership and our defense has improved from the start of the season till now. Those two things have really come around, and defensively the girls have done what they are asked and have kept their focus.”

Pioneer made life difficult for South and avoided a sweep during the third set.

In the fourth set, South regrouped and took a 14-7 lead midway through the match and did not look back from there. Along with Mireles’ strong performance, Allyah Guevara collected 26 digs and Mya Aguirre finished with 24 assists.

“Our defense and serve-receive is what sparks us,” Lucio said. “That is what got our offense going tonight. Heading into the fourth set, I told the girls we needed to finish, we had to show that we can finish games, and we did that tonight.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

After ending its non-district portion of the season with a win, Lyford began district play with a victory over Pharr Vanguard on Friday, 25-4, 25-9, 25-12.

Up next is a date with IDEA Quest on Tuesday.

Against Vanguard, Sarah Martinez finished with 11 kills and 11 aces. Meanwhile, Eliana Figueroa finished with eight aces, and Kayleen May collected five kills and two blocks.

“The tempo challenged us,” said Lyford coach Lisa Lancaster. “It was challenging through the first three sets, but we were able to stay consistent with our touches, and we minimized our errors and played solid fundamental volleyball.”

Rio Hondo still looking to find their footing: The Lady Bobcats are still looking to hit their stride on the young season.

Over the weekend, Rio Hondo took part in the Hidalgo Tournament. In pool play, the Lady Cats went 1-2. On the day, Rio Hondo fell to Brownsville Lopez and Valley View, and picked up a win against Grulla.

In bracket play, Rio Hondo lost to district rival Hidalgo in three sets, 20-25, 25-11, 3-15.

Harlingen, Harlingen South, San Benito all take part in Sharyland Tourney: The Lady Cards got off to a strong start on Thursday by going 2-1 in pool play.

Big Red picked up wins against Brownsville Pace and Weslaco before falling to McAllen. On Friday Harlingen went 0-3 on the day before turning things around on Saturday. The Lady Cards got the best of their crosstown rivals, Harlingen South, in three sets before bowing out to Edinburg North. The Lady Cards will continue their road trip with a match at Edcouch-Elsa on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Harlingen South went 2-1 in pool play on Thursday and earned wins against PSJA and Edinburg Vela. South’s only blemish came against Brownsville Rivera.

On Friday, South got a little taste of district play. Rivera got the best of the Lady Hawks for a second straight day and then fell into a bit of a funk as they lost the next two matches against Pioneer and San Benito.

On Saturday, the skid continued with a loss to Harlingen. Up next for the Lady Hawks is a home match against Pioneer at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

San Benito, meanwhile, had the strongest showing of the three. The Lady Hounds went 6-1 in tournament play over the weekend.

On Thursday, San Benito picked up wins against Pioneer, Mercedes and Edinburg Economedes. The Lady Hounds continued their strong play on Friday with wins against South, Pioneer and Rivera.

The Lady Hounds’ run came to an end on Saturday in the championship bracket with a 2-0 loss to Sharyland.

San Benito will host PSJA High on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — The Marine Military Academy football squad was off and running Thursday afternoon.

The Leathernecks are looking to build off a 6-4 season in 2017 and will kick off their season at home on Thursday against Santa Maria.

MMA is under the directions of third-year head coach Ric Medill, whose challenge remains the same: having athletes coming in and out of the program. Regardless of the constant turnover, there is plenty of optimism.

Since Medill’s arrival, the Leathernecks have gradually improved. In 2016 MMA went 2-6 and in 2017 the Leathernecks improved to 6-4.

“We are trying to get the feel for it right now. We have a few kids back from last year that have experience,” Medill said. “We have some holes to fill along the offensive line, but it is tough. We get kids in on the first day of school, so we’re trying to find ways to plug the kids in.”

Jacob Thompson is a three-year varsity member and was the starting quarterback last fall. This year Thompson has made the move to wide receiver.

“It was not a hard move at all. I love playing football and I’m ready for this season,” Thompson said. “I did not have a problem moving positions. Whatever helps this team, I’m all for it and if that means I play wide out then let’s do it.”

The new man under center will be Brandon Cespedes. The senior QB is a transfer from Frisco Heritage where he played QB for the Coyotes last fall.

Another offensive weapon is running back Moshe Debo, who is a two-way player that can also line up at cornerback.

“I’ve changed as a person since coming here to MMA,” Debo said. “As a person, academically and physically I have changed and it is great. Before I came here, I didn’t think about college and now that I’m here, I expect to go to college. It is a goal now. As for football, I’m ready to get the year going. This year came quick and it was a new system, so it took some time getting adjusted to, but I’m ready.”

Anchoring the defense will be outside linebacker Jack Kostelnik. The hardnosed linebacker is in his third year at MMA and is eager to pick up where he left off last year.

“It’s been going great so far,” he said. “The challenge is we lose guys each year and it is hard to tell who is coming back and who isn’t. We feel our defensive line is a strength, our line backing core is strong again and our secondary looks great, too. It’s refreshing to be back on the field. I had an injury last year that kept me out a bit, so it feels great to be back on the field with my defense.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Cardinals hosted the Sharyland Rattlers on Friday evening at Boggus Stadium in their final dress rehearsal of the preseason.

And, for the most part, Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez was pleased with what he saw with his team.

“In games like this we came out injury free and that is a good thing,” said Gomez. “There were some execution issues, but the kids made up for it with effort and I’m excited to go and watch the film so we can correct some things.”

Harlingen will now set its sights on Week 1 of the regular season as they host Sharyland Pioneer next Friday night.

Galvan to Reyna: Quarterback Jaime Galvan dazzled the Cardinal faithful with his feet and arm on Friday.

Galvan, who is a junior, made plays with his feet all evening long and displayed the ability to keep the play alive on a number of occasions.

His top target, Joe Reyna, also displayed his speed and sure hands. Reyna hauled in a pass over the middle and outran the secondary for a score right before the half.

“Both Joe and Jaime are great competitors,” Gomez said. “That is the thing about them, they’re great competitors and athletes, and they are the guys you want to have around. They’re leading the way for the younger guys.”

Scanlan leads THE Cards’ D: The Cardinal defense looked sharp and physical against a potent Rattler offense.

Brian Scanlan was all over the field Friday night as he recovered a fumble and took it back for a score, going sideline to sideline.

Tristian Garcia also had a strong scrimmage and with the regular season on the horizon, the Cards’ defense is beginning to bear fruit.

“This was our last dress rehearsal and now we will get ready for the regular season, but we will take it one day at a time,” said Gomez. “Cardinal football is going to be tough-minded and what we saw tonight, that is football. Sharyland did great, my hat’s off to them; they did a good job on slowing us down a bit, but that is why we play tough teams like Sharyland. I’m just happy with the way the kids and coaching staff performed.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

McAllen — Last year Harlingen South and McAllen Memorial had their scrimmage cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey.

This year, the Hawks and Stangs’ were able to hit the field for their final scrimmage of the season.

McAllen Memorial looked like a well oiled machine with junior running back Campbell Speights. The star back looked as sharp as ever with a 70-yard touchdown run that helped seal a 28-14 win in the controlled portion.

“They (McAllen Memorial) are a tough group, they have a lot of speed,” said Hawks head coach Brian Ricci. “It was a great measuring stick for us to see that speed and adjust to it. I’m proud of the way the boys went out there and played tough, and now we will prepare for next week against Edinburg. Practice is over, it’s time for the regular season.”

As for the Hawks, the offense took a nice step in right direction against a tough Memorial defense.

Junior QB David Torres was in sync with his wide outs. Junior Brady Bennett and Senior Derick Delgado had a strong showing in the live portions.
Bennett beat his man and hauled in a touchdown pass, showing off his soft hands and size.

Speaking of soft hands, Delgado made a couple of big plays as well.

The 6-foot-1 wide out hauled in a back shoulder fade that help set up a touchdown from Corbin Hendrick a few plays later.

“We have worked on our timing and routes all off season, and now it is paying off,” Torres said. “We were excited to come to McAllen and play them, they’re a great squad and they showed us what we need to do to prepare for the season.”

Senior running back Emilio Quiroz showed off his nifty moves and also had a strong scrimmage.

“He (Emilio) does a great job for us,” said Ricci. “We used a few different backs tonight and they got some touches and I liked what I saw.”

The Hawks will begin the regular season next Friday at Edinburg High, with the kickoff set for 7:30.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — With the NFL Preseason in full swing, week three of the preseason means one thing, dress rehearsal.

It’s commonly looked at as the final preseason game that coaches and fans will get a strong look into the crystal ball on what they can expect from their team.
Such is the case for the Harlingen Cardinals.

Harlingen took the field this past weekend in a tri-scrimmage against Weslaco and PSJA Memorial and will have their final scrimmage before they kick off the regular season at home against Sharyland Pioneer on Aug. 31.

Harlingen will host the Sharyland Rattlers out of District 16-5A DII. Tonight also marks the 2018 home opener for the Cardinal faithful. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

“Absolutely we look at it as a dress rehearsal,” said Harlingen coach Manny Gomez. “Every coach in America should look at these games as a final tune up before the regular season starts next week. We need to make sure we’re limited to our mistakes and know where to line up and not have any alignment issues.”

Harlingen has vamped things up on both offense and defense with the regular season beginning next week.

Justin Munivez and Jose Garcia have provided some speed in the secondary, while Tristian Garcia and Cameron Anderson have provided a strong push up from along the defensive line.

“For one, we come across teams that like to run a lot of screens, and we are a defense that likes to blitz a lot, but we blitz with a purpose and my main thing is effort,” Gomez said. “On the front side, anyone can play football; it’s the backside that is important as a defender. The effort on the backside is one thing I’m looking for on both sides of the ball.”

Senior Wide receiver Joe Reyna is primed to have a strong year and is in sync with his quarterbacks and is one of the leaders on this year’s team.

“Our quarterbacks and I have worked out and spent a lot of time over the summer on building chemistry and working on our timing,” Reyna said. “We ran some things we liked offensively in our scrimmage last week and we’re looking to continue that on Friday.”

Reyna will be a key piece to what Harlingen wants to do offensively and against Sharyland, it be a good tune up for the Cards offense as they are meeting one of the top defensive units in the Rattlers.
“I got nothing but love for coach Ron Adame, it’s like a family affair we go way back,” Gomez said. “We are able to help each other out, the main thing is to get it right and the bottom line is we need to be prepared and execute.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

LYFORD — Both Rio Hondo and Lyford entered Tuesdays non-district volleyball match looking for some momentum.

After a turbulent weekend at the Mission Tournament, Lyford did some growing up despite taking some tough losses.

Against Rio Hondo, the Lady Dogs showed that growth in a 25-21, 25-11, 20-25, 25-20 win and did not disappoint their folks on parents’ night.

“I saw some progress tonight; we had some rough spots, but the girls battled tough in the first two sets,” said Lyford coach Lisa Lancaster. “We took our foot of the gas in the third set, but it just takes one person to get it going again and that is what happened; we lost the third set but we were able to get some momentum for the fourth set.”

Lyford will now prepare for its district opener at Pharr Vanguard on Friday while Rio Hondo will take the court in the Hidalgo Tournament this weekend.

“The girls are starting to sacrifice themselves a little more. They are doing the extra things a bit more and are running down balls and doing their job,” Lancaster said.

Up 20-18 in the fourth set, Rio Hondo rallied and had Lyford on its toes. Lancaster called a timeout and delivered a message that helped fire up the Lady Dogs.

Senior Sarah Martinez got the message loud and clear, and helped seal the win for Lyford.

“Coach wanted us to keep going,” Martinez said. “We were tired and they (Rio Hondo) were tired, too. We didn’t want to go to a fifth set and we had to keep pushing even though we were tired.”

Martinez finished with a team high 16 digs in the win.

“Honestly, this win feels great. We had a rough weekend against some tough teams,” Martinez said. “We kept up with them and we played tough and I really believe we got better from it, and it showed tonight.”

Both middles, Kayleen May of Lyford and Rio Hondo’s Taylor Gomez, answered each other’s tips and blocks all night and put on quite the show with their long range and ability to block.

May finished with five kills and seven blocks.

“She (Kayleen) had a heck of a time pushing through those challenges and staying active,” Lancaster said. “It was fun to watch. They (May and Gomez) both played great and Kayleen is starting to get more comfortable playing in the front row. She has taken the roll very well.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

The La Feria Lionettes were placed in Pool 3 at the Eighth Annual Volley at the Beach tournament in Port Isabel this weekend.

They ran into some tough competition in Los Fresnos and Corpus Christi Carroll, and went 1-2 in pool play with a win against Monte Alto.

In bracket play on Saturday, La Feria entered as the seventh seed and found their grove. The Lionettes lost to Los Fresnos in the first round, but then picked up a win against PSJA Southwest in the consolation semis to reach the consolation championship.

The Lionettes made quick work of Weslaco East by sweeping the Lady Wildcats in two sets 25-16 and 25-21 en route to winning the consolation title.

Overall La Feria went 3-3 in the tournament and will now prepare for a non-district match at Donna North on Tuesday at 6:30.

“We played hard and I’m very pleased with our consolation victory,” said La Feria coach Rebea Fraga. “We will continue to improve throughout the season and will continue to prepare for district.”

Lyford, San Benito and Harlingen take part in the Mission Tournament: The Lady Bulldogs were placed in a rough pool and competed against Edinburg High, PSJA North and Corpus Christi Veterans.

The Lady Bulldogs went 0-3 in pool play and met Hidalgo in the consolation bracket, and fell 17-25 and 16-25.

Despite the rough tournament, Lyford got some strong play from Kayleen May, Sarah Martinez and Karla Medina.

“Our middles battled at the net and stayed aggressive against big hitters,” said Lyford coach Lisa Lancaster. “We did really well with pursuing the ball and keeping the ball in play. Overall we have been playing tough teams and the girls have stepped up to the challenge, and making the other teams earn their points.”

Up next is a date with Rio Hondo at home Tuesday with their match set for 7 p.m.

Harlingen had quite a turn around after a disappointing loss to Edinburg North earlier this season. The Lady Cards picked up wins against PSJA Memorial, La Joya and Mission JV.

On Saturday, Harlingen fell to Laredo United South in three sets and overall went 3-1 in tournament play. Harlingen will now travel to meet Donna on Tuesday at 6:30.

San Benito, meanwhile, went 2-1 in pool play with its only loss coming against Sharyland. They got wins against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and Donna North.

In the silver bracket, the Lady Hounds picked up some steam with two impressive wins against Edinburg Vela and Edinburg North. Alysa Naranjo led the offense with 26 kills while Ariel Garcia finished with 47 assists in both games.

In the silver bracket championship match, San Benito fell to Laredo LBJ, 25-21, 23-25 and 16-25. Naranjo finished tournament play with a 14-kill effort and Sarah Garcia checked in 17 digs.

Overall San Benito went 4-2 over the weekend and will host Brownsville Veterans on Tuesday at 7.

Lady Hawks finds their groove at Sinton: Harlingen South meanwhile hit the road and took part in the Sinton tournament. In pool play, South picked up a win against Cuero but dropped two matches to Port Lavaca Calhoun and Taft.

On Saturday, South lost to Incarnate Word but rebounded with wins against Orange Grove and Yoakum. With its win against Yoakum (25-15, 25-22), the Lady Hawks secured the silver bracket championship.

“We played well and I’m happy with the direction we are going in,” said South coach Anissa Lucio. “We played some really good teams and that helped push us, and it makes us stronger going forward.”

Up next for Harlingen South is a road match at PSJA Memorial on Tuesday at 6:30.