KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HIDALGO — The Harlingen South Hawks wrapped up a strong performance at the 6th annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic. South finished the final day with wins over Hidalgo and beat Brownsville Pace 55-36 to win the consolation bracket Saturday afternoon.

“I felt we got better as a team at this tournament,” said Hawks coach Brian Molina. “We are still missing our big man, Brandon Bennett, due to an injury, but it is giving our younger boys some experience.”

The Hawks finished tournament play with a 5-1 record and saw sophomore Brady Bennett step in the starting role and flourish over the past few games.

Grant Lowery and Aaron Briones were selected to the all-tournament team. Lowery checked in a solid performance by averaging 16 points per game. Briones, meanwhile, aver-aged 10 points and six steals throughout the tournament.

The Hawks will now shift their focus to a busy week ahead.

“This week we will play up to seven games,” said Molina. “We have a home game against La Joya on Tuesday then we will play in another tournament in Pharr. I hope over the next week we can continue to grow and get better as a team.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — With the wintery mix being the talk of the town, Harlingen High and Edinburg High heated things up for a third time this season.
With a game featuring a few of the Valley’s best athletes and two of the top programs, Friday’s non-district finale did not disappoint.
Harlingen senior Nadia Flores provided a gutsy 21-point performance along with junior Taegan Dickey, who netted 12 points, to lead the Lady Cards to a 55-52 double overtime win.
It was the final four point swing from Flores and Dickey that put the game on ice at 55-52 with 20 seconds left in the second overtime.
“This is a big win for us. We played as a unit tonight against a very good team,” said Flores. “I’m proud of my teammates. Tonight was a very physical game. We worked hard for this win; we all had and played with the same mindset.”
The third time was the charm for Harlingen against Edinburg as in their previous two meetings earlier this season the Lady Bobcats won 53-48 and 48-40. The win improved the Lady Cards to 16-6 as they begin district play Tuesday at Harlingen South.
“It’s always a physical game when we play Edinburg,” said Harlingen coach Ashley Moncivaiz. “They’re a great, competitive team on how they go out and play. They want to go out there and win, and so do we and we always like to play them because it helps us get ready for district.
“I think our girls came in more focused and ready, and they followed the game plan and basically played with each other.”
Harlingen raced off to a strong start in the first half led by Flores, who dropped 11 points in the first half. In the third quarter, Flores caught fire from beyond the arc and hit a pair of threes that extended Harlingen’s lead to 35-24.
“Nadia came into the game fierce and she got us going in the first half,” said Moncivaiz. “Her mentality is to score, play defense and rebound. She is a senior and she played like one tonight.”
Edinburg flexed its muscles with strong play from their shifty junior Jenessah Santa Maria, who sparked a 13-0 run and gave Edinburg a 37-35 lead midway through the third quarter.
Both teams locked horns in the fourth quarter and saw the game slip into a pair of overtimes with multiple lead changes.
In the first overtime, Jayla Santa Maria gave the Lady Cats a 48-46 lead only to be answered by the Lady Cards.
In the second overtime, Harlingen got some clutch free throws from Andrea Cortez that helped keep the Lady Cards within striking distance. Cortez only finished with four points, but hit a pair of crucial free throws.
“This win gives us confidence heading into district play and it shows all the work we have been putting in practice,” said Moncivaiz. “We have played in tough tournaments and have played against some of the Valley’s best and I believe those things have prepared us for district.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — Harlingen High right-handed pitcher Connor Harlan secured his baseball future on Friday by inking his name on the dotted line to play at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

“It’s an exciting day for me and my family,” Harlan said. “This has always been a dream of mine to compete at the next level. I went on a campus tour and I fell in love with the campus and city.”

Wesleyan University is located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The Eagles are members of the NAIA Division I Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Harlan, who also plays first base, is hoping he can take his pitching to the next level.

“I received an e-mail about one of their camps so I decided to attend and I missed a few days of school, but it was worth it,” he said. “I’m ex-cited that I’ll be able to go to college, that’s one thing, but being able to play baseball is a dream come to and I know I made my parents proud.”

Harlan is coming off a strong junior campaign. The tall righty served as the Cardinals’ ace and helped guide them to a playoff berth. Harlan brings a fastball, curveball and changeup to the table.

He also led his team in wins with a 7-2 record in 11 appearances while posting a dazzling 1.54 ERA.

Harlan’s best performance came against Weslaco East when he pitched a complete-game shutout while yielding just one hit and striking out seven.

He was named the Valley Morning Star’s All-STAR pitcher of the year.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

LA FERIA — The annual C.E Vail Classic got underway Thursday after-noon and host team La Feria went 1-1 in pool play with a win over Donna 65-57 and a loss in their sec-ond game to PSJA Memorial 64-30.

La Feria will continue pool play today against Macedonia Christian Academy at 2:30 p.m. and PSJA Southwest at 5:30.

On Thursday, PSJA Memorial used a strong first half from its offense to open up a comfortable 40-10 lead at halftime. Adrian Rosales scored a team high 17 points in the win.

The young Lions are still trying to find their footing this season, but junior Noah Conde and sophomore Dorian Hernandez are expected to play a major role.

Thursday’s loss was looked at as a learning curve against a quality opponent.

“We just came out flat,” said Lions coach Dario Sanchez. “I tip my hat to PSJA Memorial. They’re a very good team and they played well tonight. I thought we played well against Donna, but our kids are still young and they’re still learning.”

Against Donna, Conde scored a team high 15 points while Malachi Garcia netted 13 points.

CARDS AND HAWKS OPEN TOURNAMENT WITH WINS: Harlingen High began pool play at the Vail with a pair of wins Thursday. The Cards opened up with a 54-36 win against Mission Veterans and followed up with a 68-47 win against Brownsville Lopez.

In their win against the Patriots, Michael Arellano netted a team high 25 points and Tony Aguilar finished with 12 points. Against the Lobos, Jeremy Vasquez led the way with 21 points while Arellano scored 17 points.

Harlingen South also got off to a 2-0 start at the Hidalgo Pirate Classic. The Hawks used their hot shooting en route to a 58-42 win over Laredo Cigarroa. Grant Lowery scored 17 points and Chanz Love dropped a team high 19 points.

In game two, Lowery was on fire from beyond the arc as he went 7 of 8 from three-point land and netted a team high 29 points in a 64-35 win over Grulla.

The Hawks will face either McAllen Rowe or San Antonio Roosevelt today and will play at noon at the McAllen Convention Center.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

SAN BENITO — With the high school softball season just a few months away, San Benito’s Meagan Ybarra already secured her future by signing her letter of intent Wednesday to play softball at Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, after graduation.

“I’m just very happy right now. I’ve always wanted to play at the next level,” said Ybarra. “I’ve worked hard to get here and this day means a lot to my family and me. I will be able to play softball and earn a degree.

“At the beginning of the season, I went to one of their camps and I liked what I saw,” she stated as her reason for choosing Jarvis.

“The school is beautiful and the coaches were great. I knew I wanted to play there and I would be able to fill in right away. It’s going to be a challenge when I move away; I will have to adjust to the college life, but I’m ready and excited.”

Jarvis Christian College is an NAIA school that is a member of the Red River Athletic Conference.

Ybarra is a three-year letterman who plays both first base and outfield. In her three seasons with the Lady Hounds, Ybarra has two district titles under her belt along with a bi-district title.

As a junior, she was named the District 32-6A Designated Player of the Year, batted .469 in district play and batted .400 for the overall season.

She also earned a .545 slugging percentage and drove in 16 RBIs and 16 singles.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

Basketball season is in full swing and with the start of district play on the horizon, Harlingen, Harlingen South and San Benito will all be in tournament action this weekend.

CARDS, HOUNDS LOOK TO FARE WELL AT ANNUAL VAIL TOURNEY: Harlingen won its third straight on Tuesday night with a 73-44 drumming of Brownsville Veterans. Big Red has scored more than 60 points over the current streak and have won by 15 or more in two of the three wins.

Jeremy Vasquez is off to a strong start by averaging 12.4 points per game while teammate Michael Arellano is netting a team high 17.1 points per game.

The Cardinals will shift their focus over to the annual C.E Vail Tournament at La Feria and Mercedes high school. Their first game is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today against Mission Veterans followed by a 3 p.m. start against Brownsville Lopez.

On Friday, the Cards play Raymondville at 1 p.m. and will wrap up pool play with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against Brownsville Jubi-lee. All of The Cardinals’ games will be played at Mercedes High.

San Benito, which is coming off a 56-45 loss to Mission Veterans on Monday night, is also entered in the Vail.

The Hounds will look to find their grove when they tip off against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at 1 p.m. today followed by game against Brownsville St. Joseph at 3. On Friday, the Hounds will start off with a game against Mercedes at 11:30 a.m. and will finish pool play against Victoria East at 2:30 p.m. San Benito’s games will also be played at Mercedes.

HAWKS READY FOR HIDALGO TOURNEY: The Hawks will head into the Hidalgo Pirate Classic with some confidence as they beat Sharyland 57-42 on Tuesday.

The Hawks will be in Pool E and will begin play today against Laredo Cigarroa with the tip off set for 10 a.m. Their second game will be played against Grulla.

GIRLS: While boys basketball teams are still involved in tournament play this weekend, most girls programs are concluding non-district play as they prepare for the start of league action next week.

The Harlingen Lady Cardinals, who beat up on Brownsville St. Joseph on Tuesday night, host Edinburg High at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Meanwhile, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks, who nipped Edinburg Vela by a point on Tuesday, host McAllen High at 6:30 Friday.

Finally, the San Benito Lady Greyhounds are also in action Friday night as they host Edinburg Vela at 7:30.

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — On a night where points were hard to come by, Harlingen South needed a spark and got one from sophomore point guard Karla Reyes.

Reyes stepped in and made the difference by making one of two free throws to seal the game with 0.7 seconds left giving South a 27-26 win Tuesday night against Edinburg Vela.

“It feels good to bounce back after Friday’s loss,” Reyes said. “We did a better job tonight on fin-ishing and we’re trying to get some momentum going before we start dis-trict. Coach told me I needed to be smarter with the ball and I did what she asked tonight, and when I went to the free-throw line I wasn’t nervous. I believe in myself to make the play.”

Reyes finished the night with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The win came at the right time for the Lady Hawks. After losing 50-49 against Brownsville Veter-ans last week, coach Kelly Garrett was optimistic about her team and the resiliency it showed. With the win, South improved to 11-6 on the season.

The Lady Hawks have now won three of their last four and will host McAllen High on Friday before they open district play next Tuesday when they wel-come in Harlingen High.

“We have been in this situation before,” said Garrett. “It has been like this the last few games, but we’re learning and when Karla has the ball in her hands she does a good job on calming everyone down.”

At the break, both of-fenses managed just eight points each. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter where both teams found their footing.

Edinburg Vela looked to be in control with four minutes left in the game when Julia Cordon gave the Lady SaberCats a four-point swing and led 21-17.

But Reyes answered quickly with a pair of bas-kets making it a one-point game at 24-23 with 1:20 remaining. Laura Ramirez gave the Lady Hawks their first lead of the half. Vela tied the game on the next possession with 18 sec-onds left and that set up the Reyes free throws.

“At halftime, I told the kids to keep attacking the basket. That’s all we could do,” Garrett said. “We started attacking the base-line and our posts were getting touches. We just struggled to put the ball in the basket, but we were able to attack and that was a good thing. Toward the end I wanted the girls to be smart, protect the ball and not foul, and they did a good job of finishing.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

SANTA MARIA — The Santa Maria Lady Cougars cruised their way into the championship game against Progreso in the 10th annual Cougar Classic on Saturday.

The Lady Cougars used a strong fourth quarter run to pull past the Lady Red Ants 37-31 and take the title.

Along the way, the Lady Coogs picked up wins against PSJA North JV, Edinburg IDEA, Donna IDEA and Monte Alto twice.

“Our chemistry is starting to show. Early on we were still missing some kids because of volleyball,” said Santa Maria coach Andrew Sierra. “Right now we’re peaking at the right time and I want our girls to be ready for district,”

Heading into the fourth quarter, Santa Maria led 28-23 and held off a Lady Red Ant rally. The Lady Cougars fed off a 9-1 run late in the fourth quarter that gave them a 10-point lead with under three minutes to play.

“Tonight, was a big win for us. We knew Progreso was going to be tough. The girls know them (Progreso) well and they have friends and family there,” said Sierra. “It was definitely an intense game, but our girls kept their composer and I’m proud of them. We knew this was going to be a tough tournament, but from the get-go I knew we could win the tournament.”

Santa Maria got some strong play from freshman Yazmin Cantu, who made her presence known with three blocks, and nine points while teammate Alyzza Garcia netted eight points in the win.

“She can do a lot of things for us,” Sierra said of Cantu. “I’ve been watching her since she was in junior high and I knew she was going to be a special player that can play multiple positions for us. Tonight she attacked the basketball and played some great defense.”

Senior Lorena Ayala was named the tournament Most Valuable Player while Keana Ortiz and Cantu were named to the all-tournament team.

“We had a lot of games and it was tiring,” said Ortiz. “We knew we had to be ready for Progreso because they’re a good team. I’m glad we were able to pull through. Toward the end I think we were frustrated so we used that and played aggressively, and played strong defense and it worked out for us.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

CORPUS CHRISTI — The San Benito Greyhounds went toe-to-toe with San Antonio O’Connor on Friday night at Buccaneer Stadium.

Each time the Panthers threw a left hook, the Hounds answered with a right hook.

However, it was O’Connor that laid the final blow and used the dynamic play of quarterback Roel Sanchez en route to a 52-43 win in a Class 6A Division I regional playoff.

The Panthers will meet the winner between Lake Travis and Los Fresnos, which play this afternoon.

“Our kids went out and played their hearts out, and I’m proud of their effort,” said San Benito coach Dan Gomez. “I’ll take the loss. The kids did what we asked them to do and they did it hard.”

Both offenses displayed big-play ability all night. On the Hounds’ opening drive, quarterback Erick Retta hit running back Tyrone Harper on a 49-yard swing pass that gave San Benito an early 7-0. But O’Connor’s offense answered quickly and scored 21 unanswered to take a 21-7 lead.

San Benito showed toughness and resiliency and trailed by one TD at 28-21 at the half.

In the third quarter, O’Connor scored on its opening drive and led 35-21. But the Hounds answered on a quick three-play drive on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Retta to Harper that cut the lead to 35-28 with 8:03 left in the third.

The 10-point swing that shifted the contest in favor of O’Connor came on a third-and-27 play. Already leading by seven, Sanchez hit Jalen Hughes for a 23-yard strike that set up an O’Connor field goal that extended the lead to 38-28.

The big play of the night came from Sanchez, who scored on a 25-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter and pushed the Panthers’ lead to 45-28. It was a lead the Panthers would not give up.

San Benito made a late rally behind Retta, who scored on a 5-yard run that cut the lead back down to 10 points. Once again it was O’Connor’s Sanchez who sealed the win with a late score giving the Panthers a 52-35 lead with under two minutes left in the game.

“I’m proud of my team and its effort,” said Retta, who will graduate this offseason. “It was a great ride and I’m thankful to have been a part of this team. We played our hearts out and tonight was a tough loss, but we showed out.”

KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star

SAN BENITO — Tonight’s third-round playoff game between San Benito and San Antonio O’Connor will have a little twist to it.

Although the Hounds have never faced the Panthers in the postseason, O’Connor’s starting quarterback Roel Sanchez Jr. is familiar with the Hounds since his father, Roel Sanchez Sr., is a San Benito alumnus and played football for the Hounds from 1982-86.

“To be able to play against my family’s alma mater is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Roel said from his home in San Antonio on Wednesday. “It’s not often this happens and for it to happen my senior year is something special for my family and I.”

Growing up, Roel said he would come down to San Benito when visiting his grandmother and heard San Benito football stories from his family.

“I haven’t visited recently, now that I’m older and things are just busy,” he said. “The last Greyhound game I attended was in 2015 (regional playoff game) and I sat on the San Benito side.”

Sanchez Sr. was born and raised in San Benito and graduated from SBHS in 1986. He played punter, kicker and quarterback for the Hounds.

After high school Sanchez Sr. played two years of baseball at Texas Southmost College before moving to San Antonio in 1989.

“As soon as the playoff bracket came out we saw that it was a possibility to play against San Benito,” said Sanchez Sr. “Our entire family got excited. We would talk about how much fun it would be but, of course, we kept our focus each week at a time, but now that it’s here it has been a fun week.

“I’m proud of my son and the work he has done,” he continued. “It’s extra special that we get to see our family members from San Benito sit with us on the O’Connor side. We’re excited for the game and we’re going to enjoy it.”