KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

With the marathon that is District 16-5A Division I underway and on a Saturday night when defense dominated play, it was the final drive from the Brownsville Pace Vikings — directed by quarterback Jose Banda — that made the difference.

Banda orchestrated a nine-play, 70-yard drive that set up sophomore kicker Christian Zapata, who drilled a 41-yard field goal that proved to be enough in a 17-14 victory over crosstown rival Brownsville Porter on Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.

“We are fortunate to have won this one. We gave Porter every opportunity,” Pace coach Daniel Prado said. “We had had a fumble here and some penalties, but we were good enough tonight to be able to come out with a win.”

Porter quickly responded to the late field goal with a drive led by Kevin Garcia to have an opportunity late. With 12 seconds left, Garcia threw up a 50-50 ball to Brandon Reta, who looked to have come down with the ball but was ruled out bounds.

On the next play, Porter’s Rodolfo Armenariz hooked the potential game-tying 34-yard field goad with two seconds remaining.

“We went for the win,” Porter coach Carlos Uresti said. “They were playing man-up on defense with a trips side to the boundary, so we took a shot. I’m not sure if he was out of bounds or not, but we will find out. I’m sure they called it right, but the kids played hard tonight.”

After a scoreless first quarter, the Vikings broke the tie with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Banda to Marc Garcia to take a 7-0 lead with 10:15 left in the first half.

Less than five minutes later, the Cowboys tied the game on Gabriel Gonzalez’s touchdown run with 6:27 to play in the half.

In the fourth quarter, Pace took a 14-7 lead with 9:41 left as Dylan Barron barreled his way into the end zone.

Again, though, Porter responded. After recovering a fumble at midfield, the Cowboys marched down the field and tied the game on a 1-yard QB sneak by Kevin Garcia with 5:04 left.

The Vikings move to 1-0 in district play, and Porter is 0-1. With a 10-team district, each team will continue the long schedule, with the Cowboys taking on La Joya Palmview and Pace facing Donna High at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“Everybody wants to start district with a win,” Uresti said. “Pace is a team that has made the playoffs the last few years, so we went up against a playoff team, and now we will just look forward to our next game and that is Palmview.”

Pace received a strong showing from Banda and sophomore tight end Chase Morales.

“Jose settled down towards the end, and we got a good drive out of him,” Prado said. “We just hope we can get him more comfortable. Any time we play Porter it is tough, regardless. For some reason they play great against us, but we were lucky tonight to get the win and that is all that matters.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

PORT ISABEL — Last year, Port Isabel did not get off to an ideal start, dropping the first two games of the season.

The Tarpons were not about to let history repeat itself this year.

The Tarpons shook off a shaky start and leaned on the legs of Mac Strunk and Brayan Medina, who provided Big Blue with the fuel they needed to earn a 37-16 win Friday night.

“We are ahead of where we were last year, and it isn’t even close,” P.I. coach Jason Strunk said. “We are 1-1 after two games. We should be 2-0, but we are not. We are going to clean this up, and we are going to be OK.”

Medina made his 2019 debut on Friday night. Medina was held out all of camp with an injury.

“I think once Brayan got going we settled down,” Jason Strunk said. “That was his first action of the year, he didn’t scrimmage, so to see him back there was great and he did a good job on shaking off the rust.”

Port Isabel fumbled on two possessions during the first quarter. After a 27-yard field goal from Angel Fernandez, the Tarpons received the big play they needed.

Medina dashed for a 66-yard score that gave Port Isabel momentum.

“I’m not happy with the penalties we had in the first quarter, and if we are able to clean those things up we will be OK,” Jason Strunk said. “We want to be playing December football. That is why I came here. We have a lot of work to do. We will enjoy the win and get better.

The big plays became contagious on the ground. Mac Strunk worked out of the wildcat and caused problems all night for the Tigers’ defense.

Mac Strunk broke lose for a 51-yard score that pushed P.I.’s lead to 17-3 with 3:34 left in the first half. Medina later added a 12-yard score that gave the Tarpons a comfortable 24-3 at halftime. Port Isabel’s offense controlled the second half by adding a pair of touchdowns.

“We call it the Money Cat position, and it worked last week and it worked tonight,” Jason Strunk said. “(Mac) is a track kid, and he has the speed to get outside. He has always played defense and this year is his first year playing offense, and he has done a great job on learning on the fly.”

The Tarpons’ defense also shined after giving up 34 points in a 34-7 loss last year to the Tigers.

The Tarpons take on the Hidalgo Pirates next week on the road.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN— In what was shaping up to be a blow out, Harlingen High let a 21 point lead slip away in the third quarter. It was the final two drives fueled by a 32-yard field goal from Jacob Garza and a 2-yard touchdown from Rayden Berry that helped put Laredo United South away 38-26 Thursday night in the Valley Morning Stars Game of The Week.

“The special teams made a play on that kickoff and we were able to recover a fumble,” said Harlingen coach Manny Gomez. “I think the special teams helped us but the bottom line is, it was great to see the team come together and compete. We gave up some points and we are learning as we go and we are still evolving, only time will tell but I’m proud of the kids and my coaching staff.”

Berry’s power and conditioning showed up in the fourth quarter. Harlingen led 31-20 with 9:53 left, then came the two biggest runs of the night came on third and 18 and fourth and two. Berry took the hand off and ran for 16 yards and on the next play, Berry found the endzone for his third score of the night and helped put the game on ice.

“I have to give credit to my offensive line and all the receivers on that play, we all worked as a unit,” Berry said. “I felt great all night, I run great because of my offensive line they are the ones that create the holes.”

Harlingen’s offense shook off a fumble from Jaime Galvan on the first play from scrimmage and scored on four of their five possessions in the first half, while the defense stifled the Panthers after giving up an early touchdown.

On those four scoring drives, Galvan accounted for two of them with his legs and gave Harlingen a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter.

Galvan was elusive all night and had no problem handing off the ball to Berry, who added a pair of scores in the first half that gave Harlingen a 28-7 lead and reeled off 28 unanswered points.

“(Rayden) is a competitor, our offensive coordinator does a great job on watching what’s happening and with what the defense is giving us,” Gomez said. “The kids we have are competitors and the work they put in over the summer is all showing up.”

During the third quarter, Galvan missed a couple of drives due to an injury but was able to return and lead the Cardinals on their final two scoring drives in the fourth quarter.

“Jaime got a little banged up, but it’s football,” Gomez said. “We figured we could manage and he was itching there on the sideline and we put him in there and told him to go out there and compete and he went out there and helped us get this win.”

The Cardinals have now scored 35 points or more through the first two weeks of the season and will now shift their focus to arguably their toughest task in Converse Judson.

The Cardinals were scheduled to host the Rockets last season but inclement weather forced the game to be cancelled. Kickoff is slated for next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Converse Judson.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN—After a wild shootout that saw Harlingen escape with a 42-41 win against Sharyland Pioneer, the Cardinals will host a familiar opponent in Laredo United South tonight at Boggus Stadium at 7:30 p.m. in this week’s Valley Morning Star Game of the Week.

The Cards have won the last two meetings against United South. In 2017, the Cards won 20-6 and walked away with a 17-9 win last season.

United South will make the trip to the Rio Grande Valley after getting thumped by San Antonio Wagner 42-7.

“The word is physical — they are physical on both sides of the ball,” said Harlingen coach Manny Gomez. “That is what caught my attention when I saw them play in the playoffs against McAllen Memorial a few years ago. They have an aggressive style, they fly around and play the game right.”

The Cardinal offense will look to pick up where they left off after a 42-point performance in Week 1. The offense shook off a slow start and racked up 544 total yards with 188 yards passing and 356 rushing.

Working on a short week, the Cards have been in this position before in preparing for a Thursday night game.

“Everything gets bumped up today with a Thursday game,” said Gomez. “Today, we had to cut our practice short, we usually get our practice done in the morning. Today we were able to get in the gym and work on some things, but this will be a fun week for us.”

One thing that stood out was the 41 points Harlingen gave up. Big Red’s defense gave up 163 rushing yards and 301 yards through the air, albeit against one of the area’s top signal callers in Pioneer QB Eddie Marburger. The Cardinal secondary is still young and are gaining experience through the non-district portion of the season.

“It was a little bit of both,” Gomez said. “Their offense was that good and we were learning some leverages and those are things we preach about in practice. Sometimes, the kids forget, but it is about us maintaining the leverage. But give Pioneer credit; that kid can sling it if you give him time he will hit his wideouts. We are young in the back end, but we lived and we survived and we learned. Cardinal defense, you don’t hear us giving up that many points, but it is what it is. We give credit when credit is due.”

Thursday will also mark the Cardinals regular season home opener before hitting the road over the next two weeks with games at Converse Judson and Weslaco East.

STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

One of Harlingen South’s signature wins last season came against PSJA North, thanks to a late go-ahead field goal by Jose Lerma to lift the Hawks over the Raiders 24-23.

The rematch will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr, with each team looking to remain unbeaten following the second leg of their non-district schedules.

Harlingen South is coming off of a 24-0 win over Edinburg High, while PSJA North dispatched PSJA Memorial 44-8 in their season opener.

Hawks coach Brian Ricci said he felt his team still has some things to shore up offensively.

“Last week, we had some penalties,” Ricci said. “We got a little lazy on the offensive line. We’ve got to clean up some of the penalties we’ve taken that stop drives.”

Ricci expects another close game with PSJA North, led by quarterback Izaiah Rangel and Isaac Gonzalez, a seasoned team with close losses to Harlingen High last season and to San Benito in the 2018 postseason.

“They’re a solid team,” Ricci said. “They’re a playoff team, and definitely tough to cover.”

Harlingen South will set out to establish the run against the Raiders, led by running backs Oscar Muniz (18 carries for 97 yards against Edinburg High) and Israel Vasquez (65 yards on 13 carries).

The Harlingen South defense swarmed against Edinburg High, forcing four turnovers — three fumbles and an interception — and Ricci emphasized the importance of maintaining positive turnover margin, and praised sophomore outside linebacker Josh Cantu for his ability to make an impact.

Kicking off at 7:30 p.m. tonight are San Benito (taking on another opponent from outside the Rio Grande Valley in Victoria West) and Santa Maria, which is slated to face the Los Fresnos JV squad.

The Greyhounds are searching for their first win of the season at Victoria after dropping their first game 28-20 to Corpus Christi Calallen. San Benito edged Victoria West in a shootout last year, 43-41.

The Cougars also hit the road for Week 2 after thrashing Marine Military Academy 55-8 in their first game.

Also on Friday, Rio Hondo will have an opportunity to bounce back after dropping their first game against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln with another non-district matchup with Zapata. The Bobcats defeated the Hawks 18-0 last season. Rio Hondo will look to build off of the strong debut of sophomore starter Zechariah Rios, who completed 61 percent of his passes, throwing for 313 yards, a touchdown, and an interception last Friday.

Rios will look again to Smiley Rodriguez, who broke onto the scene with six catches and 141 yards in his first game of the season, and rely upon Fabian Torres (52 yards on 12 carries) to establish the running game.

Elsewhere in District 16-4A Division II, Raymondville heads to Grulla at 7:30 p.m. Friday after a drubbing at the hands of La Feria. The Bearkats will count on Zaraivion Armendarez to rack up multipurpose yardage as he did against the Lions in Week 1, reeling off an 84-yard touchdown catch and accounted for 84 of Raymondville’s 211 yards in the ground game. The Gators dropped their season opener to St. Joseph 39-33 in overtime.

Lyford suffered a major blow to its chances in District 16-3A Division I after losing junior quarterback Cayleb Klostermann to a broken collarbone in a 32-12 loss to Santa Rosa, which visits rival La Feria at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Bulldogs host Hidalgo at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Pirates are coming off of a 21-13 opening week loss to rival Valley View.

MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER

Despite taking a 42-40 loss to McAllen Memorial in Week 1, the Hanna Golden Eagles head coach Mark Guess took solace in the effort his players showed after being down 14 points twice in that contest.

The strong finish was important for the psyche of a young Eagles squad.

“The biggest thing we took out of it was that the kids played hard,” Guess said. “They never hung their heads and they never quit. We realized that we can be a very good football team if we eliminated mistakes, even with our youth. We’re not going to use that as an excuse, we have 11 guys on the field who have to get it done. The main thing is staying positive no matter what happens and keep working to minimize mistakes.”

The Eagles (0-1) will need to play at their best if they hope to avoid an 0-2 start as they host Edinburg Vela tonight The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week set for 7 p.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium.

Vela (1-0) comes in riding high after a 51-46 win against Laredo United last week, led by junior quarterback Anthony Sotelo, who threw for 251 yards, five touchdowns and an interception on a 16-for-24 passing night.

Sotelo and his senior receiver duo of Justin Cantu (9-142, 2 TDs) and Kevin Rojas (4-50, 2 TDs) pose a big threat through the air for an Eagles defense that allowed just 69 yards passing and forced four turnovers against Memorial, but were gashed for 367 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Guess said they key will be competing against a big Vela offensive line.

“(Cantu) is a player and Sotelo does a great job at getting the ball to him,” Guess said. “They are huge upfront and it’s like playing a college offensive line when it comes to their tackles and guards. Their center is the smallest one, but he gets after it better than anyone else on that football team; we have our hands full. The great thing is that our kids are ready to play and we know we can play with them. In the last two years, we have played with them. We have to take care of business, minimize mistakes and give great relentless effort.”

Vela’s defense also had a big night, forcing an interception, recovering a fumble and recording six sacks against United.

That’s what Hanna’s offense, led by senior quarterback Victor Campos, who is coming off a big night against Memorial, will face. The senior signal caller passed for 211 yards, two touchdowns, an interception and rushed for 116 more yards and three more scores.

Campos’ top targets were Ernesto Mendoza (6-77, TD) and Josiah Meyers (2-36, TD), but found six different receivers on the night despite going just 17 of 34 through the air.

“We have to do a better job of catching the catchable balls,” Guess said. “We dropped a few too many the other night, but I think we’ll have that taken care of. Victor not only does a good job of spreading the ball around, but he poses an issue with his legs. I think he proved teams will have a hard time containing them. We made some mistakes the other night that we shouldn’t have made, but that’s high school football. We just have to back, clean up those mistakes and hopefully, we can put the ball in the end zone more than they do.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

LA FERIA — With the non-district season coming to a close, La Feria just might have found the right formula for its 2019 season.

On Tuesday, the Lionettes held parents night and had a little pep in their step.

La Feria received a strong offensive performance from Sierra Salinas, who finished with 10 kills, one dig and one ace. Teaming up with Salinas was Jeno Ochoa, who had nine kills and one block, as La Feria swept PSJA Memorial 25-23, 25-22, 25-21.

“The kids were excited. We hadn’t played too many home matches, it had been a while,” La Feria coach Rebea Fraga said. “That always makes you a little nervous, we had the football team up in the stands cheering, but the kids responded well. It was a fun match.”

La Feria took the first set and — in the second and third sets — dug in and fended off the Lady Wolverines on multiple occasions.

“We have adjusted well. We are playing well right now, and it’s like we have been playing together for forever,” Salinas said. “We are feeling great, and we have done well when it comes to the chemistry and bonding. Tonight we felt hyped with our student section out there, we didn’t want to disappoint them, and as a senior tonight was emotional for sure.”

Reanne Fraga chipped in with an all-around effort, finishing with four kills, four aces, seven assists and a pair of digs. Ayisha Castillo checked in nine assists and two digs.

The Lionettes entered 2019 with a few holes by having to replace Karina Diaz, Mary Winton and Felicity Watson. Despite the early season struggles, La Feria has now won back-to-back matches and has a date with Weslaco East on Saturday to wrap up the non-district schedule.

“This just might have been our most complete match we have played,” Rebea Fraga said. “We have had some tough matches. We started in the McAllen tournament there, then went to the Port Isabel tournament and we had some success but struggled a bit, and then went to Hidalgo. Our record isn’t great right now, but it doesn’t matter because we are not in district yet. But we play these tougher teams to prepare us for district, because our district is tough.”

La Feria will begin its district season Sept. 10 at home against Progreso. La Feria, which made the playoffs last year and is no stranger to the postseason, just needed to figure out the pieces by putting them in the right place.

“We have won two in a row now, and I feel like we have some momentum and we are playing better,” Rebea Fraga said. “That is what the preseason is for, to put together those pieces, and hopefully we found them.”

By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Seventeen-year-old senior Andrea Costanzi is no stranger to the game of football nor the United States. Costanzi’s road to Harlingen High was not a difficult one, but one he does not regret and has found himself a home in South Texas.

Costanzi has played football in New York, Alabama and even Florida, but never in Texas. Costanzi is an only child and is from Florence, Italy, and made the move to Texas on Aug. 8, when he was greeted by his future teammates and coach Manny Gomez along with other members of the coaching staff.

“Honestly, I only see him at practice but I know the kids love him,” Gomez said. “He gets along with them well. On the first day when he got here, I told the kids to imagine jumping on a plane and flying 11 hours to a place where you don’t know anyone. We wanted to make him feel at home, which I think has made him feel comfortable for sure.”

“I’m here as a rotary exchange student, and I came here for school and football,” Costanzi said. “I heard about the Harlingen Cardinals and I looked them up on Facebook, and heard a lot of great things and I liked what I saw. Here I liked the food, but I like it better in Italy.

Making the move was tough at first for Costanzi, but throughout the course of summer and through football he found his home in Harlingen.

“I was nervous when I first moved here because I left my family, and here I don’t have any family. It is just me. On the first day when I laid in bed alone, I just thought to myself, ‘Why am I here?’ but now that I’m here I have found a lot of friends and a lot of really good people that want me here. I found a family.” Costanzi said.

Costanzi has adjusted to the different lifestyles in Texas, attending a bigger school and in the classroom.

“In Italy we stay in one room and the teachers change rooms throughout the day, but here we move classrooms and the teachers stay in that one room, so that is different for sure,” Costanzi said. “Here everything is bigger, and of course the food is different, too.”

Costanzi got a taste of Friday night this past week at Sharyland Pioneer. On Thursday, Costanzi will make his home debut when the Cardinals play host to Laredo United South.

His teammates have spoken to him about the Bird Bowl and the Battle of the Arroyo, and just how big those games are each year.

“In Italy we would have maybe 200 to 300 people in the stands, and it is much different here. The game is more serious and much more physical for sure. For me, to see the big crowd we had Friday I was blown away, and I’m excited to see what the rest of the games are like.”

On the field, Costanzi is a polished wide receiver and has started to build a chemistry with senior QB Jaime Galvan. Costanzi, who is a smooth route runner and has big-play ability, is looking to complement fellow wideout Justin Galvan.

“It has been a slow transition, but football is football,” Gomez said. “A lot of it has to do with the verbiage. A slant is a slant but sometimes those things are called something different, and he has had to learn a whole new system and another language when it comes to football. On the field he does a great job on catching the ball, he uses his hands well and is explosive. He is just a kid who is enjoying his stay here in the states and playing football in Texas.”

Once high school is over, Costanzi plans to play college football and receive a scholarship.

“I want to try and get a scholarship and go to college and play football, those are my goals while I’m here. Right now I’m just enjoying myself and playing football.” Costanzi said.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

It was not an ideal start for the Brownsville Lopez Lobos

McAllen High, led by first-year coach Patrick Shelby in his head coaching debut, set the tone on the first play as defensive end Juan Corpus recovered a fumble and returned it for a 30-yard score.

The Bulldogs received an all-around effort from their defense, special teams and running back Troy Martinez, who ran for 106 yards and three scores on 10 carries as McAllen High thumped the Lobos 49-7.

“I think this is a great way to start the season,” Shelby said. “We talked to them about the importance of all three phases of the game. On offense, I liked how we started out fast, and our defense was able to put us in that position from the start. We shot ourselves in the foot a few times on offense, and we started to sputter. That is something we need to fix.”

Shelby’s track record as an offensive coordinator at Edinburg Vela and most recently at Weslaco High had not gone unnoticed, and he notched his first career win as a head coach Saturday.

“It is always sweet getting the first win,” Shelby said. “We talked to the kids about the importance of being road warriors, and we can’t win them all until we take care of the first one.”

McAllen High jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. The offense switched between sophomore quarterback Hunter Curl and senior Robert Amador. Martinez picked up the offense with a 12-yard score, and that was followed by a 60-yard TD pass from Amador to Felipe Magana that put the Bulldogs in a comfortable spot.

Lopez’s only score of the night came on a 30-yard touchdown pass down the seam from Jose Cruz to Chris Reyes, trimming the deficit to 20-7 midway through the second quarter.

McAllen High continued to roll in the second half with a 21-point third quarter that was highlighted by Martinez, who ran for his third score of the night. On special teams, Cirr Arredondo recovered a botched punt in the end zone.

Lopez, led by second-year coach Armando Gutierrez, saw Saturday as a stepping stone and was upbeat as the Lobos jump into district play next Friday against crosstown rival Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

“A lot of tonight was youth and inexperience,” Gutierrez said. “We are starting a lot of freshmans and sophomores. We had a class of 44 kids last year and we graduated 38 of them, so this year is a complete retooling year for us. There will be bumps in the road, and we will be good for years to come. It is just a matter of us getting through these bumps.”

CLAIRE CRUZ | Special to the Star

Harlingen South wanted to set a good tone for the season in its first game against Edinburg High on Friday night.

That mission was accomplished in dominating fashion with a 24-0 win that was all Hawks, all the time.

“Our kids were excited, they played well,” South coach Brian Ricci said. “They looked like they were having fun, and if that’s the case, you’re usually going to be successful.”

On the third play of the opening drive, Edinburg High running back AJ Trevino fumbled and South recovered to set its offense up just 25 yards away from the end zone. Hawks running back Orlando Muniz capitalized on the error with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Short fields were the norm for the Hawks as the Bobcats’ offense struggled to find any rhythm. Running backs Shandon Woodard and Trevino managed to break away for a few big rushes, but Edinburg High failed to string together positive plays and was weighed down by penalties throughout the contest.

Bobcats coach JJ Leija gave two young quarterbacks their first taste of the Friday night lights, with sophomore Rolando Abrego playing the first half and junior Kaleb Guajardo taking the reins in the second.

“We have a lot of new faces on this team, and that’s not an excuse, it all comes down to discipline,” Leija said. “I’m happy with some things we saw tonight. I liked the way our defense attacked … I was impressed with AJ Trevino … but we still have a lot of work to do.”

South was spreading the ball around as it tries to sort out a quality group of running backs. Muniz, Israel Vasquez, Marcos Gonzales and Javier Garcia were among the busiest rushers. Vasquez found the end zone on a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter to cap off the win.

But the Hawks’ defense was arguably the most impressive part of the night.

The big defensive line applied constant pressure to the Edinburg High quarterbacks and swarmed running backs behind the line of scrimmage for an array of negative yardage plays.

Senior Israel Balboa added an interception to the mix, and the Hawks forced and recovered three fumbles — including one on a sack by Joshua Cantu that Ethan Gonzalez turned into a touchdown.

South had its share of early season miscues as well, but the good far outweighed the bad.

“Our defense is playing confident, and that’s exciting for our team,” Ricci said. “Offense has some penalties we need to clean up but it’s fixable stuff, and I’m proud of them and how they kept their composure and played with energy.”