T.J. GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

HIDALGO — The La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies scored on two powerful kicks and dominated play as they ran over the McAllen High Bulldogs 2-0 on a blustery Saturday night in Hidalgo’s Copa La Frontera boys soccer tournament.

The victory over District 30-6A rival McHi was a sweet one for the powerful Huskies, as they lost to the Bulldogs 3-1 in the same title game a year ago. Players and coaches didn’t forget that game. And while both teams looked somewhat fatigued after a half dozen matches in the tournament, Juarez-Lincoln mustered enough energy to win the game and earn revenge.

“Last year, we were in the championship, and we lost to McHi in this same game. And now, we got it back,” Juarez-Lincoln coach Victor Ramos said. “We’ve had three tournaments in a row. Last week we were in Brownsville, then we traveled to Dallas, and then here. So it’s been a tough schedule to get us ready, but the kids are getting better and knowing each other better.”

Juarez-Lincoln (17-4-1) is coming off a 2017 state soccer tournament appearance and has aspirations of getting back to Georgetown this year. The Huskies certainly are the cream of the tough District 30-6A, but they have their work cut out for them in district and to get out of the RGV. At this tournament, district foes McHi and McAllen Memorial finished in the top four.

At Copa La Frontera, the Huskies had more than enough to vanquish the Bulldogs, and Juarez-Lincoln put its stamp on the match almost immediately. With just over five minutes remaining in the 25-minute first half, senior midfielder Manuel Castrejon rifled in a shot from about 15 yards out following a corner kick. The ball found the bottom-left corner of the goal, giving the Huskies a lead they’d never relinquish.

Juarez-Lincoln had several more strong opportunities to score as it constantly attacked McHi. The Huskies had two more shots on goal and one just off the crossbar but could not convert and led 1-0 at intermission. The second half was more of the same.

McHi made a few runs, but Juarez-Lincoln kept the ball much of the second half, and the constant offensive pressure finally paid off at the 12:45 mark. That’s when junior midfielder Jonathan Hernandez zipped in a line drive from 20 yards out after a free-kick opportunity. The goal handed Juarez-Lincoln a commanding lead, and the game was all-but over.

“That’s the goal for any tournament, to make the final and win the championship, so we focused on that, and we did it,” senior forward Gerardo Reyes said. “We did think about that (loss to McHi), because they are a very good team. They made the finals with us here, and they are on top with us as one of the best teams out there, so we are proud just to make it here with them.”

The result was not what McHi wanted, but coach Fernando Segovia said he was proud of his squad’s grit and determination in facing a state finalist in Juarez-Lincoln. He said the team would work to be ready for district play.

“Honestly, from last year, I lost 14 seniors, and we’ve been working hard, and these kids have been improving,” he said. “We’ve made some little mistakes, like in this championship game. We’re glad we’re here. These guys were down. They want to win everything, but hey, we got here. And we lost to two golasos. Two hard shots. It wasn’t defensive breakdowns. Just two good shots. That No. 10 (Castrejon) hit an extraordinary goal.”

VALLEY HS WRESTLING RESULTS

All Valley Championship

Saturday, Jan. 20

At Pioneer High School, Mission

Boys

Team Results

1, Sharyland Pioneer, 547.5; 2, Edinburg High, 425.5; 3, Edinburg North, 398.5; 4, Los Fresnos, 374.5; 5, La Joya High, 361.0.

Individual Winners by Weight Class

106 — Diego Serna, Sharyland Pioneer

113 — Alberto Juarez, Mission High

120 — Aaron Cuevas, Mission High

126 — Juvel Castillo, Sharyland Pioneer

132 — Robbie Silva, Edinburg Vela

138 — Ramon Lopez, Edinburg High

145 — Oziel Trevino, McAllen Memorial

152 — Adolfo Almanza, Corpus Christi Carroll

160 — Nick Padilla, Edinburg North

170 — Michael Solis, PSJA High

182 — Dominique Rodriguez, Sharyland Pioneer

195 —Brandon Rich-Avalos, Edinburg North

220 — Anthony Perales, Corpus Christi Carroll

285 — Deon’dre Gonzalez, Los Fresnos

Girls

Team Results

1, La Joya High, 332.0; 2, Edinburg North, 313.0; 3, Edinburg High, 264.0; 4, Corpus Chrsiti King, 255.0; 4, McAllen High, 255.0; 6, PSJA High, 244.0

Individual Winners by Weight Class

95 — Monica Resendez, Donna North

102 — Sidney Quintanilla, McAllen Memorial

110 — Nayeli Hernandez, PSJA High

119 — Mikayla Dockweiler, Corpus Christi King

128 — Serena Cervantes, McAllen High

138 — Nancy Saldana, PSJA High

148 — Hannah Martinez, Edinburg North

165 — Destiny Baltierra, PSJA High

185 — Dulce Arenas, Edinburg Economedes

215 — Kacie Rodriguez, Corpus Christi Moody

VALLEY BOYS HS SOCCER SCHEDULE

Thursday’s Game

Progreso 1, San Benito 1

Friday’s Games
District 31-5A
Sharyland Pioneer 2, Laredo Cigarroa 0
Valley View 2, Sharyland High 0
Laredo Martin 8, Rio Grande City 1

Non-district
Weslaco High 5, Edinburg Vela 2
La Joya High 2, Edinburg High 1
Donna North 4, PSJA North 2
Edinburg Economdes 3, Weslaco East 1

Copa La Frontera

Friday’s Games

Group 1 (Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium)

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 3, Hidalgo 0

Los Fresnos 2, McAllen Rowe 0

Mercedes 1, Laredo Alexander 0

Brownsville Rivera 3, Monte Alto 0

Laredo Alexander 2, Hidalgo 0

Los Fresnos 3, Monte Alto 0

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 2, Mercedes 0

McAllen Rowe 1, Brownsville Rivera 0

Hidalgo 3, Monte Alto 0

Los Fresnos 1, Laredo Alexander 0

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 2, Brownsville Rivera 0
Mercedes 2, McAllen Rowe 0

Group 2 (Valley View ISD Stadium)
McAllen High 1, Laredo United South 0

Brownsville Porter 3, Grulla 0

McAllen Memorial 1, Mission High 0

La Joya Palmview 6, Edinburg IDEA Quest 0

McAllen High 1, Brownsville Porter 0

Laredo United South 4, Grulla 0

La Joya Palmview 0, Mission High 0

McAllen Memorial 6, Edinburg IDEA Quest 1

Saturday’s games
Copa La Frontera (Hidalgo Tournament)
Group 1 (Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium)
Hidalgo vs. Brownsville Rivera, 9 a.m.
Los Fresnos vs. Mercedes, 10 a.m.
Laredo Alexander vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 11 a.m.
McAllen Rowe vs. Monte Alto, noon
Mercedes vs. Hidalgo, 1 p.m.
Brownsville Rivera vs. Los Fresnos, 2 p.m.
McAllen Rowe vs. Laredo Alexander, 3 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 4 p.m.
Group 2 (Valley View ISD Stadium)
McAllen High vs. La Joya Palmview, 9 a.m.
Grulla vs. McAllen Memorial, 10 a.m.
Laredo United South vs. Mission High, 11 a.m.
Edinburg IDEA Quest vs. Brownsville Porter, noon
McAllen Memorial vs. McAllen High, 1 p.m.
La Joya Palmview vs. Grulla, 2 p.m.
Edinburg IDEA Quest vs. Laredo United South, 3 p.m.
Brownsville Porter vs. Mission High, 4 p.m.
Semifinals
Winner of Group 1 vs. Second place of Group 2, Hidalgo High School, 5 p.m.
Winner of Group 2 vs. Second place of Group 1, Valley View High School, 5 p.m.
Third place game
At Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Championship
At Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium, 8 p.m.

NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR

HIDALGO — Mario De Los Santos is an illustrious goal scorer for Valley View, but even he has nights when the scoring touch is missing. Two sophomores scored for the Tigers on Friday as they defeated Sharyland High 2-0 in District 31-5A action.

Twice Sharyland (0-1) had an opportunity to score from the penalty spot. With the Tigers already holding a 2-0 lead, Sharyland’s Jose Torres was fouled, and Alberto Martinez stepped up to try to cut the lead in half.

Martinez tried to catch Elian Chavez guessing, but the keeper lunged to his left and kept the ball out. The stop excited the Valley View team, with many players congratulating him as the ball went out of play.

Though he wasn’t tested often, Chavez said the goalie needs to be ready to come up big.

“You have to be concentrating 100 percent, because you never know which situation is going to happen,” Chavez said through an interpreter. “He’s happy that he kept us in the game and happy we came up with the victory.”

On the second attempt, the Rattlers turned to Alonso Gonzalez, who sent a shot high and wide.

Valley View coach Damian Magallan wasn’t necessarily pleased with the calls that led to the penalties but had no quarrels with the play of his goalie.

“The refs called it, but we’re glad that we have our keeper ready. He stepped up and kept us in the game when we were up 2-0,” Magallan said through an interpreter.

Valley View (2-0) could have had more goals on the board, but a handful of missed opportunities allowed for the drama to creep in.

Super sophomores turned into the theme of the evening on Valley View’s parent’s night. First, Oscar Golindo capitalized on a mistake in the box by Sharyland’s defense and goalkeeper.

A foul committed just inside Sharyland’s half led to a free kick by Valley View’s Adrian Rodriguez, who sent the kick sailing nearly 50 yards. Rattlers goalie Gabriel Tamez got glove on the ball but not enough to keep it away from Golindo, who tipped the ball into the yawning net.

On Valley View’s second goal, Sharyland’s Tamez seemed to have control before losing the ball to Carlos Medina in scoring position.

Medina, a forward, followed the messy rebound and had to beat the last defender and the post, but he eventually sent home the insurance.

“The goalkeeper had it, so I was not going to pressure him. But once I noticed the ball went a little too far, I started pressuring him. He bounced it off me,” Medina said. “I saw the ball spinning, spinning, and I thought it was going out. Once it hit the post, I was like, ‘I have to make it.’ I did, and it was a beautiful moment.”

The underclassman said he was happy to be contributing against older competition.

“It feels pretty good, because us as sophomores (are) playing with seniors and everything,” Medina said. “It’s really special to us as little kids, so it feels very good. We’re proud of ourselves.”

De Los Santos had a golden chance just five minutes into the game, when he found himself alone against Tamez. But Sharyland’s keeper was up to the task, diving and keeping him off the scoreboard.

When Sharyland was frantically sending balls forward late to try to climb back into the match, the opportunity to counterattack arose, giving De Los Santos more looks and grade A scoring chances.

“Last season, Mario De Los Santos was scoring all the goals, and this season, we have more opportunities with more players that can actually step up,” Magallan said. “So now, we don’t depend that much on him, since we have more players that can put the ball in the back of the net.”

[email protected]

NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR

RIO GRANDE CITY — Rio Grande City topped Roma 66-55 to even the season series in the storied Battle of Starr Country and, more importantly, keep pace in the District 31-5A race.

The rematch was delayed a few days due to inclement weather on Tuesday night, but once the action got underway, Rio Grande City (5-4) started right on time.

The Rattlers jumped out to a 12-5 lead that forced the Gladiators (4-5) to call timeout. While the start sure helped the cause, the four-quarter effort allowed the home side to hang on.

“Everything’s special about that (win),” Rio Grande City guard Jaime Covarrubias said. “Them coming to our house and beating them by 11, it was a good game and an amazing feeling.”

Covarrubias did his part on the scoring front with 15 points in the game. He netted eight in the final quarter, including two makes from beyond the arc.

“We lost last time. Now, we played together as a team. We helped out more,” Covarrubias said. “Coach (Juan) Aldape helped us out (by saying), ‘Help ball side. When you’re on the other side, you just gotta help out’. Playing together helping each other, it made a big difference.”

The difference was clear in the game’s fourth quarter, when composure and timely shooting were on the side of the Rattlers. The last frame started tied at 36, but Rio wouldn’t be outhustled, similar to the early going.

Covarrubias opened the quarter with consecutive baskets, Rodrigo Nuňez converted a crucial 3-point play and Frank Martinez found Mario Martinez in transition to extend the lead to 47-39 and send the home fans to euphoria.

As expected, the crowd was raucous for both teams, probably never louder than when Nuňez threw down a jam to make the score 53-45 and push the game out of reach.

“Those 10, 12 miles away from each other, man, they bring out the best in both teams,” Aldape said. “Both of us fought hard throughout the game. I think our fourth-quarter shooting the free throws kind of got us going to finish out the game.”

Rio’s defense was tenacious early, forcing the visitors to cough up possession and yield eight fast-break points before a timeout. Aaron Marroquin got the shooter’s roll on a 3-point attempt, and it seemed not much could go wrong for Rio Grande City during the first eight minutes.

The pace of the game went to another gear in the second quarter, and both teams tried to establish a superior run-and-gun style of offense. Roma played the cleaner quarter, and it showed with a 14-9 edge in the period.

Roma’s Noe Garza Jr. hit an up-and-under layup, Gilberto Garcia closed the gap, and finally a Juan Gutierrez putback knotted the game at 25 and restored the nip and tuck action the matchup is known for.

Rio held a 28-27 advantage at the break, and the third quarter showcased how little separates the two squads. Only 19 total points were scored, setting up the decisive fourth.

Garza paced the Gladiators with 14 points, and Leonardo Alanis had 12. Roma was plagued by poor 3-point shooting, only nailing three in the game.

Challenging shots and limiting open looks for the Gladiators lifted the Rattlers, and their 6-foot-9 big man pointed to that right away as a major factor.

“It’s just playing good defense,” Nuňez said. “At the same time, we know they can shoot the ball, and we can switch on that. With our team, we know we can shoot the ball. We just have to be confident, work as a team, pass the ball inside-out.”

The center accounted for two of the team’s five blocks. The others came on closeouts on Roma 3-point attempts.

“Today, we played as a team. We communicated. And without this team, we wouldn’t have done this,” Nuňez said.

[email protected]

VALLEY HS BOYS SOCCER SCHEDULE

Thursday’s games
Copa La Frontera (Hidalgo Tournament)
Group 1 (Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium)
Hidalgo vs. Los Fresnos, 2 p.m.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln vs. McAllen Rowe, 3 p.m.
Laredo Alexander vs. Brownsville Rivera, 4 p.m.
Mercedes vs. Monte Alto, 5 p.m.
McAllen Rowe vs. Hidalgo, 6 p.m.
Los Fresnos vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 7 p.m.
Brownsville Rivera vs. Mercedes, 8 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. Laredo Alexander, 9 p.m.
Group 2 (Valley View ISD Stadium)
McAllen High vs. Grulla, 9 a.m.
Mission High vs. Edinburg IDEA Quest, 10 a.m.
Laredo United South vs. La Joya Palmview, 11 a.m.
McAllen Memorial vs. Brownsville Porter, noon
Edinburg IDEA Quest vs. McAllen High, 1 p.m.
Grulla vs. Mission High, 2 p.m.
La Joya Palmview vs McAllen Memorial, 3 p.m.
Brownsville Porter vs. Laredo United South, 4 p.m.
McAllen High vs. Mission High, 5 p.m.
Grulla vs. Edinburg IDEA Quest, 6 p.m.
Laredo United South vs. McAllen Memorial, 7 p.m.
La Joya Palmview vs. Brownsville Porter, 8 p.m.

Friday’s games
District 31-5A
Sharyland at Valley View, 7 p.m.
Mission Veterans at Roma, 7 p.m.
Laredo Cigarroa at Sharyland Pioneer, 7 p.m.

Non-District
Brownsville Veterans at PSJA High, 6:30 p.m.
Edinburg North at Edcouch-Elsa, 7 p.m.
La Joya at Edinburg High, 7 p.m.
Donna High at La Feria, 7:30 p.m.
Weslaco East at Edinburg Economedes, 7:30 p.m.
PSJA North at Donna North, 7:30 p.m.
Progreso at San Benito, 7:30 p.m.
Edinburg Vela at Weslaco High, 8 p.m.
Copa La Frontera (Hidalgo Tournament)
Group 1 (Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium)
Hidalgo vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 9 a.m.
Los Fresnos vs. McAllen Rowe, 10 a.m.
Laredo Alexander vs. Mercedes, 11 a.m.
Brownsville Rivera vs. Monte Alto, noon
Hidalgo vs. Laredo Alexander, 1 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. Los Fresnos, 2 p.m.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln vs. Mercedes, 3 p.m.
McAllen Rowe vs. Brownsville Rivera, 4 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. Hidalgo, 5 p.m.
Los Fresnos vs. Laredo Alexander, 6 p.m.
Brownsville Rivera vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 7 p.m.
Mercedes vs. McAllen Rowe, 8 p.m.
Group 2 (Valley View ISD Stadium)
McAllen High vs. Laredo United South, 9 a.m.
Brownsville Porter vs. Grulla, 10 a.m.
Mission High vs. McAllen Memorial, 11 a.m.
Edinburg IDEA Quest vs. La Joya Palmview, noon
Brownsville Porter vs. McAllen High, 1 p.m.
Grulla vs. Laredo United South, 2 p.m.
La Joya Palmview vs. Mission High, 3 p.m.
McAllen Memorial vs. Edinburg IDEA Quest, 4 p.m.

Saturday’s games
Copa La Frontera (Hidalgo Tournament)
Group 1 (Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium)
Hidalgo vs. Brownsville Rivera, 9 a.m.
Los Fresnos vs. Mercedes, 10 a.m.
Laredo Alexander vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 11 a.m.
McAllen Rowe vs. Monte Alto, noon
Mercedes vs. Hidalgo, 1 p.m.
Brownsville Rivera vs. Los Fresnos, 2 p.m.
McAllen Rowe vs. Laredo Alexander, 3 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 4 p.m.
Group 2 (Valley View ISD Stadium)
McAllen High vs. La Joya Palmview, 9 a.m.
Grulla vs. McAllen Memorial, 10 a.m.
Laredo United South vs. Mission High, 11 a.m.
Edinburg IDEA Quest vs. Brownsville Porter, noon
McAllen Memorial vs. McAllen High, 1 p.m.
La Joya Palmview vs. Grulla, 2 p.m.
Edinburg IDEA Quest vs. Laredo United South, 3 p.m.
Brownsville Porter vs. Mission High, 4 p.m.
Semifinals
Winner of Group 1 vs. Second place of Group 2, Hidalgo High School, 5 p.m.
Winner of Group 2 vs. Second place of Group 1, Valley View High School, 5 p.m.
Third place game
At Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Championship
At Hidalgo’s Bill Pate Stadium, 8 p.m.

VALLEY HS GIRLS SOCCER SCHEDULE

Progreso Lady Red Ants Tournament
Thursday’s games
Pool 1 (Progreso stadium)
Progreso vs. Raymondville, 1 p.m.
Grulla vs. Rio Hondo, 2 p.m.
Raymondville vs. Monte Alto, 3 p.m.
Progreso vs. Grulla, 4 p.m.
Rio Hondo vs. Monte Alto, 5 p.m.
Pool 2 (Progreso practice field)
Zapata vs. Edinburg IDEA Quest, 1 p.m.
Hidalgo vs. Lyford, 2 p.m.
Port Isabel vs. Edinburg IDEA Quest, 3 p.m.
Hidalgo vs. Zapata, 4 p.m.
Lyford vs. Port Isabel, 5 p.m.

Friday’s games
District 31-5A
Sharyland Pioneer at Laredo Cigarroa, 7 p.m.
Valley View at Sharyland High, 7 p.m.

Non-District
Weslaco High at Edinburg Economdes, 6 p.m.
Edinburg High at La Joya High, 6 p.m.
Brownsville Rivera at McAllen Rowe, 6:30 p.m.
Browsnville Rivera at McAllen Memorial, 7:30 p.m.
Donna North at PSJA Southwest, 7:30 p.m.
Harlingen at PSJA Memorial, 7:30 p.m.
Brownsville Pace at Edinburg Vela, 8 p.m.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Edinburg North, 8 p.m.
Mercedes at Mission High, 8 p.m.

Progreso Lady Red Ants Tournament
Pool 1 (Progreso stadium)
Raymondville vs. Grulla, 1 p.m.
Progreso vs. Rio Hondo, 2 p.m.
Monte Alto vs. Grulla, 3 p.m.
Rio Hondo vs. Raymondville, 4 p.m.
Progreso vs. Monte Alto, 5 p.m.
Pool 2 (Progreso practice field)
Hidalgo vs. Edinburg IDEA Quest, 1 p.m.
Lyford vs. Zapata, 2 p.m.
Hidalgo vs. Port Isabel, 3 p.m.
Lyford vs. Edinburg IDEA Quest, 4 p.m.
Zapata vs. Port Isabel, 5 p.m.

Saturday’s games
Progreso Lady Red Ants Tournament
Semifinals
Pool 1 winner vs. Pool 2 runner-up, 10 a.m. (stadium)
Pool 2 winner vs. Pool 1 runner-up, 10 a.m. (practice field)
Third place
Semifinal losers, 11:30 a.m. (Progreso stadium)
Championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m. (Progreso stadium)

VALLEY HS GIRLS SOCCER SCHEDULE
Monday’s games
Mission Veterarns 2, Laredo Martin 1, PKs
Valley View 3, Rio Grande City 1
Non-District
Edinburg Vela 1, Mission High 0

Tuesday’s games
Non-District
Donna North at Harlingen High, canceled
Edinburg North at Brownsville Rivera, canceled
Donna High at McAllen Rowe, canceled
McAllen Memorial at Brownsville Lopez, canceled
Brownsville Pace at Sharyland High, canceled
Mercedes at Weslaco East, canceled
La Joya High at Rio Hondo, canceled
Edinburg Vela at Mission High, canceled

Friday, Jan. 19
Non-District
Weslaco High at Edinburg Economdes, 6 p.m.
Edinburg High at La Joya High, 6 p.m.
Brownsville Rivera at McAllen Rowe, 6:30 p.m.
Donna North at PSJA Southwest, 7:30 p.m.
Harlingen High at PSJA Memorial, 7:30 p.m.
Brownsville Pace at Edinburg Vela, 8 p.m.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Edinburg North, 8 p.m.
Mercedes at Mission High, 8 p.m.
District 31-5A
Sharyland Pioneer at Laredo Cigarroa, 7 p.m.
Valley View at Sharyland High, 7 p.m.

VALLEY HS BOYS SOCCER SCHEDULE
Monday’s games
District 31-5A
Valley View 4, Rio Grande City 0
Laredo Martin 2, Mission Veterans 0

Tuesday, Jan. 16
Non-District
San Marcos Academy at Pharr Oratory, canceled
Brownsville Lopez at PSJA High, canceled
Grulla at Raymondville, canceled
Weslaco East at PSJA North, canceled
Harlingen South at Donna High, canceld
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Donna North, canceled
McAllen Memorial at Edinburg Vela, canceled
La Joya High at Edinburg North, canceled
Edinburg Vela at Mission High, canceled
Progreso at Edinburg Economdes, canceled

Jan. 18-20
Hidalgo Tournament
McAllen Rowe
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln
Los Fresnos
Hidalgo
Mercedes
Brownsville Rivera
Laredo Alexander
Monte Alto
Mission High
Grulla
McAllen High
La Joya Palmview
McAllen Memorial
Brownsville Porter
Laredo United South
Edinburg IDEA Quest

Friday, Jan. 19
Non-District
Brownsville Veterans at PSJA High, 6:30 p.m.
Edinburg North at Edcouch-Elsa, 7 p.m.
La Joya at Edinburg High, 7 p.m.
Donna High at La Feria, 7:30 p.m.
Weslaco East at Edinburg Economedes, 7:30 p.m.
PSJA North at Donna North, 7:30 p.m.
Progreso at San Benito, 7:30 p.m.
Edinburg Vela at Weslaco High, 8 p.m.
District 31-5A
Sharyland High at Valley View, 7 p.m.
Mission Veterans at Roma, 7 p.m.
Laredo Cigarroa at Sharyland Pioneer, 7 p.m.

NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR

MERCEDES — The Mercedes Tigers started slow before reverting to business as usual, as Jordan Ovalle drained late 3s to ice a 58-50 win over Donna High on Tuesday night.

Ovalle said the key for his team to thaw out and eventually heat up from the field was communication on the court.

“It felt good. My shot felt good. I just shot it, and it went in,” Ovalle said. “Everyone has a threat on everything. Caleb (Arthur) has a threat of driving in. Jay (Ayala is) a big body, so he’ll take anybody down paint. Jared (Castaneda) is 50-50, and I’m a shooter.”

That starting group for Mercedes (8-14, 3-3) sputtered early, shooting 4 of 11 in the first quarter and falling into a 15-9 hole at the end of the period.

The Tigers defense didn’t get much help with whistles, having to turn to its bench after running into early foul trouble.

Donna (8-14, 3-3) center Anthony Moreno imposed his will on the low block, making four shots in the quarter to put his team in front. Donna held the lead throughout the first half.

Moreno had 12 first-half points but only managed to score four more on one field goal in the second half.

Donna coach Manuel Epperson said the change in production was a two-sided issue, not simply due to Mercedes shutting down Donna’s big man.

“Yes and no,” Epperson said. “Yes, they did take him away. They did a good job taking away, but at the same time, we didn’t look at him, and we need to look at him. It started in that third quarter. That third quarter hurt us. We had too many turnovers, like unguarded turnovers.”

Mercedes responded to the six-point deficit with an 8-2 run that turned out to be a glimpse of the rest of the game.

The Tigers forced the aforementioned turnovers and made the visitors pay with improved shooting. Mercedes made nine field goals in the third quarter, which matched its total for the first half.

Caleb Arthur got in on the offense, adding four points in the third quarter and six in the half. The junior said that playing within the offense was a key.

“We became very successful when we were doing what we were coached to do. I think in the first half, we were getting out of what we were coached to do and weren’t executing very well,” Arthur said. “What’s special about (our offense) is everyone has their looks, but they’re also in the position to dish out the assist to the open guy.”

The players who benefited most from the unselfish play were the duo of Castaneda and Ovalle, who combined for 35 points.

“In the beginning, we weren’t all talking,” Ovalle said. “When we got our shots down, it was because we were all talking, moving the ball, getting good looks and hitting the shots.”

Donna did not go quietly. Eric Garza came alive late, scoring eight of his 15 points in the fourth quarter with timely 3-pointers to keep his team in striking range.

But Mercedes’ Ovalle hit back-to-back 3s to make the score 48-43, helping the Tigers start to pull away.

Castaneda had 13 second-half points, including 5 of 6 from the charity stripe to lock up the district victory and send the bundled-up fans into the chilly night content.

“We have all five guys that constantly score in high digits,” Mercedes coach Rick Trevino said. “The starting five, anybody can score double digits on any days. Whoever has the hot hand, or whoever’s feeling it, or whoever has the mismatch.”
While Trevino says he can count on anyone for buckets, Ovalle’s late surge was critical.

“Jordan’s a very good weapon that we have on our team. When we need to have big shots, he nails them,” Arthur said of his point guard. “Just came up big for us tonight.”

[email protected]