KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

WESLACO — A year ago, the San Benito Greyhounds would not have taken on Weslaco East in a preseason contest, given the two were district rivals.

But this year, thanks to the UIL realignment, the Hounds were able to meet their former league rivals in their first scrimmage of the 2018 season.

And although it was just a scrimmage, the fans in attendance at Weslaco East High School were treated to two of the premier programs in the Valley as both squads reached the third round of the playoffs last season.

“It’s always great to play Coach (Mike) Burget and the Wildcats,” said San Benito head coach Dan Gomez. “They’re always a tough team and a great program; anytime you play them it’s a good measuring stick to see where you are at as a team.”

Here are a few things we learned from Friday’s scrimmage:

CAVAZOS LEADS THE HOUNDS’ OFFENSE

Senior quarterback Jacob Cavazos patiently waited behind Erick Retta the past few seasons.

Now with Retta gone to graduation, Cavazos is now the man.

“It’s a new position for me, but I’ve adjusted and I have learned a lot over the offseason,” said Cavazos. “It means a lot for me to play QB. I’ve played with most of these guys for my entire life and it’s a great experience for me to get a chance to play with them.”

Last season, the Hounds played a quick, up-tempo offense, and on the Hounds’ opening drive on Friday they spread the ball around and handed it off to running back Brandon Valadez.

Cavazos displayed full control of the huddle and showed his ability to use his legs.

“We saw some things we liked on offense; tonight gave us an opportunity to get better and we also saw things we need to fix, too,” Cavazos said.

VALADEZ LOOKS TO PICK UP WHERE TY LEFT OFF

While the shoes may be big to fill, running back Brandon Valadez looks to carry the load and pick up where Tyrone Harper left off last season.

While Harper was a once-in-a-decade kind of back, Valadez has the skill set to put up some sturdy numbers in 2018.

Valadez makes a nice combo with fellow back Kyler Castilleja who also displayed some smooth runs against the Wildcats.

SAME OL’ HOUNDS

Despite a few changes to the Hounds’ coaching staff, San Benito looked the same.

The Hounds looked sharp on both sides of ball. Defensively, San Benito picked up where it left off by being a hard-nosed defense.

San Benito will now host Corpus Christi Veterans next Friday at Bobby Morrow Stadium in their final scrimmage of the season before the regular season kicks off on Aug. 31.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

We are two weeks into the 2018 season and today marks the first Friday with live football action for all you football fanatics.

Harlingen, Harlingen South and San Benito will all hit the field for their first scrimmage of the 2018 season.

As we dip into the season, here are a few things to keep an eye on tonight.

Year of the Hawks?

Harlingen South is eager to hit the gridiron after winning just two games all last season. The Hawks are primed to right the ship and Friday will be a small glimpse of what to expect when South travels to Donna North to meet the Chiefs. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The offensive line has shown improvement over the last two weeks and has Hawks head coach Brian Ricci excited. Brandon Olivarez, Justice Johnson and Charles Mattingly will all look to gel and pave the way for Junior QB David Torres.

Keep tabs on junior wide receiver Brandon Bennett who has turned heads this offseason and will be one of Torres’ top targets. Senior Caleb Solis who moved from safety to corner will make his debut at the corner position opposite of Kike Alvarado.

“We have had two weeks of practice and hitting on each other, and they’re anxious to get out there and hit,” Ricci said. “We coaches are just as excited to see what we have at full speed. Our offensive line has improved, they have been on top of their assignments and they know where to go.”

Harlingen makes season debut at PSJA Memorial

Harlingen will travel to PSJA Memorial where they will take on the Wolverines at 7:30 p.m.

The Cardinals will get a live look at Quarterbacks Damon Cantu and Jaime Galvan. Both are looking to replace Daniel Ramirez from last season.

Senior wide out Joe Reyna emerged as the top target through the air his junior season and had a strong offseason and will once again lead the Cardinal air attack.

“We know we can’t be perfect,” said Cards head coach Manny Gomez. “However, we can definitely have a perfect effort and that is what we are looking for as a coaching staff.”

Hounds begin post Retta era against Weslaco East

San Benito will hit the field with a new QB under center. Jacob Cavazos is now the signal caller. The Hounds are under new offensive coordinator Steve Marroquin who came over from Brownsville Hanna last season.

Marroquin will make his coaching debut with the Hounds and will look to help mold Cavazos at the QB position.

Cavazos will look to Mitch Guajardo and Frankie Garcia through the air and while there is no Isaiah Trevino, Guajardo and Garcia will be two prime targets.

The question will be who will replace running back Tyrone Harper who led the Hounds rushing attack over the last two years.

Defensively, senior linebacker AJ Garcia and defensive back Nick Castaneda will look to lead the defense. Last year the Hounds had one of the more physical defenses in the Valley led by Ryan Reza and Ryan Castillo.

San Benito will travel to Bobby Lackey stadium tonight to meet an old District 32-6A adversary in Weslaco East, kick off is at 6:00 p.m.

FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer

SANTA ROSA — With a new season arrives a new challenge for the Santa Rosa Warriors. This year’s challenge comes in the shape of a new district schedule as the Warriors moved from District 16-3A DI to 16-3A DII. The change has some wondering if the move will lead to more victories, but as head coach Hector Ayala mentioned, just because they moved down in district does not make the schedule any easier, it only evens the playing field.

“I told the team that we are evenly matched,” said Ayala. “Hebbronville has a senior ball club, Odem used to be a district foe, Taft is moving down just like us, and CC London is a very athletic team. Monte Alto and Banquete are both young teams.

“I told them that we have six critical games and each one we will treat as the most important game.”

Santa Rosa’s new district opponents are Odem (10/5), Hebbronville (10/12), Corpus Christi London (11/2), Taft (10/26), Banquette (10/19) and Monte Alto (10/12).

Last season a series of unfortunate injuries led the Warriors to a 5-6 record, nevertheless the team was able to make the playoffs. With the return of some key starters this season, the Warriors are focused on more than just merely making the postseason.

“Last year injuries hurt us and it’s tough when any starter goes down,” said Ayala. “This year, we have guys willing to learn more than one spot, on offense and defense. Plus, they are continuing to motivate each other and reminding themselves that we are always one play away from someone needing to step up.

“So there are no backups, everyone must be ready to be a starter.”

For the Warriors Ryan Mesa will be an integral part of the offense. Last season Mesa rushed for 1,558 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Defensively, the return of defensive back Robert Bentley and linebacker Eduardo Hernandez will be crucial for Santa Rosa. Last season Hernandez had 63 tackles at the linebacker position.

Other players to look out for are Alex Perez, Adrian Moreno, Ryan Garza, Joshua Trevino and Jose Diaz-Mendez.

The Warriors start their season with a scrimmage against Santa Maria today. Coach Ayala outlined a few areas where he is hoping to see some improvement

“I would like to see our defensive line dominate,” said Ayala. “If they can, we have great linebackers that can fly to the ball. Also, our offensive line, because our running back has great explosiveness and can really run. That will help our quarterback and receivers develop and not have to put a lot of pressure on them.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

The San Benito Lady Hounds continue to turn some heads. While the season is still young, the Lady Hounds are fresh off a tournament championship this past weekend and picked up where they left off against Edinburg Vela.

On Tuesday, the train kept rolling, San Benito swept Vela in straight sets, 25-20,27-25 and 25-23. Senior hitter Alysa Naranjo continued her hot streak with a team high 17 kills and 14 digs. Sarah Garcia picked up a team high 27 digs while Ariel Garcia finished with 29 assists, nine digs and three kills.

The game was a playoff rematch from last year’s bi-district round, in which the Lady Hounds ended the Lady Sabercats season.

Up next for the Lady Hounds is the Mission tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Lady Hawks, Cards fall short in their home openers

Harlingen South entered Tuesday night with some confidence from their strong showing at the Donna Tournament this past weekend.

The Lady Hawks hosted Sharyland in their home opener, but fell in four sets 23-25,23-25,25-20 and 20-25.

Despite the loss, South saw hitter Mya Aguirre finish with 10 kills and six assists and three aces. Teammate Mikela Mireles led the team in kills with 13 and wound up with 14 digs and two aces.

Their next home match will be against Sharyland Pioneer on August 28th at 7 p.m.

LADY BULLDOGS

Lyford picked up a big win against Raymondville on Tuesday. It took five gritty sets, but the Lady Dogs prevailed 14-25,25-19,22-25,25-22 and 15-6.

Sarah Martinez picked up 18 kills, 15 aces and 10 digs while Kayleen May picked up five kills and 10 solo blocks.

Lyford will also prepare for this weekend’s Mission Tournament.

PORT ISABEL TOURNAMENT

The Eighth Annual Volley at the Beach Tournament begins today and runs through Saturday at Port Isabel.

Along with the host Lady Tarpons, there are 12 other teams participating with pool play scheduled today and Friday followed by bracket play in Gold and Silver Divisions on Saturday. Port Isabel’s main and practice gyms will be used.

Pool play begins at 1 p.m. today and at 9 a.m. on Friday.

The Gold Division championship match is scheduled at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Hanna is the defending champion. The Lady Golden Eagles defeated PSJA Southwest 21-25, 25-16, 15-10 in last year’s final.

Hanna and PSJA Southwest are both back. Rounding out the tournament field are Corpus Christi Carroll, Los Fresnos, Lopez, Weslaco East, St. Joseph Academy, Progreso, Santa Rosa, Rio Hondo, La Feria and Monte Alto.

“We’re always excited about going to the Port Isabel Tournament,” Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “We look forward to playing teams such as Los Fresnos, Corpus Christi Carroll and the others. It’s good competition.”

Roy Hess contributed to this story.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

RIO HONDO — Two years ago, Rio Hondo leaned on their defense, while their offense did some growing up. Last year, the Bobcats were fueled by their offense and saw their defense grow up before our eyes.

Turn the page to 2018 and the Bobcats have a bevy of experience on both sides of the ball, six return on both offense and defense and have their sights on a third straight district title.

“Last week was a slow down version of what we do, and really just teaching the kids what we do and getting them in the right spots,” said Rio Hondo head coach Rocky James. “Once we were able to get some shoulder pads on, the kids were getting more into it and over the last two days the kids have really stepped up and that is a great thing to see.”

Rio Hondo will look to Josiah Ortega to direct the offense this fall. Ortega played safety last season, but is familiar with the QB position and had a strong off season where he displayed full control of the offense.

Ortega will look to the speedy Frank Hernandez and quick footed Cross Gonzalez at the wide receiver position. Both Hernandez and Gonzalez have experience in big games and will be two premier weapons for Rio Hondo through the air.

Senior running back Danny Vasquez also returns to the offense and will be the workhorse in the backfield. Vasquez is arguably one of the top backs in the Valley and is eager to cap off a strong career after a rough junior season that was plagued by injuries.

Senior Adrian Torres is also returning from an injury last season and has made a full recovery. Torres will provide the offense with his versatility.

“Last year we had so many weapons and at the start of the year, the offense was ahead of the defense, now this year on both sides we have experience and we can see it,” said James. “I really like what Josiah is doing at QB and we know what we’re getting from Danny, we have him (Danny) healthy and we’re looking forward to him having a great season.”

Defensively, hard hitting sophomore Joey Ortega is back at the linebacker position. Joey is primed for another strong year and will anchor the defense.

As a freshman Joey amassed 142 tackles and was named the Valley Morning ALL-STAR new comer of the year while also being named all state. Teaming up with Joey will be Gabriel Martinez. The two will provide a strong 1-2 punch while Troy Macias and Derek Castellanos will provide the push up front along the defensive line.

“We have a strong group of linebackers we’re really excited about that. Our front will be strong, and I think our defense will be just fine, we moved some kids around and they’re doing a great job, we have always been an aggressive defense and this year will no different.” James said.

Rio Hondo will host Brownsville Lopez on Friday in their first scrimmage of the year. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN —Harlingen High nearly pulled off a stunning comeback Tuesday night in their home opener against Edinburg North.

After trailing by two sets, Harlingen High found some momentum and forced a fourth set. In the fourth set, the Lady Cardinals raced out to a 13-8 lead and looked to be in control.

Meanwhile Edinburg North dug deep and rallied back to take a 21-20 lead and eventually sealed a 25-23 win to spoil the Lady Cards’ home opener in four sets 25-19, 25-18, 16-25 and 25-23.

“We changed our line up a little bit in game three and four,” said Harlingen coach Joslynn Torres. “We have started slow in a lot of games this season and I have told the girls that we as coaches can only do so much, it needs to come from them.”

The Lady Cougars fended off the late rally and were led by Natalie Rodriguez who finished with 21 kills and 18 digs, while teammate Evana Ramos finished with a team high 22 digs.

“We just started slow,” said senior Taegan Dickey. “We need to not give up and to continue to fight. We realized that this was our home opener and we did not want to lose, so it’s a matter of getting back to work this week and get ready for our tournament.”

In the first two sets, Edinburg North capitalized on Harlingen’s mistakes and took the first two sets. The Lady Cards are without senior libero Alina Prado who is out with a hand injury, but it’s slated to return to the lineup within the next week or two.

The Lady Cards will now regroup and shift their focus to this weekend’s Mission Tournament, while Edinburg North has another road test against Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

“A lot of the kids are young, they played on the junior varsity last year, so now it’s a matter of them getting used to the varsity speed,” Torres said. “We can and we will get better, we just can’t afford to start slow in games like we did tonight.”

FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer

RAYMONDVILLE — Coming into the season there’s one lingering question in the back of every Raymondville Bearkat fan’s mind. Who was going to replace quarterback Daniel Gutierrez? Especially after last season’s impressive record that saw the team win nine games, while losing only twice.

Enter, senior Jacob Posas. Last season’s defensive standout with more than 145 combined tackles (74 solo), three sacks and one interception. Now, he will be this year’s signal caller.

“Last season he was our linebacker/secondary guy who made the second team all-state at that position,” said Raymondville head coach Frank Cantu. “But he was also our backup quarterback and is use to that position but he just didn’t get the reps because the guy we had in there was pretty good himself.”

Defensively, the Bearkats are hoping to replicate last year’s stingy defense. With Posas under center, and two key defensive ends now gone due to graduation, Cantu is hoping others will step up and take over. Fortunately for Cantu, the team returns other key defensive weapons namely Noe Zambrano, Rudy Tijerina and Deion Castillo.

“We look well but we’re just trying to iron out a few wrinkles to get even better,” said Cantu. “We lost some key defensive ends and of course with Jacob not in there that is going to be felt on the defensive side. But as the season goes on we are going to put him in there since he’s confident and knows the defense really well.

“But we have some people ready to step in and take over.”

One person ready to step in and leave his mark on defense is Harlingen South transfer Cole Cooley. Cooley comes in with more than 150 tackles for the Hawks last year where he was named to District 32-6A’s Honorable Mention list.

“Cooley will be a big help at linebacker,” said Cantu. “We lost Fred Rodriguez at linebacker and I think Cooley is a guy who is going to fit in really really nicely. He is a good football player who is going to play middle linebacker for us and tight end so we’re really excited to have him on the team as well.”

Offensively (aside from Posas taking over as QB) the team returns two dangerous versatile weapons in Marcus Capetillo and Xavier Ledesma. Last season Capetillo rushed for 853 yards and seven touchdowns, while Ledesma hauled in 17 catches for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

SCRIMMAGE GAME

The Bearkats will get their first opportunity to see both the offense and defense against an opposing team this Friday in a scrimmage game against La Joya. The varsity game is slated to take place at Burnett Stadium at 7 p.m.

“I want to see us execute offensively because I know La Joya is expecting to have a really good defense this year,” said Cantu. “I want to see how our offense looks against that defense. I’m also excited to see how we are going to fill in some of those holes that we lost on defense as well.

“But at the same time we are going to give everybody a look and give our kids the opportunity to get in there and show what they have.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

DONNA—In a rematch from last year’s tournament championship, senior hitter Alysa Naranjo saw their rematch against Edcouch-Elsa as a shot at redemption.

Last year was a mirror image of this year’s tournament. San Benito reached the semis, met Donna then squared off against Edcouch-Elsa in the finals. The Lady Jackets prevailed against the Lady Hounds in 2017, but Naranjo wasn’t going to let that happen again.

“We saw this game, and how things lined up, and we wanted it,” Naranjo said.

Naranjo led the offensive assault with a 19 kill, 18 dig performance against the Lady Jackets en route to a win in straight sets, 25-22, 25-19 and brought home the Donna ISD Tournament championship.

Naranjo finished with a total of 88 kills through six games. With her strong tournament, Naranjo was named Tournament Most Valuable Player and teammate Ariel Garcia was tabbed to the All-Tournament team.

“It’s an honor to win this award,” said Naranjo. “I have seen other girls win this award before, ever since I was a freshman, I wanted to win it. Last year Kayleen Reyes won it so I wanted to win it again for the team and San Benito.”

The Lady Hounds steam rolled through pool play with a 3-0 record and picked up where they left off on Saturday with wins against Mission, Donna High and Edcouch-Elsa.

Entering the new season, head coach Ruby Medina needed to find a reliable offensive weapon, and now Medina has found the solution in Naranjo.

“I’m very blessed to have a player like Alysa on my team,” Medina said. “She has a lot of experience and is one of our leaders and go-to girls. A lot of the girls look up to her, she is a great role model and leader, she has done a great job on the court, she reads the court well a lot better than she did last year, so she has improved and we’re just happy to have her.”

The Lady Hounds made quick work of the Lady Jackets, Sarah Garcia checked in 27 digs and five aces. Haley Rodriguez finished with 25 digs, while Ariel Garcia finished with a team high 26 assists.

San Benito now improves to 8-0 on the year and will now continue their non-district schedule with a playoff rematch against Edinburg Vela on Tuesday at home with the first match scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

“I was impressed over all with the way the girls played,” Medina said. “They adjusted and made plays and any substitution I made, they adapted to it and got it done.”

South checks in solid tournament

The fans were almost treated to an all District 32-6A championship on Saturday, but Edcouch-Elsa had other ideas.

After sweeping Laredo Martin, the Lady Hawks reached the semifinals, but fell shy against the Lady Jackets 26-24, 25-14.

“We played strong, I liked our fight and our leadership,” said Lady Hawks coach Anissa Lucio. “I’m pleased with how we played, but we will push to get better everyday.”

Overall, South went 4-1 over the last two days and have plenty of optimism for the season. South will now shift their focus a Tuesday night match against Sharyland at home. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — The San Benito Lady Greyhounds had a banner year in 2017, by winning a bi-district title for the first time since the 2011 season. On Tuesday, the Lady Hounds got their season off on the right foot by picking up wins against Brownsville Porter and La Feria.

“Right now we’re trying a few different things, we are to fill in our middles and working on timing and chemistry,” said San Benito coach Ruby Medina. “Some of the kids are young and don’t have too much experience so we’re getting them out there and getting some touches.”

The Lady Hounds went 9-5 in district play last season and were the third seed out of district 32-6A and will be in the mix once again this year for a playoff spot.

While it will be an uphill battle against perennial powers Brownsville Rivera and Los Fresnos, San Benito has the fire power to compete alongside the big guns. Harlingen High is another seasoned group, followed by Harlingen South who is looking to make some noise this year.

Once again, 32-6A should be one of the top districts in the valley.

“It’s going to be tough, every time we step on the court, it is going to be a challenge for us,” Medina said. “We’re going to have to fight for each win, no win will be given to us, and I told the girls our district will be the toughest, so it’s important that we prepare and stay ready.”

Seven members return from last year’s group including Alysa Naranjo, Andrea Deleon, Ariel Garcia and Sarah Garcia.

San Benito will need to replace hitters Crystal Ibarra and Kayleen Reyes who provided Media with a deadly 1-2 punch offensively. Arlene Lucero who played middle will also need to be replaced.

Sarah Garcia, who is one of the top liberos in the Valley, will get some looks at the setter position; a spot Medina feels confident about moving forward.

“This past summer she (Sarah) worked really hard at the position,” Media said. “She might not have too much experience at the position, so I’m going to see what we can do, but the girls did really well, and the chemistry is well. Last year was great, it’s a matter of putting it all together and I believe we will.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — In year three of the Brian Ricci era, Harlingen South has the most experienced team under Ricci. 2018 is looking up for Harlingen South after a turbulent 2017.

On Wednesday, the Hawks hit the field wearing a half shell (shoulder pads and helmet); it added a little extra to the early morning grind.

“The kids are excited to get back out here and work,” Ricci said. “We’re up beat, and today we threw the shoulder pads on, so that was a plus.”

Last season, there were questions at the quarterback position, this year junior David Torres is the man under center. Torres took over last season for senior Dylan Carreon against Harlingen in week five.

Torres made progress the final six weeks of the season, giving the Hawks a passing option. Now with a full offseason under his belt, Torres is poised for a strong year and will have plenty of weapons around him.

“We threw him into battle against Harlingen, it was the biggest game, biggest crowd and as a sophomore at the time, he went out there and did well, and he got better each week. He is confident now and has taken that next step and has a full grasp of the offense.”

Torres will look to a pair of big targets in senior Derrick Delgado and junior Brady Bennett at wide receiver. In the back field, speedster Emilio Quiroz will look to pick up where he left off along with Corban Hendrick who looks to get some touches this year.

“Brady looks great, he lost some weight and can move well,” said Ricci. “He is a big target for us, and David likes throwing it to him.”

Last season the strength of the defense was along the defensive line with arguably the best pass rushing duo in Brandon Bennett and Sky Tatum. This year, the strength is in the secondary.

Junior Kike Alvarado and senior Kaleb Solis will play the cornerback position and provide a physical presence with plenty of range. Solis who played safety last season, moved to corner opposite of Alvarado. Also making his return is safety Isaac Moreno who was also a starter last year in the secondary providing South with an experienced and physical secondary.

“We have two corners in Kike and Kaleb right now that I feel confident in,” Ricci said. “It wasn’t a hard adjustment for Kaleb at all moving from safety to corner, he is a physical corner and we felt having two athletic corners can help us.”

The Hawks will kick off their season August 31 at Edinburg High with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.