NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

The 2018 season has already been full of honors, accolades and milestones for the Mission Veterans Patriots. On Tuesday night in Mission, they had one final task to put a bow on the regular season…perfection.

With a 25-6, 25-4, 25-14 sweep of Roma, Vets completed its fourth straight undefeated district season. That’s four straight clean district campaigns for Makenzie Gerlach and Jackie Howell, who have played on varsity all four years of high school.

“It doesn’t really set in until it actually happened,” Howell said. “Now that it’s our last district game and you realized ‘Wow, we didn’t know what it was like to lose a district game.’ People have gotten close before, but to go undefeated all the way through it’s an honor.”

The Patriots finished 14-0 in 31-5A play. Howell had 13 kills and 10 digs while her fellow senior and four-year letterman teammate Gerlach had 14 kills and eight digs.

“The journey has been amazing, period,” Gerlach sad. “It’s awesome to have so many girls that you care about and they care about you. It’s not just on the court, it’s off the court also. I really appreciate my family, this is my family.”

The Patriots’ 60-0 record in district play over the last four seasons meant Vets never took their foot off the gas.

“Sometimes you would think we’re used to winning so we kind of don’t take things seriously but this team, coach (Diana) Lerma, makes sure we’re focused every practice, every game,” Howell said. “Starting from freshman year you don’t realize how much numbers have added up. Every year, the season went by faster and faster. You almost feel like school should end with the season ends.”

Senior setter Valerie de la Fuente recorded 29 assists and five digs. Junior Kassy Lerma had 11 kills, six digs and six aces against the Gladiators.

Lerma has coached a group at the high school that had a single loss through four seasons. When that group of Patriots was in high school Howell and Gerlach were young girls who lingered around Veterans’ gym.

“They’re very goal-oriented and very competitive,” Lerma said. “I’m going to be sad to see them leave. I used to want to cry but it’s like we planted the seed that blossomed to the fullest. This accomplishment is going to be something that’s going to be set for others to follow.”

The Patriots only suffered one set loss in district this year, on Oct. 16 against Sharyland in a 3-1 away win.

Veterans will start its postseason journey next week when against 32-5A’s fourth-seeded team. Before that they’ll face McAllen Memorial Saturday morning at 10 a.m. for a second time to tune-up for playoffs.

“I have learned how it is to have a little sister, I know I’ve never had one, but these girls are my little sisters,” Gerlach said. “I’m just so excited for playoffs and to go through with them, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime group.”

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Valley HS Volleyball Schedule 2018

Saturday, Oct. 20

District 30-6A

McAllen High def. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 25-10, 25-17, 25-9

McAllen Rowe def. La Joya High 25-10, 25-16, 25-12

PSJA High def. Mission High

McAllen Memorial def. PSJA North 25-10, 25-11, 25-6

District 31-6A

Edinburg North def. Edinburg Economedes 25-19, 25-18, 26-24

Edinburg High def. Edinburg Vela 25-23, 25-23, 25-17

Weslaco High def. Weslaco East 25-17, 25-18, 25-18

District 31-5A

Sharyland Pioneer def. Roma 25-8, 25-18, 25-22

Mission Veterans def. PSJA Memorial 25-16, 25-5, 25-17

Sharyland High def. PSJA Southwest 25-17, 12-25, 25-1, 25-22

La Joya Palmview def. Rio Grande City 16-25, 25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 15-13

District 32-6A

Brownsville Hanna def. Los Fresnos 22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 29-31, 15-10

Brownsville Rivera def. San Benito 25-14, 25-18, 23-25, 15-25, 15-10

Harlingen South def. Harlingen High 25-23, 25-21, 25-12

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa def. Brownsville Porter 23-25, 14-25, 25-11, 25-20, 15-7

Donna High def. Mercedes 19-25, 25-23, 25-8, 22-25, 15-10

Brownsville Pace def. Valley View 25-17, 25-15, 25-19

Non-district

Santa Rosa def. Lyford 25-21, 26-24, 25-22

VALLEY HS VOLLEYBALL BOX SCORES

Saturday’s Games

District 30-6A

McALLEN MEMORIAL DEF. PSJA NORTH

25-10, 25-11, 25-6

McALLEN MEMORIAL: Natalie Silva 12 kills; Jocelynn Everage 8 kills, 3 blocks; Demy Banks 8 Kills, 3 blocks; Valeria Trevino 8 digs, 4 kills, 2 blocks; Sydney Marburger 31 assists, 10 digs, 4 aces; Dylann Guerra 7 digs

PSJA NORTH: Clarrisa Alvarez 4 kills; Mikaela Guerrero 2 kills; Angel Lozano 2 aces, 2 kills; Victoria Trevino 17 digs; Alexya Salinas 11 digs; Lesley Rodriguez 5 assists; Heaven Lozano 5 assists; Mariana Juarez 1 block;

RECORDS: McAllen Memorial 35-3, 13-0; PSJA North 23-13, 8-5

McALLEN ROWE DEF. LA JOYA HIGH

25-10, 25-16, 25-12

McALLEN ROWE: Brianna Morales 5 digs; Anna Honrubia 6 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces; Alexa Munoz 6 kills, 2 blocks; Jewel Palomo 16 assists, 8 digs, 5 aces; Jackelyn Alanis 12 kills, 9 digs, 2 blocks; Ariana Castro 2 digs; Samantha Sifuentes 8 assists; Marina Cortez 15 digs, 1 ace; Victoria Enriquez 4 kills; Sofia Higared 3 digs, 1 block, 1 kill; Lauren Moubray 3 kills, 1 assist

RECORDS: McAllen Rowe 32-10, 11-2; La Joya High 1-12

District 31-6A

EDINBURG NORTH DEF.EDINBURG ECONOMEDES

25-19, 25-18, 26-24

EDINBURG NORTH: Natalie Rodriguez 17 kills, 10 digs; Evana Ramos 27 digs, 5 aces; Jessica Dreyer 18 assists, 5 digs; Jevanah Burrows 8 kills, 5 blocks; Kelsey Limas 10 assists, 6 digs

RECORDS: Edinburg North 25-15, 8-3; Edinburg Economedes 12-26, 2-10

EDINBURG HIGH DEF. EDINBURG VELA

25-23, 25-23, 25-17

EDINBURG HIGH: Renee Ponce 17 digs, 34 assists, 5 kills; Bailey Buckner 20 digs, 6 kills; Vianney Trevino 2 digs, 1 ace; Zarina Rodriguez 9 kills, 4 blocks; Victoria Fuentes 22 kills, 4 blocks, 2 digs, 2 aces; Arianna Guerra 28 digs, 1 assist; Julissah Santa Maria 6 digs, 1 kills; Hanna Vega 14 digs, 2 aces; Kristen Salinas 11 digs

RECORDS: Edinburg High 8-3; Edinburg Vela 8-3

District 31-5A

MISSION VETERANS DEF. PSJA MEMORIAL

25-16, 25-5, 25-17

MISSION VETERANS: Jackie Howell 17 kills, 15 digs, 1 ace; Makenzi Gerlach 16 kills, 16 digs, 2 aces; Kassy Lerma 10 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks; Valerie de la Fuente 29 assists, 5 digs, 1 kill; Ronnie Cantu 10 assist, 9 digs, 1 ace; Bella Dominguez 16 digs

RECORDS: Mission Veterans 35-3, 12-0

SHARYLAND PIONEER DEF. ROMA

25-8, 25-18, 25-22

SHARYLAND PIONEER: Daizy Coronado 7 kills, 6 blocks; Daniela Alvarez 8 kills, 3 blocks; Natalie Reyes 38 assists, 15 digs, 2 aces; Samantha Ayala 12 digs, 7 kills; Shelby Cavazos 22 digs, 1 ace

RECORDS: Sharyland Pioneer 22-17, 9-4; Roma 12-18, 4-9

SHARYLAND HIGH DEF. PSJA SOUTHWEST

25-17, 13-25, 25-14, 25-22

SHARYLAND HIGH: Tristen Maddox 28 kills, 19 digs, 2 ace; Aydee Hinojosa 22 assists, 7 kills, 2 aces; Marissa Jones 6 kills, 5 blocks; Ana Paola Cerda 26 assists 11 digs, 4 aces; Carmen Avila 28 digs; Ximena Chapa 23 digs, 2 assists

RECORDS: Sharyland High 24-16, 10-3; PSJA Southwest 21-15, 6-7

District 32-5A

EDCOUCH-ELSA DEF. BROWNSVILLE PORTER

23-25, 14-25, 25-11, 25-20, 15-7

EDCOUCH-ELSA: Endiya Devoe 10 kills, 2 digs; Sarah Flores 10 digs 6 kills, 5 aces, 3 assists, 1 block; Veronica Elizondo 10 kills 9 digs, 3 assists; Maegan Acevedo 23 assists, 11 digs, 4 aces, 3 kills; Paloma Ybarra 24 digs, 22 assists, 13 kills, 1 block; Neida Ybarra 10 kills, 4 blocks, 2 digs, 1 assist

RECORDS: Edcouch-Elsa 29-9, 13-0; Brownsville Porter 4-9

Tuesday, Oct. 23

District 30-6A

PSJA North at McAllen High, 7:30 p.m.

Mission High at La Joya High, 7:30 p.m.

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at PSJA High, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Rowe at McAllen Memorial, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

Weslaco High at Edinburg North, 6:30 p.m.

Donna North at Edinburg High, 6:30 p.m.

Edinburg Vela at Weslaco East, 6:30 p.m.

District 31-5A

Rio Grande City at Sharyland Pioneer, 7 p.m.

Roma at Mission Veterans, 7 p.m.

PSJA Memorial at Sharyland High, 7 p.m.

PSJA Southwest at La Joya Palmview, 7 p.m.

District 32-6A

District 32-5A

Brownsville Veterans at Edcouch-Elsa, 7 p.m.

Mercedes at Brownsville Lopez, 7 p.m.

Valley View at Donna High, 7 p.m.

NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

EDINBURG — The Edinburg Bobcats are a world away from where they started the 2018 season. The young team was green and committed more errors than coach Deanna Dominguez was used to seeing from a varsity unit.

Those days are gone.

EHS beat Edinburg Vela 25-23, 25-23, 25-17 on Saturday afternoon at Vela High School to make the 31-6A race tighter than when the day started with one game remaining in the regular season.

“It was a blessing to beat them again,” junior Victoria Fuentes said. “At the beginning of the season, we weren’t connecting together. So it really means a lot that now we really got together to do everything. For us to get together, we had to work really hard.”

Offensively, the Bobcats are tough to block thanks to Fuentes’ 6-foot-frame, long arms and leaping ability. Dominguez said the last step in unlocking her potential is strengthening their big hitter.

“Tori has definitely gotten physically stronger,” Dominguez said. “We really try to push the weight room on her and I think that was something that was totally new for her. Her endurance too, being able to block and pull off and hit repeatedly. There are times where she’s panting and I’m like ‘that’s why we do what we do.’”

Fuentes had 22 kills, four blocks and a pair of aces. She was active at the net and helped the Bobcats turn a 23-23 tie into the 25-23 win in set one.

One thing that makes her tough to defend is her ability to stay in the air and switch to a less powerful, more accurate tip to a soft spot in the defense.

“Tori and Ponce, they talk a lot, they communicate the chemistry is really great between them,” sophomore Hannah Vega said. “They’re just a really good duo.”

Vela took an early 8-4 lead but the second frame played out close. Fuentes played well early but her coach went with different personnel late in the set. After being knotted at 23 again, EHS won by two points.

“In practice, we try to simulate that,” Dominguez said. “Where we do a game of 20-20 or we give the team we’re scrimmaging against a bit of an advantage so we have to claw our way back and find a way to get those points.”

With Fuentes sitting, setter Renee Ponce adjusted and fed Zarina Rodriguez who ended the second set.

Ponce set the stage for her team again. She had 34 assists to go along with 17 digs and five kills.

‘We were really trying to do it for our seniors,” Vega said. “We know it’s Ponce and Bailey (Buckner’s) last year so we try to do it for them.”

Buckner had 20 digs and six kills. Arianna Guerra led the team in digs with 28 while Vega had 14 digs and two aces.

“It feels really great, a lot of people didn’t think we could pull it off,” Vega said. “We improved a lot.”

With the result and action around the district, the race in 31-6A has reached a climax. The top four teams and playoff qualifiers, Edinburg High, Edinburg Vela, Edinburg North and Weslaco High, all have identical 8-3 records.

Vela closes their season against Weslaco East, while Edinburg High hosts Donna North. Weslaco and Edinburg North will meet to end the season. All signs point to a three-way tie and the match between Weslaco and North deciding which team finished fourth.

“I just feel like all the teams have been stealing games from each other,” Dominguez said. “I don’t know, I’m just glad we’re finishing how we’re supposed to. We can’t even look at the big picture right now. We have to be like a horse with blinders and focus on what we got.”

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RGVSports.com

At McAllen, McAllen Memorial’s Campbell Speights scores three touchdowns and the Mustangs got back to the win column after two district losses with a 28-6 victory over McAllen High on Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“Our kids rose to the occasion and played pretty well,” McAllen Memorial coach Bill Littleton said. “It felt good to get a win after a couple of weeks and a couple of tough ball games that we lost. We lost a couple of tough games that we felt like we had a chance to win them both, but sometimes things don’t turn out the way you think they are.”
The Mustangs threw the ball often a week ago against PSJA High in Joseph Lara’s first start at quarterback. This week, the Mustangs were able to ground and pound against the rival Bulldogs.
“We were able to run the football,” Littleton said. “Last week we threw it a little, but this week we were able to run the ball. We were averaging about 7 yards a carry. That’s one thing they were giving us, so that’s what we took.”
McAllen Memorial is 2-2 in district 30-6A with games against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and PSJA North next before finishing the regular season against McAllen Rowe.

District 30-6A

La Joya High 20, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 0: At La Joya, La Joya High didn’t let rivalry night turn into a trap game and shutout La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.
“I knew going into the night the record that (Juarez-Lincoln coach) Tommy (Garcia) had, I think it was 0-3 in district, their boys were going to get ready to play,” La Joya coach Reuben Farias said. “They’ve always played us tough. They were on a mission to try to beat us and dethrone us.”
La Joya advances to 3-1 in district play, while the Huskies are 0-4.
Eddie Villarreal had two scores to led the way for the Coyotes on offense, but the tone was set by a strong defense that played what Farias likes to call “Coyote Football.”
“Coach (defensive coordinator Manuel) Flores does a great job with the kids,” Farias said. “He came up with a great game plan and the boys executed it and I’m very proud of them. We were bending, bending but when we had to make plays we did.”
Juarez-Lincoln running back Albert Martinez was held out of the end zone for the first time which means the first type the Huskies were shut out. It’s the third shutout for the Coyotes defense this season (Roma, McHi).
“It’s a big win for the school, the community,” Farias said. “Plus, just to keep us in stride for the playoffs to try to get a playoff berth.”

DISTRICT 31-6A

EDINBURG HIGH 24, EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 21: At Edinburg, The Bobcats (6-1, 2-1) jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but with an intense rivalry and a playoff atmosphere, the Jaguars (4-3, 1-3) were not going to go away without a fight.

Jonathan Martinez was big for the Jags, as they dug their way out of the early hole, and go back in front 21-14 at the half.

It all came down to a goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter, and the Bobcats found the end zone on a 1-yard run from Heariln Benavides to go up for good.

DISTRICT 31-6A

WESLACO EAST 54, EDINBURG NORTH 0: At Weslaco: the Wildcats (4-2, 3-0) took care of business at home, shutting out Edinburg North (1-7, 1-3) at Bobby Lackey Stadium.

DISTRICT 31-6A

WESLACO HIGH 75, DONNA NORTH 3: At Donna, the Panthers (6-1, 2-1) rebounded from their first loss of the year in a big way, going on the road to beat Donna North (0-8, 0-5) by the largest margin of a Valley game this year.

DISTRICT 16-5A DI

LA JOYA PALMVIEW 30, PSJA MEMORIAL 22: At Pharr, the Lobos are in position for a playoff spot with two games to play after their win against the Wolverines (1-6, 1-5).

Donna High’s 9-6 loss to Brownsville Veterans on Thursday coupled with La Joya Palmview’s win slides the Lobos into the fourth playoff position at the moment.

“It was a team effort on both sides of the ball. We got some crucial stops and our offense kept moving the ball,” La Joya Palmview coach Margarito Requenez said.

Mario Chapa ran for two touchdowns while Carlos Peña and Jalen Ybarra tallied a touchdown apiece to pace the Lobos (4-3, 4-2).

“It was big to have Jalen back, since he had been out since the Donna (High) game,” Requenez said. “If we want to make the playoffs, we have to treat each of these games like playoff games.”

DISTRICT 16-5A DII

EDCOUCH-ELSA 40, LAREDO CIGARROA 0: At Elsa, the Yellow Jackets scored their first district win of the season in a convincing win over the Toros (0-7, 0-3).

Juniors Jay Cardenas, Edward Cardoza, Marc Barco and senior Isaac De Anda all scored rushing touchdowns on Friday.

“We set out a plan and we went out there and executed it,” Edcouch-Elsa interim coach Christian Navarro said. “Bottom line, the kids played to the ability that we know that they can play. We’ve been telling them that this was going to come. We just needed to follow through with our plans and everything will fall into place.”

Edcouch-Elsa (2-6, 1-3) won its first game since a 36-7 non-district win over Edinburg North on Sept. 21.

DISTRICT 16-4A DI

GRULLA 28, HIDALGO 14: At Rio Grande City, Grulla (3-4, 1-0) got our in front 12-0 to start the game, but the Pirates (2-6, 0-2) weren’t done yet.

Hidalgo scored just before half, and again just after half to take a 14-12 lead.

“Coach Stumbaugh is doing a great job over there, he had his kids ready for this game tonight,” Grulla coach Abel Gonzalez III said. “Right after they scored, we mounted a long 10-play drive that went probably 75 yards. It was an important drive, we knew we had to answer back. And we did.”

The drive set up a touchdown from senior quarterback Dillen Salinas to junior receiver Jesse Garza, their second combined touchdown of the night.

Vidal Lopez tacked on his second score of the night to ice the game.

“It was a physical ball game,” Gonzalez said. “Hidalgo has gotten better and better as the season progressed. Last week, they played Zapata real close, so we knew we were in for a tough ball game. … Our kids responded man, they played hard.”

DISTRICT 16-2A DII

LA VILLA 43, BENAVIDES 16: At Benavides, the Cardinals (4-3, 2-0) jumped out to a lead and cruised to a big road win to stay undefeated in district play.

NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

MISSION — Scoring wasn’t the issue when PSJA North and Mission High clashed Friday night at Tom Landry Hall of Fame Stadium.

The game was decided by a few defensive plays and the Raiders had more stops as they controlled the momentum most of the evening to overcome the Eagles, 41-31.

Mission (5-2, 2-2) scored the game’s first touchdown to take a one-score lead, but the Raiders (4-3, 3-1) offense answered loudly.

Coming into the 30-6A game, Eagles freshman quarterback Jeremy Duran was in the spotlight. He was making his first start in place of injured junior Damian Gomez.

Another ninth-grader took center stage early, North running back Isaac Gonzalez. He scored the Raiders first two touchdowns to first show off his strength, then his speed.

“It’s good getting experience as a freshman, playing on the varsity squad and being able to get all those yards (and) show people that if you’re a freshman you can do it,” Gonzalez said. “Just because they’re juniors or seniors don’t let them put you down. Keep working hard and you’ll be the person that you are.”

Gonzalez caught a screen pass from quarterback Iziaah Rangel and broke multiple tackles to reach the end zone. On the next drive, he made a strong cut that gave him an open field for a 46-yard sprint for his second touchdown.

Queue the first big defensive play for PSJA North. Defensive back Seven Sanchez dove in front of a Mission receiver to intercept Duran.

“It was big, make them squat early,” Sanchez said. “That came out big in the end, he made mistakes and it paid off. Once you get the momentum rolling, it’s pretty much over.”

The score was 14-7 at that juncture of the match but it helped lead the way to a 21-10 halftime advantage for the visitors.

Sanchez wasn’t done after that play. In the third quarter, the relatively small defensive back played bigger than his size to strip Eagles tight end Reymundo Garcia, who had caught a pass.

Sanchez made noise in the secondary with pass breakups and in the backfield with a tackle for a loss. Raiders’ defensive lineman Aaron Alvarez had three sacks on Duran in the second half.

“The turnover battle, it changes things, and causes momentum shifts,” Raiders coach Marcus Kaufmann said. “We got that interception and started driving the ball down the field. And that fumble he got the ball from the big tight end, just ripped the ball out of his hands like three times his size. That gets the tide going a little bit.”

PSJA North won the turnover battle 4-1 with two interceptions and two recovered fumbles.

“Getting turnovers…we’ve experienced it from the other side early in the season where we turned it over,” Kaufmann said. “It doesn’t matter how great you are or how many yards you put up – you lose games that way. Now we’re on the other end of it for the last two weeks. Hopefully, it continues that way.”

Arturo Beltran was exceptional again for PSJA North. The senior running back/receiver hybrid found pay dirt three times, a week after scoring four times against McAllen Rowe.

All of his points came after he was hurt on a tackle in the first half. Beltran didn’t stay out of the game long and made sure to get his name on the score sheet.

His first score went for 69 yards on a catch and run. His speed didn’t give any defender an angle to bring him down. His breakaway speed allowed him to score late in the fourth on a pitch play that turned into a 40-yard score when his team was trying to eat some clock.

“I knew that my teammates needed me, I’m going to do whatever it takes to put myself in the game,” Beltran said. “It’s my senior year and I just want to let everyone know that I’m here to play no matter what. When I got banged up it was pretty hard for me to make plays, but my teammates and my coaches motivated me to play and keep fighting and that’s what I did.”

Duran hit Sebastian Gonzalez for two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and the Eagles recovered a pair of onside kicks late, but Beltran’s third score gave too much cushion to allow a comeback.

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NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

PHARR — The first cold front in the Valley this fall, with temperatures in the 60s and a light drizzle threatened to knock two pass-first offenses off their game when PSJA High and McAllen Rowe met at PSJA Stadium in Pharr on Thursday night.

The No. 4-ranked Bears and the top passing offense in the Valley didn’t let any weather slow them down, however, en route to a 48-21 win over the visiting Warriors.

PSJA High moves to 4-0 and quarterback Trey Guajardo’s season touchdown total increased to 23 thanks to his six-touchdown performance.

“We started off real strong and that’s what we’ve been trying to do since last week against (McAllen) Memorial,” Guajardo said. “Great start. We want to keep the same pace going because we don’t want to be in those situations anymore. We want to ease through these games.”

The first quarter was dynamite for the Bears. Guajardo found Miguel Flores on passes from 56 and 16 yards on the first two drives. Flores added a third receiving score before the night was through.

On the Bears third drive, Guajardo found a new target, his cousin Marco Guajardo, to connect on a long catch and run from midfield.

“It was important to score early because that’s when the rain wasn’t coming out yet,” Ethan Castillo said. “We knew we had to start out hot. We came out strong, a little flat to end the half and to start (the second half) but we finished it off strong. Shout out to the defense, shout out to the line and shout out to the quarterback.”

The first quarter was a completely different tale than the middle quarters. Rowe outscored PSJA 21-7 in the second and third quarters.

Jonas Ortiz had two touchdown passes to Ruben Salinas, and Lalo Bosquez muscled his way in from short yardage with a jumbo formation.

The Achilles’ heel for Rowe (4-3, 2-2) was again turnovers and missteps. Ortiz hit two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions, into the southern wind, that halted Rowe’s momentum.

Running back J.R. Vasquez scored from 7 yards out to start the shutdown fourth quarter for the Bears, who played like they had a message to send late.

Ortiz’s second picked-off pass, when Rowe’s comeback hopes were still plausible, was snagged by an unlikely defender…Trey Guajardo.

The lengthy return to the 12-yard line set up another passing score, to Justin Morales, for the senior gunslinger turned ball hawk. Or is it ball hawk turned gunslinger?

“I used to, back in my freshman year, play a little bit of safety,” Trey Guajardo said. “When coach (Tommy) Saucedo, our defensive coordinator asked coach Lupe (Rodriguez) about possibly throwing me in there he was a little bit hesitant. But he knew we were going to do what’s best for the team. There’s no doubt that me playing both ways, I’m perfectly fine with. As long as I can get this team to win, that’s all I really care about.”

PSJA’s slower quarters of offense was characterized by a parade of yellow flags and 5-yard setbacks. The Bears were flagged for 12 false starts and 19 penalties overall.

“As a team our coach always tells us we don’t give up on each other,” Castillo said. “Our linemen, I know they were struggling early. We let them develop and I know we tried out other centers but it’s all right. We put our money on our starter to finish out the game and he finished it out strong.”

Castillo was the last receiver to score for PSJA in the game. Getting him a touchdown on his birthday was a point of emphasis.

His 15-yard score late in the fourth was manufactured through some hard-nosed running after the reception.

“I finally hit him and that was all him,” Guajardo said. “You saw him break all those tackles; he wanted to get in that end zone. That’s the thing about these receivers, they might be undersized, but they have tremendous heart. They do a lot to get in the end zone.”

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NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

MISSION — If you’re trying to tackle La Joya Juarez-Lincoln running back Albert Martinez, or block defensive end Xavier Monreal, you’re going to have a tough time.

Even as the Huskies search for their first win, those two names and their stats have popped as hard-to-ignore talents in 2018.

Senior Albert Martinez played quarterback as a kid. But by the time he made the Huskies varsity team, his quarterback was his brother, Efren Martinez.

In their junior season, the duo led Juarez-Lincoln to their best season in school history (6-4, 3-3) and narrowly missed the playoff via tiebreaker. That team had senior talent that lifted the defense and O-line, forming the most well-rounded unit coach Tommy Garcia has been able to field in his seven years at the program.

The toll of graduation, a pesky injury bug that has bit the team, and more than a few tough breaks has the Huskies sitting winless 0-6 (3-3) into Week 8. Half of the losses have come by a single possession.

“It’s been a tough season because we don’t have the size and we have some underclassmen playing,” Martinez said. As the third-top rusher in 30-6A last year, he’s been a target all year. “I’ve been working in the offseason a lot. Going into the weight room and running (track).”

Even through the rough patch, Juarez-Lincoln can almost guarantee one thing each game; No. 11 in a Huskies uniform will find his way into the end zone at least once, probably multiple times.

Albert has been battling an ankle injury since early in the season but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring 14 touchdowns.

Eight scores have been rushing scores, another six have come on the receiving end. He already has two three-touchdown games and a four-touchdown game this season.

“He makes a lot of things happen on his own,” Garcia said. “As long the linemen create a small hole, he’ll get there. After that, if he’s in the open field he’s a very hard person to tackle.”

Garcia, who has been a part of the program since it opened its doors in 2008 and the head coach since the 2012 season, knows his Huskies’ history. He says Albert is second-to-none when ranking backs.

“We’ve had some good backs in the past, Martin Diaz, Pedro Reyes, but not as quick and as fast as Albert,” Garcia said. “He’s just got something you can’t teach and that’s vision. While the other backs were good backs, he’s the best kid we’ve ever had here at Juarez.”

The injury woes got much worse for the team when Efren went down in district play with a torn ACL. Joshua Briones has assumed the role since then.

“It’s sad because it’s our senior season and he’s not playing anymore because he got injured,” Albert said. “He’s my brother and we can’t play together anymore.”

The defense has a bright spot of their own in senior defensive end Monreal. He’s been getting through some of the top offensive linemen his team has faced and caused havoc at the point of attack. He leads the team in tackles with 61 (30 solo), 11 tackles for a loss, 14 QB hurries, four sacks and five forced fumbles.

Garcia said that his talent often earns a hat tip from the other coach.

“After every game, every single head coach the first thing that comes out of their mouth is ‘That No. 90 is animal, he’s a beast. We couldn’t block him,’” Garcia said about the common conversation in the handshake line. “There’s very few people that have been able to block him one-on-one. They usually get the running back to chip and help out. The kid has been just great for us. I think there have been three different players that he’s had an impact on the kid playing the next week. He’s one of those kids that goes 120 miles per hour every single play.”

Monreal was a first team all-district selection at defensive end a year ago. He’s glad to still be a thorn in the side of the offensive coordinator.

“It feels good when people try to make game plans on you,” Monreal said. “You feel like you’re important for them to focus on. Especially when you still get tackles for a loss and sacks like that, it makes you more hype.”

Monreal is still concerned with leaving his team in good hands.

“It’s always been great to be a good team leader,” Monreal said. “It’s good to teach the young guys. Setting the foundation and set the example for the young guys to not settle for less. Go out there and give more than what is expected from us.”

The Huskies continue their season this week against La Joya High in an all LJISD rivalry matchup.

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NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

Mission High narrowly escaped with a win over La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, but in the process lost a big part of the Eagles unit.

Junior quarterback Damian Gomez had to be taken out of the game and to the hospital after taking a hit from Juarez-Lincoln defensive lineman Xavier Monreal. The injury turned out to be a broken clavicle, which puts him out for the foreseeable future.

Freshman Jeremy Duran, who has seen action in all of the Eagles games this year, will take the reigns.

“Obviously you’re always best when you’re fully loaded and you don’t have any injuries,” Mission coach Koy Detmer said. “Jeremy (Duran) has been in some of those earlier games in similar type positions and done a good job. We feel good about him going in and getting that job done.”

Duran is 29 for 42 so far, for an impressive 69 percent completion rate. He’s thrown four touchdowns to only one interception.

The freshman doesn’t threaten with the same mobility as Gomez, who already had 128 yards and six touchdowns rushing, but can lead from the pocket.

Not all of the responsibility will fall on the shoulders of the freshman. The Eagles defense will be a deciding factor this week when they face PSJA North. Mission has only given up more than 17 points once, in their 42-38 loss to McAllen Memorial to start district play.

Detmer is counting on his defense to stand up and lead the team to a 3-1 record.

“We’ve played really good defense all year long and it’s been a big part of our success,” Detmer said. “Those guys have done a good job all year. We’ve had a big point of emphasis in getting our athletes over there on that side and being able to be versatile guys. We have a big challenge this week, obviously every week in this district is a challenging team and this is another one.”

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Valley HS Volleyball Schedule 2018

Tuesday’s Game

District 30-6A

McAllen Rowe def. Mission High 25-10, 25-12, 25-21

McAllen High def. PSJA High 25-18, 25-10, 25-23

McAllen Memorial def. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 25-7, 25-7, 25-7

PSJA North def. La Joya High 25-10, 21-25, 25-4, 25-18

District 31-6A

Edinburg High def. Weslaco High 19-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-20

Edinburg Vela def. Donna North 15-16, 25-9, 25-6

Weslaco East def. Edinburg Economedes 3-2

District 31-5A

Sharyland Pioneer def. PSJA Memorial 25-14, 25-16, 25-17

Mission Veterans def. Sharyland High 22-25, 25-15, 25-10, 25-14

PSJA Southwest def. Rio Grande City 25-23, 25-15, 25-18

Roma def. La Joya Palmview 25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20

District 32-6A

Los Fresnos def. Harlingen High 25-21, 25-14, 25-16

Brownsville Hanna def. San Benito 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18

Harlingen South def. Brownsville Rivera

District 32-5A

Brownsville Veterans def. Brownsville Porter 28-26, 25-18, 25-23

Edcouch-Elsa def. Valley View 25-11, 25-14, 25-7

Mercedes def. Brownsville Pace 25-23, 24-26, 26-20, 27-25, 15-9

Donna High def. Brownsville Lopez 21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 16-14

District 32-4A

La Feria def. Grulla 25-13, 25-5, 25-14

Zapata def. Port Isabel 25-23, 25-16, 25-22

Progreso def. Rio Hondo 25-12, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 15-13

VALLEY HS VOLLEYBALL BOX SCORES

Tuesday’s Game

District 30-6A

McALLEN HIGH DEF. PSJA HIGH

25-18, 25-10, 25-23

McALLEN HIGH: Lexi Gonzalez 10 kills, 6 digs, 1 block; Damaris Llanas 10 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces; Celina Saenz 9 kills, 5 digs, 1 ace, 2 blocks; Madison Helmcamp 3 kills, 6 digs, 20 assists, 1 ace; Audrey Zamora 12 digs.

PSJA HIGH: Not Reported.

RECORDS: McAllen High 36-5, 9-3; PSJA High12-23, 3-9.

McALLEN MEMORIAL DEF. LA JOYA JUAREZ-LINCOLN

25-7, 25-7, 25-7

McALLEN MEMORIAL: Jocelyn Fernandez 9 kills, 3 aces; Jocelynn Everage 5 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces, 3 blocks; Valeria Trevino 5 kills, 4 aces, 4 digs; Demy Banks 5 kills; Natalie Silva 3 kills; Dylann Guerra 3 aces; Sydney Marburger 26 assists, 6 digs, 3 aces, 2 kills;

RECORDS: McAllen Memorial 34-3, 12-0; La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 1-11

District 31-6A

EDINBURG VELA DEF. DONNA NORTH

25-16, 25-9, 25-6

EDINBURG VELA: Julie Cordon 23 digs; Glenys Maldonado 21 kills, 19 digs, 7 aces; Miranda Negrete 13 kills, 8 kills; Analisa Campos 33 assists, 12 digs; Alyssa Muniz 2 aces, 7 digs; Sarah Olivarez 1 ace, 5 digs; Olivia Vega 4 blocks; Becca Cavazos10 digs.

RECORDS: Edinburg Vela 23-13, 8-2; Donna North 0-11.

District 31-5A

MISSION VETERANS DEF. SHARYLAND HIGH

22-25, 25-15, 25-10, 25-14

MISSION VETERANS: Jackie Howell 37 kills, 23 digs, 1 ace, 1 block; Makenzie Gerlach 17 kills, 23 digs, 5 aces, 1 block; Kassy Lerma 13 kills, 25 digs, 4 blocks; Valerie de la Fuente 27 assists, 6 digs, 1 block; Ronnie Cantu 6 assists, 13 kills; Bella Dominguez 16 digs, 3 aces, 3 assists.

LOSING TEAM: Not Reported

RECORDS: Mission Veterans 35-3, 11-0; Sharyland High 21-16, 9-3.

ROMA DEF. LA JOYA PALMVIEW

25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20

ROMA: Alissa Gonzalez 21 assists, 6 digs, 6 kills, 3 aces; Alba Gonzalez 5 kills, 2 aces, 3 digs, 1 block; Andrea Mascorro 13 digs, 4 kills, 2 aces; Mya Salinas 8 kills, 2 digs; Anelle Mascorro 13 assists, 4 digs, 2 kills; Hannah Garza 17 digs, 3 aces, 1 kills

District 32-4A

HIDALGO DEF. RAYMONDVILLE

25-15, 25-16, 25-9

HIDALGO: Barbie Gutierrez 12 kills, 6 assists; Melanie Salinas 11 kills, 8 blocks; Priscilla Fuentes 5 kills; Jacqui Garcia 6 kills; Vanessa Espinoza 4 kills; Soleil Garza 13 assists.

Raymondville: Not Reported

RECORDS: Hidalgo 11-3; Raymondville 2-11.

District 32-5A

EDCOUCH-ELSA DEF. VALLEY VIEW

25-11, 25-14, 25-7

EDCOUCH-ELSA: Byanka Garcia 13 digs, 1 kill, 1 assist, 2 aces; Veronica Elizondo 11 digs, 5 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace; Paloma Ybarra 13 kills, 12 assists, 9 digs; Maegan Acevedo 20 assists, 5 aces, 6 digs, 1 kill; Neida Ybarra 5 kills, 3 digs, 6 blocks, 5 kills; Bryanna de la Pena 4 kills, 3 aces, 2 digs, 2 blocks, 1 assist;

RECORDS: Edcouch-Elsa 28-9, 12-0; Valley View 0-12

Saturday, Oct. 20

District 30-6A

McAllen High at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, noon

La Joya High at McAllen Rowe, noon

PSJA High at Mission High, noon

McAllen Memorial at PSJA North, noon

District 31-6A

Edinburg North at Edinburg Economedes, noon

Edinburg High at Edinburg Vela, noon

Weslaco East at Weslaco High, noon

District 31-5A

Sharyland Pioneer at Roma, 1 p.m.

Mission Veterans at PSJA Memorial, 1 p.m.

Sharyland High at PSJA Southwest, 1 p.m.

La Joya Palmview at Rio Grande City, 1 p.m.

District 32-6A

Los Fresnos at Brownsville Hanna, noon

Brownsville Rivera at San Benito, noon

Harlingen South at Harlingen High, noon

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa at Brownsville Porter, 1 p.m.

Donna High at Mercedes, 1 p.m.

Brownsville Pace at Valley View, 1 p.m.

Brownsville Lopez at Brownsville Veterans, 1 p.m.

TAAPS

Victoria St. Joseph at Brownsville St. Joseph, 3 p.m.

NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

MISSION — Sharyland Pioneer defended its home court and stopped a surging PSJA Memorial unit in straight sets Tuesday night in Mission.

The Diamondbacks swept the Wolverines 25-14, 25-16, 25-17 to improve to 8-4 on the season.

The visitors from Alamo dropped to an identical 8-4 record, but fall behind due to their second loss to the Diamondbacks this season.

Pioneer junior libero Shelby Cavazos explained as time went on her team has meshed well.

“We’ve evolved with our chemistry since we have a lot of new freshmen,” Shelby Cavazos said. “We have a lot of new meat on the team but we’ve really come together and played a good game of volleyball.”

Ninth-grader Natalie Reyes is one of those promising freshmen whose been a big part of the team’s season that will continue onto the postseason.

Reyes had 3 aces and 36 assists to set up her team’s attack. Daizy Coronado led the team in kills with 13 to go along with three blocks and four digs. Daniela Alvarez and Thalia Ochoa both had seven kills.

“We knew coming in they had taken Sharyland High the last time they played and in the second round lots of things can happen,” Pioneer coach Laura Cavazos said after the win. “I think we did a really good job serving tonight. That’s something that we had struggled with so we’ve been really focusing on it in practice. I also think we’re pretty good on offense, getting a lot of touches and moving the ball around.”

The Diamondbacks looked quicker to the ball and more aggressive from the start. Pioneer took big leads in the first two sets and even in set three when Memorial managed ties at 6, 10 and 11 the close game play was cut short.

Prior to the defeat, PSJA Memorial had strung together five consecutive victories. Including a 3-2 win over Sharyland High to begin the streak and close the first round of district.

“We take no one lightly but with them, they were a good challenge, they play really good out there, but we took the victory,” Cavazos said.

PSJA Memorial’s top attackers were Aneth Garza and Ashley Garza. According to Wolverines coach Estefania Portillo, Garza shifted over to play middle hitter away from her usual position of outside to give another look.

Pioneer’s Samantha Ayala had 10 digs, five kills and three aces.

The service that Laura Cavazos mentioned had PSJA Memorial on their heels all match. Coronado had an ace and got an endorsement from her coach as a standout serving in recent weeks.

“If we serve aggressively we’re able to take out the other team, that’s my main thing,” Coronado said. “I’m more consistent lately and it’s surprising. I focus on that because it’s my last year so I don’t miss any serves as much.”

Coronado, who serves as team captain, is happy that her younger teammates are keeping the energy high. As seniors prepare for their final postseason run, some of the newer varsity players are getting ready for their first.

“A lot of new girls bring a lot of new stuff to the team,” Shelby Cavazos said. “And we have a lot of old volleyball so that’s a good combination.”

Coronado knows not only the upperclassmen want to make this the Diamondback’s most successful playoff run.

With Mission Veterans owning the first spot, the next three spots are still yet to be determined. Sharyland High has the edge for second place at 9-3 with matches left against PSJA Southwest and PSJA Memorial.

Edcouch-Elsa, Brownsville Veterans, Donna High and Brownsville Lopez make up the top four teams, in order, to the east in 32-5A, which will be the first-round opponents for 31-5A.

Pioneer ends its season against Roma and Rio Grande City, while PSJA Memorial faces undefeated Mission Vets before finishing the regular season against Sharyland High.

“I’m just trying to encourage the girls,” Coronado said. “I want to go far, make history, and go to the third round. They’re just so talented and they want to prove why they’re on varsity, they want to make history too.”

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