By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

RIO HONDO — Sophomore running back Ethan Reyna has filled in at the running back position for the Rio Hondo Bobcats.

Rio Hondo is 3-2 on the year and will face its toughest test to date in rival La Feria this Friday in Rio Hondo. The Valley Morning Star had a chance to catch up with the young running back.

Q: How is your sophomore year going so far?

Reyna: Right now we are still getting used to things at the varsity level, but we are getting better each week.

Q: What was it like the night before your first varsity game and the day of your first game?

Reyna: The night before, I talked with my dad and we went over things. I was nervous for sure, and on gameday I was just ready and it hit me that I was on the varsity when the national anthem played.

Q: What is your favorite pregame meal?

Reyna: It has to be my dad’s pasta.

Q: Who is your favorite NFL player?

Reyna: Cleveland’s running back Nick Chubb.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of football?

Reyna: I like to come work out and stay in shape.

Q: Who is your favorite Stranger Things character?

Reyna: I don’t have one. I didn’t watch Stranger Things.

Q: You are filling in for Danny Vasquez, who played running back before you. What is that like, is there any added pressure?

Reyna: Yes, there is pressure, but I like that I’m the guy filling in for him. He was great and I do have big shoes to fill.

Q: Who is your favorite Avenger?

Reyna: Mine has to be The Hulk.

Q: If you could play any other sport, what would it be?

Reyna: It would be golf. My dad is a big golf guy.

Q: What is your dream ticket?

Reyna: I would love to go to a Super Bowl.

Q: Is there a reason behind the No. 1?

Reyna: It has always been my number ever since I was a kid growing up.

By KEVIN NARRO, Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE — The Pace Vikings found themselves in another close one Saturday night against PSJA Memorial. Like he has all season, Pace quarterback Jose Banda made plays with his legs.

Banda scored the go-ahead touchdown and, after a defensive stop, the Vikings earned a gut-check 28-22 win, their fourth victory in a row.

“Right now we are feeling awesome,” Banda said. “All the glory goes to God, but we worked hard for this. We worked all offseason, and I feel like this is all coming together. The first game was a bit shaky, but we are getting at it. We are not the biggest, but we do have some new guys on the varsity squad. But we are in a good spot.”

Resilient was the one word Pace coach Danny Pardo used to describe his team after another hard-fought win.

“The kids will come through when the big plays need to be made,” Pardo said. “That is one thing that can be said about this team. They are a resilient bunch, and tonight was a close one and they made the plays when they had to, and we are growing and we are getting better as we go. We play (La Joya) Palmview next week, and that will be a big game as far as the playoff picture is concerned.”

Pace is now 4-0 in district play and hits the road to face Palmview. PSJA Memorial is still winless at 0-4 and will take on Rio Grande City next week.

“We don’t want people to know about us, to be honest with you,” Pardo said. “If we can stay under the radar, that is better.”

The Vikings got on the board first with a 33-yard touchdown run from Dylan Barron. The Wolverines answered with a TD run from Mike Munoz that tied the game at 7 late in the second quarter.

After the Wolverines took a 14-7 lead on an Alejandro Leyva rushing touchdown, the Vikings rattled off 21 unanswered points.

John Moody’s pick-6 tied the game at 14 and gave the Vikings momentum. After Banda’s go-ahead score, the Vikings put the icing on the cake when Banda hit tight end Chase Morales on an 8-yard TD, giving Pace a 28-14 lead.

“I think the pick-6 is what turned everything around for us,” Pardo said. “The defense was fired up after that.”

PSJA Memorial added a late 21-yard touchdown from Leyva to Munoz. A successful two-point conversion cut the lead to 28-22.

“We are young, and for us to play in these close games gives the kids momentum and confidence moving forward,” Pardo said. “When we play the tough teams in a tight game, we will be better prepared.”

By KEVIN NARRO, Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — After missing a field goal on its opening drive and allowing Midland High to find the end zone, Harlingen High quickly settled in and rattled off 35 unanswered points.

The Cardinals leaned on seniors Jaime Galvan and Rayden Berry en route to a 49-13 thumping of Midland High on Saturday.

“We practiced hard all week, and we worked to get to this point,” Berry said. “On offense we did well today, and we had some success in the screen game and that was by design. We came in with a game plan and different ways to attack them. The coaches did a great job on preparing us.”

Berry gave Harlingen High its first lead at 7-6 on a 17-yard touchdown run and, on the next possession, Galvan hit Berry in stride for an 85-yard touchdown that put the Cardinals ahead 14-6.

Berry wasn’t done there. After the defense recovered a fumble, Berry scored from 28 yards out and opened the floodgates. Galvan called his own number and ran for a 67-yard touchdown, giving Harlingen High a comfortable 28-6 lead with less than two minutes left in the half.

After a punt, Harlingen High got the ball back with 1:08 seconds left in the half and managed to find paydirt. Galvan hit his brother, Justin, for a 35-6 lead at halftime.

“For one, our staff did a tremendous job. They schemed their butts off on offense, and it showed,” Cardinals coach Manny Gomez said. “I’m proud of my staff for preparing the kids, and the kids responded. They knew what to do, they saw it on film and they studied the film all week. It worked right on for us again. I’m proud of my staff.”

In the second half, Galvan picked up where he left off and tossed another score to Berry. Galvan accounted for three touchdowns, and Berry sniffed the end zone four times.

The final touchdown was a special one for the Cards. Senior foreign exchange student Andrea Constanzi took a 32-yard jet sweep for his first touchdown of the season.

Moving forward, Big Red is as healthy as it has been all year, and the offense is averaging 29 points per game and has scored more than 30 points in three of those games. The defense also hit its stride and has become a strong unit, led by linebacker Gabriel Martinez and defensive lineman Noah Cruz.

“Early on, we knew we were going to have to grow and evolve on defense,” Gomez said. “We knew we had more guys on offense that were more battle tested, but the kids have grown up and we are playing some great defense, so it is the perfect timing. It is a cliché, but timing is inevitable in what we do. But this team is playing great, and we love what we are doing.”

Harlingen High opens district play Oct. 11 against San Benito at Boggus Stadium.

“Anytime you can come out with a win, it’s a good thing,” Gomez said. “We are 4-1 and are heading into district play healthy. This is a momentum-changer for us, and we are proud. We are going to take the bye week and take some time off, and will work on fundamentals. Once that time comes, we are going to get it going again and get ready for the Battle of the Arroyo.”

By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

LA VILLA — After a sluggish start and a case of the butterflies, Santa Maria settled in and rode the ground game of running back Eric Castellanos and quarterback Nathaniel Rodriguez to end a more than 10-year drought to the Cardinals with a 36-0 win Friday night.

“It was exciting, and these kids really wanted it,” Cougars coach Israel Gracia said. “In the first half the kids came out a little shell-shocked, but in the second half the kids left no doubt, and they played well.”

Santa Maria notched its third win of the season and improve to 3-1 on the year before a date with Progreso next Friday. But Friday night’s win was not only historic, it was one the Cougars can build on moving forward.

“I had been looking forward to this game all week,” Rodriguez said. “This game means so much to us, and we all put in the work this week. As a senior, this win means so much. I had never beaten La Villa in my time here. This is the one we needed to build the confidence for these kids. I feel this win can be the turning point for us.”

Santa Maria led 7-0 at the half after Rodriguez hit Bernie Castellanos on a 10-yard touchdown. While the first half was shaky, the Cougars flipped the switch during the second and their defense forced four second-half turnovers.

“We made a little bit of adjustments, but it was more a mental thing from the kids,” Gracia said. “This is a rivalry game, and we woke up in the second half.”

Rodriguez put Santa Maria up 14-0 on a 14-yard touchdown run with 8:18 left in the third quarter. On the next Cardinals possession, the Cougars recovered a fumble and executed on a QB sneak from Jesse Ortiz to go ahead 22-0.

Rodriguez and Castellanos were a threat all night on the ground. Rodriguez, who plays defensive tackle and is the team’s backup, had himself a night, throwing for a touchdown and running for one more score.

“(Rodriguez) is a threat back there in the backfield, and we felt against La Villa tonight he made a difference for us. He did well.” Gracia said.

La Villa heads into Week 6 still in search of its first win of the season. The silver lining is that the Cards kick off district play next week against Woodsboro.

“I was proud of the kids, and we put the district on notice,” Gracia said. “Now we are going to have a bull’s-eye on our back. We are going to enjoy this one and get ready for the next one.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SANTA MARIA — After a bye week in Week, and on Wednesday the Cougars had a little pep in their step. The Cougars enter Week 5 with a 2-1 record with wins over Premont and Marine Military Academy.

Up next is a road game against La Villa, who is 0-4 on the year, but the matchup between the two squads over the years has become quite the rivalry. Last year the Cougars fell to the Cardinals 14-13. The Cougars haven’t beaten La Villa in more than 10 years, and this year’s group just might have the pieces in play.

“We have had a pretty good week of practice,” Gracia said. “We are coming off a bye week and we were able to heal a little bit but this has been a real good week for us. Over the bye week we had some kids that were banged up and we had some things we needed to clean up.”

Gracia, who is in his first year steering the ship, has the Cougars believing with 14 returners from last year’s group. The strong suit has been the play of the Santa Maria defense. In a Week 3 win over Premont, the defense shut out the Cowboys and allowed -45 yards of total offense.

“Our defense has been playing lights out,” Gracia said. “The defense has done a good job on giving us a short field and the offense executes.”

A key cog in the defense is located within the linebacking core in Gus and Marcos Sandoval, who both play the middle linebacker position along with outside backer Robert Villarreal. Anchoring the defensive line is Nathaniel Rodriguez.

“We have had a good week of practice and over the bye week I just worked on getting better and keeping in shape,” Sandoval said. “We blitz a lot and we are a physical defense for sure. I’m having fun right now and being able to play with my brother is a plus, we push each other every day.”

On offense, senior quarterback Jessie Ortiz has been on the varsity for three years and is eager to pick up his first win against the Cardinals. Against Premont, the Cougars put together a balanced attack.

Ortiz spread the ball around and hit four different receivers and threw for 102 yards and one touchdown.

“Everyone is stronger and faster this year,” Ortiz said. “We have confidence this year and we play all four quarters this year. Through the air I don’t have one main guy, I spread the ball around and that helps me as a QB because I don’t rely on one guy I have a receiving core that I can rely on.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

LA VILLA — Four-year varsity player Robert Rivera Jr. is no stranger to La Villa Cardinals football.

The three-sport athlete has reached the playoffs during each of his first three seasons and is hoping to make it a fourth this fall. Despite La Villa’s 0-4 start, Rivera Jr. sees the glass half-full and is seeing the non-district portion of the schedule as a way to prepare for the district season.

Rivera Jr. plays both cornerback and wide receiver, and is one of six seniors on the Cardinals’ roster. La Villa is preparing to face Santa Maria this Friday.

The Valley Morning Star had a chance to catch up with Rivera Jr.

Q: What is your favorite pregame meal?

Rivera Jr: My pregame meal would have to be pasta or pizza. I’m a pepperoni kind of guy.

Q: Favorite NFL player and why?

Rivera Jr: It would have to be Kansas City’s Tyrann Mathieu. I love his style of play, and that is what I try and play my game like.

Q: Do you play fantasy football?

Rivera Jr: I do, I’m 2-1 right now and my QB is Patrick Mahomes from K.C.

Q: Which position do you enjoy playing more, corner or wideout?

Rivera Jr: I really like playing corner, I have played this position my entire life.

Q: What are you binge watching on Netflix?

Rivera Jr: I’m watching Friends and The Office. I like The Office more, and I’m a big Michael Scott fan.

Q: What is the most expensive thing you have broken?

Rivera Jr: When I was 10 I was trying to get some socks from my drawer and our Samsung TV fell over and broke. It wasn’t my fault, but my mom came in and saw it and I got grounded for it.

Q: If you could play any other sport, what would it be?

Rivera Jr: I would like to try either golf or basketball.

Q: Who is your favorite movie star?

Rivera Jr: It would have to be Scarlett Johansson.

Q: If you could sit down and have dinner with anyone in history who would it be?

Rivera Jr: It would be with my lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Q: If you had one dream ticket what would it be?

Rivera Jr: I would want to go to the Super Bowl.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — On Tuesday, the Harlingen High Lady Cardinals did some growing up.

After a turbulent non-district schedule, the Lady Cards battled through some adversity and gritted out a win over Hanna in five sets, 17-25, 25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 15-7.

Harlingen High’s offense was paced by Juli Bryant and Alexandria Ramirez, who each collected 13 kills. Bryant finished with three blocks and Ramirez had eight blocks. Along with Bryant and Ramirez was senior Elaine Coronado, who ended the night with 12 kills and 29 digs.

With the win, Harlingen High is 2-0 in district, and Hanna drops to 0-2. Tuesday’s win sets up Harlingen High in a good spot early in the district season. The Lady Cardinals next have a date with Los Fresnos, which is also 2-0, and Hanna will look for its first district win of the season against San Benito, which is also 0-2.

“My message to the girls every timeout and before the game was, ‘If we don’t win tonight, (the win over San Benito) last Saturday means nothing,” Harlingen High coach Joslynn Torres said. “The playoffs are on the line every single game, so I kept reminding them we needed to get it done.”

After dropping the first set, the Lady Cardinals regrouped and won the next two sets. During the fourth set, Hanna battled back and forced a fifth set. Camille Atkinson and Odalys Gonzalez fueled the fourth-set win on offense and finished with 16 kills apiece.

During the fifth set, Harlingen High got off to an early 12-7 lead and did not surrender that lead.

“We made some minor adjustments on defense, and it worked,” Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “Unfortunately for us, the fifth set was a little rough for us. “We started forming the team rather late, we had some injuries and had kids graduate, so this is a new team. But the kids battled tonight, and that is a good thing.”

Coronado felt Tuesday’s win will help set the season in motion and felt there was a little extra energy from her team.

“This is a big step for us, considering what our record was last year,” Coronado said. “Our goal this year was to do better than we did last year, and tonight every girl believed in each other. We could see it in each other’s eyes, and we all have been working hard and setting new goals each day, and we achieved our goal tonight. We knew this was an important game and we knew what was on the line, and we knew Hanna was going to bounce back. We just had to come back stronger.”

Harlingen High’s Callie Cervantes finished with 29 digs, Michelle Zapata had 15 digs and both Elena Aguinaga and Destiny Martinez collected 22 assists.

With Tuesday night’s win, the Lady Cardinals snap a six-game losing streak to Hanna dating to the 2017 season. They were 0-2 this year against Hanna and managed to pick up a win at home.

“We did our homework,” Torres said. “We played Hanna twice already this year. We prepared for tonight, and for us to lose Game 1, I felt they did not beat us, we beat ourselves. We knew what we did wrong, so the next two sets we did what we had to do and we executed.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — After trailing by 21 points at halftime, Harlingen South put together quite the comeback and managed to send a game that featured just about every twist and turn into overtime.

After a 37-yard touchdown from Jacob Cavazos to Jaden Cavazos in overtime gave the Panthers a six-point lead, their defense came up with a stop on fourth down at the 1-yard-line to hold on for a wild 41-35 overtime win over the Hawks on Friday night at Boggus Stadium.

“We made the plays when we needed too,” Weslaco High coach Roy Stroman said. “I thought they were going to do a quarterback sneak, and our defensive tackle did a good job and made the play. That was the most important play, and these kids played hard. We called a timeout before that play and we stayed low and got leverage, and we stopped them.”

The Hawks tried to use their power run game to their advantage during the final plays of overtime. It’s something Hawks coach Brian Ricci saw as something he would do again.

“That was by design,” Ricci said. “We had it down at the 1-yard line, and I talked to our offensive line. We are a power run team first, and we got on the same page. I’d line up again and do it right now. We just came up a little short.”

The Panthers missed an attempt at a game-winning field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.

Weslaco High led 28-7 at the half. Jacob Cavazos accounted for four touchdowns during the first half, with two big plays on a 98-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Garza and a 65-yard TD run from Jacob Cavazos.

South’s comeback bid began on a Marcos Gonzales touchdown that cut into the lead 28-13. After the defense forced a fumble, David Torres directed the offense on another scoring drive. This time he found Brady Bennett in the back of the end zone to make it a one-score game with 6:15 left in the third quarter.

“Anytime you can get a turnover, that can change the momentum,” Ricci said. “And that is what we did. We came out in the second half and executed and started rolling, and that was really it, we just started executing.”

South’s offense kept clicking and scored on a TD pass from Torres to Jonadam Bustamante, and later converted a two-point conversion that tied the game at 28 with 2:30 left in the third quarter.

After a 53-yard TD run from Torres was called back because of a block-in-the-back penalty, the Panthers took advantage and regained the lead 35-28 on a 57-yard run from Jesse Hernandez. Later in the quarter, the Panthers’ defense came up with an interception in the end zone, but the Hawks’ defense forced a punt and got the ball back to its offense.

South answered with its own left hook, as Israel Vasquez tied the game again at 35 with a 32-yard score.

“We came out flat and there are no excuses, it is as simple as that,” Ricci said. “I don’t know if it was the homecoming festivities, but we did not come out ready to play football. That changed in the second half.”

The Panthers meet Edinburg Economedes next Friday, and Harlingen South hits the road to take on Odessa High next Saturday.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN— Through the first three weeks of the season, the Harlingen South defense has made some noise and are begging to find their form. The unit is mixed with a crop of youngsters and savvy veterans, but one combo has stood out.

Senior inside linebacker Ethan Gonzalez and sophomore inside backer Levi Ince have become quite the duo for Hawks coach Brian Ricci’s defense. Both Gonzalez and Ince have created a bond on and off the field and it had shown this season.

“Those two kids define what being a student athlete is about,” Ricci said. “They both work hard and go out there and play the game right; they are great kids to have around.”

Gonzalez, who is a two-year varsity member and was expected to lead the Hawks defense along with junior David Cortez, has taken Ince under his wing and has provided a big-brother presence to Ince.

“He (Gonzalez) puts me under his wing and anytime I need a ride to practice he is there or anytime I have a question on the field he is there to answer it,” Ince said. “He is really the older brother I never had.”

Gonzalez and Ince bring a physical presence to the Hawks defense. In fact, physical was the word used to describe their style of play. South’s defense had a strong camp and has shown the growth in Year 2 of their new system. Gonzalez feels the defense came along quickly and has improved in 2019.

“The defense has been exciting and we have been coming together well,” Gonzalez said. “We have had a good amount of returners on defense, so it wasn’t so much on picking up the scheme because it was thrown in last year. The younger guys have really stepped in and have done well. They didn’t have too much to learn because they already knew what they were doing.”

While Gonzalez knew his role coming into 2019, it was Ince that worked his way onto the varsity roster, something that he chased during spring ball.

“I felt I had a chance to make the varsity when the coaches started me in spring ball,” Ince said. “I didn’t feel I was on the varsity until I saw my name up on the varsity locker. When I saw that, I was proud of myself but I also realized that things were going to get real. I was going to play against guys that were older than me. I just had to keep grinding and doing what I do best.”

Gonzalez is taking the opportunity to teach Ince everything he knows and will eventually pass the torch when Gonzalez graduates later this year.

“We help each other out,” Gonzalez said. “We have questions for each other all the time. We work well together and we are always watching film after school and even after school we watch film through huddle.”

Harlingen South will host Weslaco High tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Valley Morning Stars Game of the Week.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN—Harlingen South will look to make it two in a row Friday night when they host a familiar opponent in Weslaco High. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

On Friday, the Hawks will look to snap a four-game losing streak to the Panthers. The last time Harlingen South beat Weslaco was in 2014, when Lanny Wilson was patrolling the sidelines for the Hawks in a 28-18 victory.

The last two years have been close as the Panthers edged the Hawks 28-25 in 2018 and won 21-7 in 2017.

“The last couple of years have been a dog fight,” South coach Brian Ricci said. “We have just been on the wrong end of it. Once again we are expecting a good game, they play hard, sound and are well coached. We know what we are going to get we just need to go out and execute.”

After surrendering 35 points against PSJA North in Week 2, the Hawks defense settled down in Week 3 by holding McAllen High to 14 points while forcing five turnovers.

South will have a tall task with Weslaco senior signal caller Jacob Cavazos, who is an all-around athlete with the ability to make plays with his legs and arm. PSJA North’s Iziaah Rangel ran wild for 121 yards and two scores on 20 attempts along with Isaac Gonzalez, who carried the ball 23 times for 165 yards and three scores.

The challenge is the same this week as it was two weeks ago and Ricci feels the loss to PSJA North has prepared the defense for a dual threat QB in Cavazos this week.

“I think it helps us that we already faced an athletic quarterback already,” he said. “We are going to have to limit their big play ability. Their QB is a great athlete and their running back runs hard. It will take more than one guy to bring him down; he is a hard runner.”

The defense is anchored by junior hybrid David Cortez, who moved over to the rover position and played outside linebacker against McHi and can slide back up to the strong safety position.

Around Cortez, the Hawks are starting four sophomores on defense in Devin Montemayor and Jeremiah Rivera, who fill out both safety positions. The other two are Levi Ince and Josh Cantu at outside linebacker.

“I think we are getting better on both sides of the ball,” Ricci said. “On defense, we have four sophomores and they are only going to get better each week. They are playing with more confidence and getting used to the speed of the game.”

One other key for the Hawks is to limit the turnovers. The Hawks turned the ball over five times against the Bulldogs in Week 3 and are looking to clean things up against the Panthers.