RGVSPORTS.COM BASEBALL TOP 10
Team Record
1. PSJA High 15-4, 5-0
2. Edinburg Vela 13-4, 3-0
3. Sharyland Pioneer 20-3, 3-1
4. Brownsville Rivera 15-5, 4-1
5. Harlingen South 13-4, 4-1
6. Rio Grande City 13-5, 4-0
7. McAllen High 16-5, 3-2
8. Sharyland High 18-3, 3-1
9. Brownsville Veterans 13-4, 4-0
10. Weslaco High 17-4, 2-1
Other teams receiving votes: La Joya Palmview (1).
VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL STANDINGS
DISTRICT 30-6A
Over Dist
Team W L W L
PSJA High 15 4 5 0
McAllen High 16 5 3 2
La Joya High 11 9 3 2
PSJA North 10 10 3 2
McAllen Rowe 11 8 2 3
Mission High 7 11 2 3
McAllen Memorial 7 12 2 3
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 1 17 0 5
DISTRICT 31-6A
Over Dist
Team W L W L
Edinburg Vela 13 4 3 0
Edinburg North 9 10 3 1
Weslaco High 17 4 2 1
Edinburg High 9 11 1 2
Weslaco East 6 9 1 2
Donna North 5 11 1 3
Edinburg Economedes 3 13 1 3
DISTRICT 32-6A
Over Dist
Team W L W L
Brownsville Rivera 15 5 4 1
Harlingen South 13 4 4 1
Harlingen High 11 11 4 1
Los Fresnos 13 8 2 3
San Benito 7 13 1 4
Brownsville Hanna 5 16 0 5
DISTRICT 31-5A
Over Dist
Team W L W L
Rio Grande City 13 5 4 0
Sharyland Pioneer 20 3 3 1
Sharyland High 18 3 3 1
La Joya Palmview 12 7 2 2
Mission Veterans 8 12 2 2
Roma 5 10 1 3
PSJA Memorial 4 13 1 3
PSJA Southwest 7 11 0 4
DISTRICT 32-5A
Over Dist
Team W L W L
Brownsville Veterans 13 4 4 0
Brownsville Lopez 11 2 3 1
Brownsville Pace 8 6 3 1
Edcouch-Elsa 7 14 2 2
Valley View 5 10 2 2
Brownsville Porter 7 11 1 3
Donna High 5 12 1 3
Mercedes 2 8 0 4
DISTRICT 32-4A
Over Dist
Team W L W L
Zapata 11 5 4 1
Hidalgo 6 9 4 1
Progreso 8 5 3 2
Grulla 7 10 3 2
Rio Hondo 8 10 2 3
La Feria 6 7 2 3
Raymondville 5 8 2 3
Port Isabel 1 13 0 5
Wednesday, Jan. 2
District 30-6A
McAllen Memorial at La Joya High, 3:30 p.m.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at McAllen Rowe, 3:30 p.m.
McAllen High at Mission High, 3:30 p.m.
PSJA North at PSJA High, 3:30 p.m.
District 32-5A
Brownsville Porter at Brownsville Lopez, 1 p.m.
Donna High at Brownsville Pace, 1 p.m.
Valley View at Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 1 p.m.
Mercedes at Edcouch-Elsa, 1 p.m.
District 32-3A
Santa Rosa at Lyford, 12:30 p.m.
Non-District
San Perlita at Corpus Christi London, 3 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 4
District 30-6A
La Joya High at McAllen High, 3:30 p.m.
Mission High at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 3:30 p.m.
McAllen Rowe at PSJA North, 3;30 p.m.
PSJA High at McAllen Memorial, 3:30 p.m.
District 31-6A
Edinburg High at Weslaco High, 6 p.m.
Weslaco East at Edinburg Economedes, 2 p.m.
Donna North at Edinburg Vela, 1 p.m.
District 31-5A
La Joya Palmview at Roma, 7:30 p.m.
Sharyland High at Mission Veterans, 7:30 p.m.
Sharyland Pioneer at PSJA Memorial, 2:30 p.m.
PSJA Southwest at Rio Grade City, 7:30 p.m.
District 32-4A
Port Isabel at Grulla, 8 p.m.
Raymondville at Rio Hondo, 8 p.m.
Hidalgo at La Feria, 6:30 p.m.
District 32-3A
Santa Rosa at Brownsville IDEA Frontier, 12:30 p.m.
Non-District
Lasara at Ben Bolt, 10 a.m.
Benavides at San Isidro, 11:30 a.m.
Lyford at San Perlita, 11:30 a.m.
Donna IDEA at La Villa, 6:30 p.m.
Brownsville St. Joseph at Brownsville Hanna, 7:30 p.m.
Brownsville Jubilee at Los Fresnos, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 5
District 32-5A
Brownsville Pace at Mercedes, 1 p.m.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial at Brownsville Porter, 1 p.m.
Brownsville Lopez at Donna High, 1 p.m.
Edcouch-Elsa at Valley View, 2:30 p.m.
Non-District
Corpus Christi Miller at Harlingen High, 2:30 p.m
VALLEY HS BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORE
Tuesday’s Game
District 31-5A
RIO GRANDE CITY 72, SHARYLAND HIGH 55
Rio Grande City 15 20 17 20 — 72
Sharyland High 3 12 16 24 — 55
RIO GRANDE CITY (72): Aaron Marroquin 11, Jaime Conrrubias 17, Raudel Solis 12, Michael Thomas 10, Bryan Jones 2, Mikey Compean 5, Dennis Trevino 4, Rudy Bazan 5, Josh Garcia 6
SHARYLAND HIGH (55): Will Patterson 2, Nazier Moore 4, Johnny Escamilla 13, Mauro Fernandez 7, Andres Abrego 8, Alex Alvarez 3, Andres Rubio 18.
#RGVHoops Boys scores, box score from Monday, 12.31.18
VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL SCORE
District 31-6A
Edinburg Economedes 60, Edinburg High 56
Non-District
San Isidro 59, Raymondville 36
Monday’s Game
District 31-6A
EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 60, EDINBURG HIGH 56
Edinburg Econ 16 17 8 19 — 60
Edinburg High 20 4 14 18 — 56
EDINBURG ECONOMEDES (60): Trini Moreno 2, Jonathan Martinez 2, Angel Salinas 17, Michael Barrientos 6, Johnathan Barrientos 15, Saul Alanis 14, Ricardo Chapa 4
EDINBURG HIGH (56): Marc Figueroa 13, Matt Cruz 2, John Carranco 2, Jorge Hernandez 5, , Antoine Woodard 31, Jerry Lopez 3.
STAFF REPORT
PSJA High appears to be in the rankings for the long haul.
The Bears made the RGVSports.com preseason top 10 and remained in the poll through Week 3, but they lost their second game in three weeks to current No. 6 San Benito and fell out of the top 10.
Since then, the Bears have roared with victories over La Joya High and PSJA North in the new iteration of District 30-6A. PSJA High extended their winning streak to three when they outlasted McAllen Memorial 49-43 in Week 7, earning their No. 4 ranking in the newest RGVSports.com top 10 poll. Week 8 marks the first time the Bears occupy a top five position in the rankings.
The eight voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, The Valley Morning Star, and The Brownsville Herald.
Edinburg Vela maintained their status as the No. 1 team in the Valley courtesy of their 17-7 road win at previously undefeated Weslaco High. The Panthers moved down from No. 4 to No. 5 this week.
Brownsville Hanna shut out Brownsville Rivera to reclaim the No. 2 position while Mission Veterans’ blowout of Donna High moved them to 5-0 in District 16-5A Division I. The Patriots placed third in the newest top 10.
No. 7 Mission High held on late to avoid the upset by La Joya Juarez-Lincoln. Brownsville Veterans and Rio Hondo, who were both enjoying their bye during Week 7, checked in at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.
Weslaco East, who was the preseason No. 8 team in the Valley, reenters the rankings for the first time since Week 1 at No. 10.
The following are the teams in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through 1 point for a 10th-place vote. The eight voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, and Brownsville Herald.
Team Record Points Previous
Other teams receiving votes: Brownsville Pace (11); La Joya High (9); McAllen Memorial (3); Los Fresnos (2).
STAFF REPORT
The Roma Gladiators were on the brink of dropping their second road district game of the season, but junior quarterback Jonathan Rios wouldn’t let it happen.
Down 10-3 with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Rios found Esteban Barrera for a touchdown pass that helped tie the game and force overtime. In the extra period, the Gladiators (2-5, 1-2) stuffed Laredo Cigarroa on defense and then won the game on a rushing touchdown by Roel Villarreal. Roma scooted past the Toros 17-10 at Shirley Field in Laredo.
“Our defense played lights out and our offense came through when we needed them to come through,” Roma coach Frank Villanueva said.
The Gladiators win on Thursday marked the second time Roma traveled west and downed the Toros in two seasons. Like 2017, Roma’s win over Laredo Cigarroa was their first in district competition.
“I’m just glad we got our first win (in district play),” Villanueva said. “It doesn’t really matter who we played to get it, but it felt good. The kids deserved it. They worked their butts off. The coaching staff deserves it. We all deserve it. Hopefully, this win will roll us into our bye week and into our next game against Edcouch-Elsa.”
EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 42, DONNA NORTH 0: At Edinburg, Econ senior quarterback Albert Guerra got rolling early, and Jeremy Fernandez was a good target for him to lift the Jaguars (4-3, 1-2) to their first District 31-6A victory of the season, beating the Chiefs (0-7, 0-3) on Thursday at Richard R. Flores Stadium.
Guerra and Fernandez connected on the Jaguars first score from 22 yards out. Then Guerra found Fernandez for a huge 62-yard pass to set up the Jags’ third score, a 1-yard run from Guerra.
Jonathan Martinez scored to put the Jaguars up 14-0 earlier in the first quarter.
After half, Marco Plata scooped up a fumble at midfield and took it to the house to kill North’s momentum and build the lead to four scores, effectively icing the game.
The Jags tacked on a few short-yardage rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
STAFF REPORT
Rio Hondo was ranked in the personal top 10’s by seven of AIM Media’s eight high school football writers following their 6-0 start to the regular season. The distinction vaulted the Bobcats into the newest RGVSports.com poll for the first time this season, tied for ninth place. Rio Hondo is also the first sub-5A football team to crack the top 10 this season.
The Bobcats have been one of the most consistent Valley programs over the last decade under coach Rocky James. James has led Rio Hondo to nine playoff appearances and three district titles in 10 seasons. They are on a path toward district title No. 4.
Last week’s game at previously undefeated La Feria was Rio Hondo’s toughest test of the season. Senior quarterback Josiah Ortega does more than drive the bus for the Bobcat offense. Ortega entered the La Feria game with 1,653 passing yards and 20 touchdown passes under his belt, but the Lion defense clamped down on the senior.
Ortega managed 206 yards passing, threw a season-high two interceptions and the Bobcats managed to win 14-7 thanks to a tightened defense and a Danny Vasquez rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Ortega maintained the mantle as one of the best quarterbacks at any classification across the region. His 1,859 passing yards are tops among signal-callers in Region IV and 20 touchdowns are still good for second in the region.
The eight voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, The Valley Morning Star, and The Brownsville Herald.
The latest poll also saw the unclogging of the top four spots, who all happened to be on their bye weeks simultaneously. Weslaco High was bumped from No. 3 to No. 4. Brownsville Hanna, whose win over Amarillo Tascosa on Sept. 29 moved them to No. 2, assumed the third spot heading into Week 7. Mission Veterans will travel to Donna High, who also enjoyed a bye, this week as the Valley’s No. 2 team. No. 1 Edinburg Vela received all eight first-place votes. The SaberCats will go on the road to face the fourth-ranked Panthers at Bobby Lackey Stadium this Friday.
McAllen Memorial’s fourth quarter collapse against La Joya High dropped them clear out of the rankings. The Mustangs have been in each top 10 poll up to this point. San Benito assumed the No. 5 spot. No. 6 PSJA High kept the good times rolling in a 10-7 win against PSJA North last week. Brownsville Veterans throttled Brownsville Porter and moved up to No. 7. Mission High hopped up a space to No. 8 after beating McAllen High 37-0. The Los Fresnos Falcons share the No. 9 slot with Rio Hondo.
The following are the teams in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through 1 point for a 10th-place vote. The eight voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, and Brownsville Herald.
Team Record Points Previous
1. Edinburg Vela (8) 5-0 80 1
2. Mission Veterans 4-1 62 3
3. Brownsville Hanna 3-1 61 2
4. Weslaco High 5-0 42 3
5. San Benito 2-3 34 8
6. PSJA High 3-2 27 7
7. Brownsville Veterans 5-1 25 10
8. Mission High 4-1 24 9
T-9. Los Fresnos 2-3 20 6
T-9. Rio Hondo 6-0 20 NR
Other teams receiving votes: Weslaco East (18); McAllen Memorial (11); La Joya High (8); Valley View (5); Brownsville Pace (3).
By JESUS SANCHEZ | Staff Writer
Down 28-0 during the third quarter, the St. Joseph Bloodhounds mounted a small comeback, scoring twice after making adjustments.
In the end, though, the Hidalgo Pirates held on to win 28-13.
“ We came to play,” Hidalgo coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “We’re a young team and I know St. Joe is a young team, but they played hard, they got after it. We came out first half and moved the ball.
“ In the second half, we had one good drive then we kind of spiraled off a little bit, and then we fumbled. (However,) I was really proud with their effort.”
St. Joseph (1-5) took a chance when it swapped usual starting quarterback Tomas Edge with freshman Luigi Cristiano, and it almost paid off.
Bloodhounds coach Tino Villarreal said at halftime, the team was told to get things going in the second half.
“ We needed a little spark,” Villarreal said. “We got after that in the second half. I think that moving the ball offensively lifts everybody’s energy and spirits. Our defense has always been good and we’re confident behind. … It’s tough when you’re out there a lot, but in the second half we were able to get some first downs and move the chains, and I think that makes a big difference.”
On his first drive, Cristiano led the ’Hounds 66 yards, eventually finding the end zone on a 12-yard pass to Pablo Zolezzi. Cristiano struck once more with a 96-yard drive and another pass to Zolezzi, this time for 9 yards, in the end zone to add six more points for St. Joseph.
“ He came in and, sometimes, when you put someone in that isn’t ready to go in, it’s a coin toss on how they’re going to do,” Villarreal said. “Tonight, we were just fortunate that he was able to light the spark that we needed to get us motivated, to put us in the game, and it brought a little bit of excitement.”
The freshman quarterback said he did what he was told, which allowed the team to move the ball more during the second half. Cristiano finished the game with 129 passing yards and one interception.
“ It was a great team effort after a bad first half,” he said. “We came back and played a really good second half, just like we were asked to.”
Despite the small rally, the Pirates (2-4) executed defensively and offensively and, ultimately, stopped the ’Hounds in their tracks.
The Pirates hit paydirt first after a 20-yard pass from Angel Lopez to Kyle Perales during the first quarter. Lopez added a 1-yard quarterback keeper two drives later.
“ I thought we ran the ball well, and I thought we threw and caught the ball well,” Stumbaugh said. “We made some nice throws and some nice catches. Angel had a good game throwing and we were able to complete some big passes on third downs, so that was huge.”
The Pirates were not done, either.
With 14 seconds left in the half, Hidalgo’s Zachary Carrera ran in from 6 yards out to increase the visiting team’s lead to 19-0. A pass from Lopez to Jose Figueroa made it 21-0 at halftime.
“ It was a pretty good (win),” Carrera said. “It’s been a long time since Hidalgo has won. We’re hoping to take another (win) at Zapata for the Pirates.”
Hidalgo added the final dagger after a 6-yard rush by Figueroa with 4:23 left in the third.
St. Joseph will have two weeks to regroup before it turns its focus to the Corpus Christi John Paul II Centurions in its first district game of the season. Hidalgo will battle Zapata next week in its first district bout.
RGVSports.com
When UIL realignment was finalized across the state of Texas eight months ago, several six-team Class 6A districts were in a scheduling quandary. Districts 2-6A and 32-6A needed an extra game to carry them into district competition, so five teams from each met on the football field during Week 5.
Out of the five matchups against teams from the Odessa, Lubbock, Midland and Amarillo areas, Brownsville Hanna was the only Valley squad to win a game. The Golden Eagles faced a much bigger and athletic opponent in Amarillo Tascosa, but they defeated the Rebels convincingly 35-19 Saturday in San Antonio.
The Golden Eagles went 3-1 during their difficult non-district slate, nabbing wins over No. 5 McAllen Memorial, District 16-5A DII favorite Sharyland High and Amarillo Tascosa while losing to No. 1 Edinburg Vela in Week 2. Brownsville Hanna’s Week 3 game against Weslaco East was canceled due to the threat of heavy rain. The Wildcats received nine votes this week after their blowout of Donna North.
As the Golden Eagles rise to No. 2, Mission Veterans drops down to a tie for third following their fourth district win in four games.
The eight voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, The Valley Morning Star, and The Brownsville Herald.
Weslaco High moved up to No. 3 with Mission Veterans after taking care of Edinburg Economedes. The 4-0 Panthers are off this week before hosting the top-ranked SaberCats in Week 7.
McAllen Memorial’s last-minute comeback over Mission High helped the Mustangs jump three spots to No. 5. Coincidentally, the Eagles fell from No. 6 last week to No. 9 this week.
Los Fresnos checked in at No. 6 despite losing its 2-6A matchup with Odessa Permian 56-0. Odessa Permian, of course, is one of the most established football programs in the state.
Thanks in part to the strong right arm of senior quarterback Trey Guajardo and his seven touchdown passes in Week 5, PSJA High vaults into the rankings at No. 7. The Bears’ victory over La Joya High bounced the Coyotes out of the top 10.
Like Los Fresnos, San Benito was shut out by a 2-6A school in their final non-district test of the regular season. The Greyhounds have the No. 8 slot.
Replacing the Coyotes, who were the 10th-ranked team in the Valley last week, is Brownsville Veterans. The Chargers are still considered the top challenger to Mission Veterans in District 16-5A DI despite suffering a head-to-head loss to the Patriots in Week 3.
The following are the teams in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through 1 point for a 10th-place vote. The eight voters are the writers and editors who cover RGV high school football for AIM Media’s three newspapers: The Monitor, Valley Morning Star, and Brownsville Herald.
Team Record Points Previous
1. Edinburg Vela (7) 5-0 79 1
2. Brownsville Hanna (1) 3-1 60 3
T-3. Mission Veterans 4-1 56 2
T-3. Weslaco High 4-0 56 4
5. McAllen Memorial 2-2 41 8
6. Los Fresnos 2-3 27 7
7. PSJA High 2-2 23 NR
8. San Benito 2-3 22 5
9. Mission High 3-1 21 6
10. Brownsville Veterans 4-1 19 NR
Other teams receiving votes: Edinburg High (14); Weslaco East (9); Rio Hondo (5); McAllen Rowe (3); La Feria (2); Valley View (2); Brownsville Pace (1).
RGVSPORTS.COM
Edinburg Vela got the offensive machine rolling at a high pace, and despite a lightning delay of more than an hour, the SaberCats (5-0, 1-0) made short work of the Edinburg North Cougars (0-5, 0-1), winning 56-7 on Friday night at Richard R. Flores Stadium.
“I think (sophomore quarterback) AJ (Sotelo) had a really good game,” Vela coach John Campbell said. “We weren’t sure how (North) were going to play us. They basically came out and gave us some throws, and didn’t make the run look too attractive. I though AJ did a really good job of getting the perimeter screen game going, and then we were able to hit some big passes downfield, as well.”
Sotelo had four passing TDs on the evening, and Vela went up 35-0 before halftime. Vela’s passing attack opened up the ground game, and senior running back Christian Flores scored twice, while senior running back Aaron Alvarez and sophomore running back Kevin McKinney each scored once.
Vela was pleased to hold the Cougars to seven points on the evening.
“The defense did a good job getting off the field,” Campbell said. “We were able to get some stops and get the ball back. That is what got our offense good field position early, and we took off from there.”
DISTRICT 30-6A
PSJA NORTH 34, LA JOYA JUAREZ-LINCOLN 29: At La Joya, PSJA North coach Marcus Kaufmann said he was too frustrated and upset at his team’s giveaways to pay attention most of the night. At least when the final horn sounded, the result was a tick in the win column.
“We had five turnovers. It was a comedy of errors,” Kaufmann said. “The kids were about as resilient a group as you can possibly imagine. We ended up winning a ballgame that we had no business being in because of all the turnovers.”
After the Raiders jumped out to a two-touchdown lead, the Huskies stormed back to life. Albert Martinez scored a rushing touchdown, while Kenneth Hernandez scooped and scored to give Juarez-Lincoln a 14-13 lead. With a safety and another touchdown, Juarez-Lincoln pushed that lead to 22-13.
PSJA North receiver Arturo Beltran had three touchdowns, while Jonathan Garza had another on a speed sweep pass. Along with those touchdown passes, Iziaah Rangel also was tasked with running out the clock and playing keep away once the team earned the lead back.
“Iziaah pretty much controlled the game. As the game started getting toward the end, we just started running Iziaah. We tried to end it and get out of there. It was one of those types of games”
Ryan Reyna had an interception return for a touchdown.
DISTRICT 16-5A DI
MISSION VETERANS 55, BROWNSVILLE PORTER 37: At Mission, the final score doesn’t quite tell the whole story for Mission Veterans (4-1, 3-1).
The Patriots offense returned closer to form, despite missing wideout Mikey Garcia and two offensive linemen in Friday’s game. Quarterback Landry Gilpin threw four touchdown passes, two of which landed in the hands of sophomore A.J. Gonzaque, while also running for two more on the ground.
Mission Veterans led Brownsville Porter (1-4, 0-4) 55-13 at halftime and rested all of its starters in the second half.
DISTRICT 16-5A DII
SHARYLAND HIGH 42, LAREDO CIGARROA 13: At Mission, the Rattlers returned home to Richard Thompson Stadium and got back into the winnning column.
Sharyland High quarterbacks Edgar Longoria and Oscar Valdez were effective on Friday night. Longoria threw two touchdown passes and ran for one, while Valdez connected on a touchdown throw to Joe Gomez.
In the Rattlers backfield, Danny Escalera and Fernie Cardenas had one touchdown run apiece against the 0-5 Toros.
VALLEY VIEW 38, ROMA 7: At Hidalgo, the start of district play didn’t stop the Tigers’ thorough thumping of opponents.
The Valley View defense swarmed Roma, allowing only 145 yards of offense, recovering four fumbles and an interception. The Tigers also blocked two Gladiators punts on special teams.
The Tigers are 5-0 for the first time in program history. They can equal their best win total in a season ever if they are able to defeat Edcouch-Elsa next week.
NON-DISRTICT
HIDALGO 10, PROGRESO 7: At Hidalgo, the Pirates (1-4) found a way to win.
“(Progreso) had the ball in good field position (in the fourth quarter),” Hidalgo coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “Our defense closed up and stopped them, and we were able to run out the clock. Very proud. We are getting there. Slowly but surely, we are getting there. The main thing for us is we are happy with those kids. They have been working our tails off, and they still believe in us, and we found a way to win.”
Junior Jose Figueroa hit a field goal in the second quarter, and the Pirates took a 3-0 lead to the locker room at halftime.
In the third, junior quarterback Angel Lopez connected with junior receiver Gus Sanchez on a touchdown pass to put the Pirates up 10-0.
The Red Ants (2-3) got on the board with a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Hidalgo’s defense held, and Progreso was short on a 40-plus yard field goal attempt at the end.