The high school football season always seems to go by fast, and believe it or not, the halfway point of the regular season has already arrived.

Week 6 of the season begins at 7 p.m. Thursday for Metro-area teams as Brownsville Veterans Memorial (4-0, 1-0 district) takes on Rivera (0-4, 0-1) in a District 32-6A contest at Sams Memorial Stadium.

District 32-6A action continues for Metro-area ballclubs at 7:30 p.m. Friday as San Benito (3-1, 1-0) visits Los Fresnos (4-0, 1-0) for The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week, and Lopez (0-3, 0-1) plays at Harlingen South (0-3, 0-1).

District 32-5A games for local teams at 7:30 p.m. Friday find Edcouch-Elsa (3-1, 1-0) at Sams taking on Porter (3-1, 1-0) and Pace (0-3, 0-1) at Donna High (2-2, 1-0).

On Saturday at 7 p.m., Hanna (2-2, 0-1) plays host to Harlingen High (3-1, 1-0) at Sams for a 32-6A game.

Metro-area teams with open dates this week are Port Isabel (3-1) and St. Joseph Academy (4-1).

Having reached the midpoint of the regular season, here are five observations regarding what has stood out so far locally:

1. A BETTER SHOWING

Yes, Rivera, Lopez and Pace are still looking for their first wins, but considering how well the majority of Metro-area ballclubs are doing, it appears to be a pretty good year overall for football in the Brownsville area, possibly one of the best showings, at least to this point, in recent memory. Aside from the Raiders, Lobos and Vikings, Hanna has an even mark at 2-2, while everyone else is above .500 with district play just beginning.

Leading the way in the area are Brownsville Veterans and Los Fresnos, each with a 4-0 overall record.

The Chargers are coming off last week’s 35-28 down-to-the-wire victory over Harlingen South in their 32-6A opener.

“I’ve learned that as long as there’s time on the clock, our team believes it has a chance to win,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “We’ve been behind in three of our four games and we were tied late in the other, but we’ve found a way to win. This ability to deal with adversity hopefully will serve us well as we approach many challenging district opponents.”

Los Fresnos coach Clint Finley has learned some things about his team as well at this point of the season.

“Every team is different, and this team is very different than what I am used to,” Finley said. “So far, our guys have worked very hard and fought through adversity very well. We have one heck of a district that will force us to continue with both of those themes. We have to continue to improve every week or you get left behind.”

2. YEAR OF THE QUARTERBACK

The Metro area appears to be blessed with several standout QBs this season. They’re putting the ball in the air, and also running it, with success.

Among them are Hanna’s Andy Lopez, Los Fresnos’ Rene Ortega, Brownsville Veterans’ Marcus Castillo and SJA’s Kai Money.

Lopez and Ortega are close together as the leading passers in 32-6A. Lopez, a three-year starter for the Golden Eagles, has completed 53 of 103 aerial attempts for 863 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions to rank first in district yardage-wise.

“We’re fortunate to have Andy as our quarterback,” Hanna coach Rene Medrano said. “He’s quite a leader for us. I think other teams have to prepare differently for us because of him. He’s up to it, and he’s done a great job.

“How successful we are (as a team) depends quite a bit on how successful he is, and he realizes that,” Medrano added. “And if you ask Andy, it’s all about the team’s success, not his own success. We’re just glad to have him.”

Ortega has completed 59 of 96 passes for 859 yards with 13 TDs and three interceptions. He also has rushed for 264 yards and three scores while averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

Castillo and Money are quite the double threats as signal callers.

Castillo leads 32-6A in rushing with 760 yards and 10 TDs, and he has passed for 559 yards and nine scores. He averages 8.8 yards per rush.

Money has rushed for 681 yards and 11 TDs, and passed for 661 yards with 13 TDs and no interceptions. Money, a sophomore, has rushed for 100 or more yards in three games and averages 10.0 yards per carry.

3. PORTER ON THE RISE

One of the Metro-area’s feel-good stories during the opening half of the season has been the improvement of the Porter Cowboys, who would seem to have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The only other time Porter qualified for the playoffs in football was 2003.

The Cowboys began their 32-5A schedule last week with a 52-44 four-overtime triumph on the road against Donna North.

“At the beginning of the season, I think you could say we had experience, and now we have maturity,” said Tom Campos, the Cowboys’ third-year coach. “We’ve had adverse things happen, obviously the four-overtime game (is one of them), and we’ve overcome them.

“Last year and the year before, we weren’t that type of team,” he added. “(Back then) if we got a 10-yard holding penalty on a first down, we’d probably have gone three and out and punted. Now we have the resiliency that when things go wrong, we’re going to rebound.”

When the Cowboys defeated Lopez 21-16 on Sept. 5 at Sams in the annual “Battle of Southmost” game, Lobos coach Jason Starkey said he was impressed with the job Campos is doing at Porter.

“I give a lot of credit to Coach Campos,” Starkey said. “I think he’s done an extraordinary job of turning around a (football) program that is in a similar situation as ours. We’re both in soccer communities where football is not the mainstream (sport). I tip my hat to him and his staff for overcoming the challenges that we both face, and really changing the (athletic) culture back to where Porter used to be. I’m trying to do the same thing at Lopez.”

The Porter players are buying into their coaching staff’s ideals for what the football team can become.

“Winning a four-overtime game opened our eyes that we can be the team to do it,” said Cowboys running back Jorge Gutierrez, who leads 32-5A in rushing and scoring with 865 yards and 12 TDs. “Offense and defense, we certainly have more confidence overall. I’ve always known this team has a lot of potential. It just takes working hard for it to blossom out, and that’s what we’re seeing now.”

4. BLOODHOUNDS FOR REAL

Through five contests, SJA is averaging 56 points per game. Considering the fast-paced, wide-open offense the Bloodhounds run, it was always somewhat expected they’d score points, maybe not that many. Now SJA’s defense is starting to come around, too, as it was an important factor in the Bloodhounds’ 42-27 victory against Port Isabel last week.

The Bloodhounds, winners of four games in a row, focused on containing the Tarpons’ ground game and they came up with two fourth-down stops and almost made a third.

“It’s huge (the way the defense has been playing),” SJA coach Tino Villarreal said. “We’re chasing the football (more) and showing some aggressive play. Those two (fourth-down) stops set the tone for the game.

“We’re a plus-24 in takeaways, and it’s been a spark to our team,” Villarreal added. “The way the defense has been playing, it’ll make a world of difference (once TAPPS district play begins next week).”

The Bloodhounds open TAPPS competition at San Antonio Christian on Oct. 9.

5. P.I. IS STILL P.I.

Although Port Isabel suffered its first loss of the season in last Friday’s non-district game at SJA, the Tarpons would appear to remain on course for a playoff spot in District 16-4A Division II once district play starts for them at home Oct. 9 against Progreso.

The Tarpons are still the Tarpons, and that’s actually a good and a bad thing, it would seem at this point. With Omar Silva becoming the preferred starter at QB, the Port Isabel offense appears to be solidifying and revolving around the mobile junior, who is a threat to run as well as throw the ball.

The negative aspect to the things on offense involving the Tarpons is they continue, as in recent seasons, to find ways to beat themselves with too many penalties and turnovers. There were double-digit procedure penalties in the game against SJA, which certainly didn’t help their chances.

“St. Joe deserved to win that game because they outplayed us,” Tarpons coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “They didn’t turn the ball over and they didn’t jump offsides like we did. It comes down to doing what you’re taught to do. Mistakes catch up with you, and we need to fix those things before district starts.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Los Fresnos and Brownsville Veterans Memorial are familiar foes as far as district volleyball matchups are concerned. They emerged from highly competitive district races as co-champions during each of the past two seasons.

Tuesday’s District 32-6A match at Brownsville Veterans was no different as each team came into the contest with a 5-0 record and was looking to remain atop the district standings.

The Lady Falcons, ranked No. 2 in the Rio Grande Valley, are the ones who stayed unbeaten in district thanks to a 25-21, 25-17, 20-25, 25-15 triumph over the No. 6 Lady Chargers.

Los Fresnos (29-8, 6-0 district) faces another important challenge at home against No. 9 Hanna (21-11, 5-1) at noon Saturday as the first round of district play comes to a close. Hanna won at home against Rivera on Tuesday in a match that went to five games to set up Saturday’s showdown.

Tuesday marked the first time this season that Los Fresnos was taken to more than three games in district action.

“ (Brownsville) Veterans came out ready to play, and we came out to play,” Lady Falcons coach Becky Woods said. “It was just a matter of whoever was going to be in the right place on the floor at the right time to win this one.

“It wasn’t an easy win,” she added. This was the first time anyone has taken us to four games. I told our girls, ‘We’re going to see what we’re made of, because down the road there’s going to be a lot more matches that go to four games (and possibly beyond).’”

Joseline Caraveo led Los Fresnos with 20 kills, and teammates Sam Ibarra and Jackie Kingsbury each had 11. Ibara, Caraveo and Kingsbury finished with 11, eight and seven blocks, respectively. Giselle Ibarra added six kills and five blocks.

Also for the Lady Falcons, Miranda Gonzales had 32 assists and Kingsbury added. 11. Concerning digs, Isis Delgado, Liz Ramirez and Giselle Ibarra had 24, 21 and 15, respectively.

For the Lady Chargers (22-11, 5-1), Sarah Sandoval had 13 digs and eight kills, and Cassie Valdez had 32 assists and 16 digs. Ashley Tumlinson contributed seven kills, and Krista Lopez added 17 digs.

“I felt that Los Fresnos’ blocking really helped them, and our blocking was a little bit off,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said. “We seemed a little timid at the net. I just told the girls that against a team like Los Fresnos (in district), and (later) in the playoffs, every one of us has to be on, and some of the girls weren’t on tonight. I don’t know exactly what it was.

“I think once we get everybody on for a match like this one, we’ll do better,” Mares added. “There’s still another round of district, so we’ll see Los Fresnos again. We just have to work on the consistency of everybody being on for future matches.”

Brownsville Veterans next plays at Lopez at 3 p.m. Saturday to end the first round of district.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The Porter Cowgirls are enjoying one of their best volleyball seasons in recent memory and have set their sights on the District 32-5A title and making the playoffs.

Those are lofty goals considering 1999 is believed to be the last time the Cowgirls qualified for the postseason in the sport.

Still, the team’s confidence has been growing and its skills improving under the guidance of third-year coach Laura Fortner. The Cowgirls came within one match victory of reaching the playoffs last year, so realizing that objective has become a primary focus for the squad in 2015.

“I can’t say it enough that (raising) the confidence level is what has helped us the most,” said Fortner, a former standout player at Hanna as a libero who went on to play at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College and at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. “Our girls have always had the potential, they just didn’t have the confidence.”

Three seniors are the heart of this year’s team. They are 5-foot-10 middle blocker Karla Sosa, 5-4 setter Marquel Rivera and 4-10 1/2 libero Karen Garcia.

“I feel that each of them has her own pressure being the heart of the team,” Fortner said. “But I feel they each carry it pretty well. They stay composed. The girls know (what they need to do to help the team).

“All of our girls, not just these three, are natural athletes,” added Fortner, who is assisted by Vanessa Mata. “We had to fine-tune their (athletic) instincts to volleyball because they’re all softball players. We had to get them to the point where they loved volleyball and would really push themselves to dive on the floor (to make a dig) or to hit the ball with everything they could. First and foremost, it was a matter of instilling a love for the game.”

The Cowgirls (10-16, 3-2 district) will try to bounce back from Saturday’s loss at Donna High when they play host to PSJA High at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“Potential-wise, I believe this team has got it,” said Sosa, a three-year starter. “We have a lot of room to grow, but everyone on this team has it in them (to do well). I see us going to the playoffs.

“I have a lot of pride (competing as an athlete) for Porter,” added Sosa, who also plays softball and basketball. “I’m proud to say that I go to Porter and that I play for Porter. Every day when I put on my jersey for a game or I’m dressed for practice, I’m proud to be here.”

Garcia is also certain the Cowgirls have what it takes to reach the postseason this year.

“We’ve been working hard every day for it, and I feel like we will make the playoffs,” said Garcia, a two year starter who has been on the varsity since she was a sophomore. “This is our season. We can do it.

“We’ve pulled ourselves together after everything that has happened (involving the program’s lack of success),” Garcia added. “We’ve found a way to make it all work. Working together and having teamwork has helped us a lot.

“It would be pretty amazing to make the playoffs and make some history for the school because it’s been a while since Porter has done it. It’d be an amazing feeling to end my senior year (of volleyball) like that.”

Rivera, now in her fourth season on the varsity, has seen the Cowgirls come a long way.

“From my freshman year to now, we’ve improved a lot,” she said. “I’ve played volleyball with a lot of these girls since middle school, so having a group of seniors like we have this year gives us a chance to do extremely well. We’re a good hitting team, and we pick up anything we can. I believe in my team, and I feel that it’s going to be a really good year. I think we really are reaching our full potential.

“We have camaraderie,” added Rivera, a three-year starter. “We come together on the court and play as one. I think that’s my favorite thing about this team. Playoffs is the main goal of this team, and it has been since our sophomore year.

“I pray we have an injury-free season and that we can all make it to the end and come out with what we’ve been wanting — the district title, playoffs or both.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS — One down, two to go for the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons.

The Lady Falcons are in the midst of an important three-match stretch. They’re going against the top teams close to them in the District 32-6A volleyball standings.

Saturday marked the first of those three matches, and it went well for the Los Fresnos girls at home as they remained unbeaten in 32-6A with a 25-9, 25-11, 25-13 triumph over Rivera.

The Lady Falcons (28-8, 5-0 district), ranked No. 2 in the Rio Grande Valley, next play at No. 6 Brownsville Veterans Memorial (22-10, 5-0) on Tuesday and then play host to No. 9 Hanna (20-11, 4-1) on Saturday. Even with Saturday’s loss, Rivera (16-17, 3-2) remains among the top four teams in the 32-6A standings.

Although it was close early in each game, the Lady Falcons never really appeared to be threatened by the Lady Raiders during Saturday’s contest.

“We need to take care of business every match,” Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods said. “This is our crucial district stretch right here. There are two matches to go for us before the end of the first round, and they’re against Veterans and Hanna. We’ve definitely got to come out and take care of business.

“That’s why I let my starters stay in there and keep playing today,” Woods added. “We’ve got to be ready Tuesday and then again on Saturday. The more hits they can get, the better off we’re going to be.”

The Lady Falcons thrived behind their height advantage at the net and their steady play in the back row.

Joseline Caraveo led the way for Los Fresnos with 10 kills. She also had four blocks. Jackie Kingsbury and Sam Ibarra added eight and seven kills, respectively. Also, Ibarra had six blocks and Kingsbury had five blocks along with six assists and six digs. Also for Los Fresnos, Miranda Gonzales recorded 25 assists and Isis Delgado had 11 digs.

For the Lady Raiders, Michelle Morales finished with nine kills, and Jenny Cardenas had 10 digs. Also for Rivera, Kourtney Shears contributed six assists and four digs.

Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said Los Fresnos poses a difficult enough matchup for any team, and not playing up to par against the Lady Falcons on Saturday really made things tough.

“Los Fresnos played really well, and our passing was off,” Avelar-Guerra said. “I don’t know why. It was just one of those days. We were trying to run plays around them, but when you’re having trouble passing, you can’t run the plays. When we made the pass, the play worked. We just didn’t have enough passes go to where we needed them to be.

“Yes, Los Fresnos is a good team,” she added. “They’re big, they can hit and they’re powerful. Our girls did OK, but they didn’t play as well as they should have played. If you don’t make a good pass, it’s hard to get a set and a good hit, and that was our problem today. We’ve got to keep working at it and we’ll get better.”

It figures to be another challenging match for the Lady Raiders on Tuesday as they play at Hanna.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Friday’s game certainly was one to remember for the St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds.

The Bloodhounds built a 21-0 lead during the first half and managed to stay ahead of a determined Port Isabel squad the rest of the way in beating the Tarpons 42-27 during the final non-district game of the season for both teams at Canales Field.

It is believed to be SJA’s first win against Port Isabel since a 28-26 triumph in 1977.

The Bloodhounds led at halftime against the Tarpons in 2012 and 2014 but wound up losing.

“This is a big game. We’ve been there before (in the lead against Port Isabel),” SJA coach Tino Villarreal said. “But (previously) we haven’t been able to close out the game (and win). Tonight our boys showed they have a lot of heart, and they want to change the tradition here at the school back to the way it used to be.

“This was just a very big win for us with a lot of emotion,” added Villarreal, whose ballclub won its fourth straight game and improved to 4-1 on the season. “Our defense sure showed it with the way our guys were playing. Our offensive line also deserves a lot of credit for the way they were blocking. It was just a great victory for us.”

SJA led 14-0 after one quarter and 21-7 at intermission after being up 21-0. The Bloodhounds took a 28-13 advantage into the final period.

Sophomore quarterback Kai Money sparked the SJA offense, tallying touchdowns on runs of 4, 3 and 43 yards and throwing scoring passes of 3 yards to Dave Lapeyre and 39 yards to Bernie de la Garza. Money rushed for 144 yards and passed for 111 yards.

Also for SJA, sophomore running back Anthony Cantu burst up the middle and sprinted 45 yards to the end zone midway through the fourth period to make it 35-19.

Quarterback Omar Silva was a standout for the Tarpons (3-1). He rushed for fourth-quarter TDs on runs of 4 and 2 yards. Earlier, he threw TD passes of 7 yards to Jonathan Garza and 52 yards to Anthony de la Garza. Silva rushed for 95 yards and passed for 131 yards.

SJA marched 65 yards in 10 plays to score on its opening possession for a 7-0 lead, thanks to Money’s 4-yard run, and then recovered an onside kick to set up its second TD. An 11-play drive that covered 48 yards following the onside kick recovery resulted in a 14-0 advantage for the Bloodhounds on Money’s 3-yard scoring run with 7:05 showing in the first quarter.

“We’ve been practicing that onside kick all week long,” Villarreal said. “We knew they were going to give it to us. It was just a matter of execution, and that was our theme for tonight — can we execute when it matters the most?

“That (onside kick) was definitely a crucial play of the game that gave us the ball back and allowed us to go ahead by an even bigger margin,” Villarreal added. “You have to be up against the Tarpons if you want to have a shot at beating them. They’re not an easy team to sneak up on.”

The Tarpons had 12 procedure penalties that cost them 5 yards each time, and they fumbled the ball away once. Altogether, Port Isabel was flagged 14 times for 90 yards.

“You can’t make those kinds of mistakes against a good football team (and expect to win),” Tarpons coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “We told our guys that even (starting) last Saturday. St. Joe has a lot of speed, they’re explosive on offense and they proved me right.

“We weren’t lacking in effort, but we just made way too many mistakes,” Stumbaugh added. “You can’t do that against a good team. We fought back and had our chance to cut it to one score (late in the game), but we gave up another score (to make it 42-27) and that helped them win. The bottom line is they played better than we did tonight.”

Both teams are open next week.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

When the Pace Lady Vikings play the Porter Cowgirls in volleyball, there’s an added significance involved.

Not only are the teams crosstown rivals and Brownsville’s only schools in District 32-5A, the coaches of the two squads are longtime acquaintances as Pace’s Gavin Rudder once coached Porter’s Laura (Rodriguez) Fortner in college. He coached her at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College in 2006 and at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2007.

“(When Pace plays Porter) it’s always the match I look forward to because we know each other so well and we know each other’s game plans,” said Rudder, now in his third season as the Lady Vikings’ coach. “We have the same mentality and ideas on how to play and approach each game.”

The student prevailed over the mentor Tuesday when the teams met for a 32-5A match at Porter. The Cowgirls (10-15, 3-1 district) won 25-17, 26-24, 25-14 over the Lady Vikings (6-11, 1-3).

“I played for Gavin, and he’s an awesome coach,” said Fortner, who is in her third year coaching the Cowgirls. “You can see the things he’s done with the Pace program. A lot of the things that we teach our girls are very similar. I want to say our coaching styles are very similar. I learned from him and my other (college) coach (Bruce Atkinson), so it’s just a little funny to see us play each other because we teach our girls the same basics, the same fundamentals and our defenses are set up the same. It’s great to see the outcome of these matches between us.

“This win was actually very important to me, because the next time we play Pace will be the same night I receive my master’s degree (on Oct. 17) and I won’t be able to be at the match,” added Fortner, a former standout player at Hanna. “If we hadn’t gotten this win, I might have had to consider not going (to graduation) so I could be at that match (at Pace). It’ll be interesting the next time we play them.”

District 32-5A action continues at 2 p.m. Saturday as Pace is at home against Donna North and Porter travels to Donna High. Edcouch-Elsa is the district leader at 4-0.

CHALLENGE AHEAD: The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons are entering a crucial stretch of their District 32-6A schedule starting Saturday at noon as they play host to Rivera (16-16, 3-1). After that, the Lady Falcons (27-8, 4-0) will play at Brownsville Veterans Memorial (21-10, 4-0) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and then return home against Hanna (19-11, 3-1) at noon on Oct. 3.

Los Fresnos and those other three teams occupy the top four spots in the 32-6A standings. The past two seasons, Los Fresnos and Brownsville Veterans have shared the district title.

“Yes, these next three matches are going to be a good test for us,” Lady Falcons coach Becky Woods said. “I’m looking at them as being very competitive. We need to continue to play the game at a high level and rise to the occasion.”

IN THE MIX: The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons have won three straight matches in District 32-4A for a 3-1 record after losing their conference opener at Zapata.

The Lady Tarpons are coming off Tuesday’s 25-18, 28-26, 25-15 win at home against Grulla.

Port Isabel next plays at home at 1 p.m. Saturday against Hidalgo.

One season ago, Port Isabel, La Feria and Zapata were tri-champions in 32-4A. La Feria and Zapata are currently 32-4A co-leaders with 4-0 records.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

The Herald’s Metro-Area Top 5

1. Los Fresnos

2. Brownsville Veterans Memorial

3. Hanna

4. Rivera

5. Porter

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Contrasting offensive styles will be on display at 7:30 p.m. Friday as St. Joseph Academy plays host to Port Isabel at Canales Field in the final non-district football game of 2015 for each team.

SJA (3-1) likes to try to catch opponents off guard by reeling off plays as quickly as possible with an up-tempo offense featuring a quick-strike passing attack. Port Isabel (3-0) prefers to control the clock by chewing up time with its heralded ground game.

The Bloodhounds don’t shy away from running the ball, either, and the Tarpons are not adverse to passing it as well.

Still, something figures to give Friday as each team is riding a three-game winning streak and would very much like to go into its district opener in two weeks with some momentum. Both squads are open next week.

“We’re playing a good football team,” Tarpons coach Monty Stumbaugh said of the Bloodhounds. “They’ve gotten better on defense, and they’re explosive on offense. They’re a dangerous team with a quarterback (in Kai Money) who can beat you with his feet and his arm. He’s tough to prepare for. We have to play well (to win).”

This marks the fourth meeting between the teams since they began playing each other again in 2012 following a hiatus of 10 seasons. The Tarpons have won those three games by scores of 51-30 in 2012, 49-18 in 2013 and 44-21 last season.

SJA coach Tino Villarreal takes some consolation in the fact that the Bloodhounds were leading at halftime 27-22 in 2012 and 14-10 one year ago.

“We’ve been ahead at the half in two of the last three games against them, but we just haven’t been able to finish,” Villarreal said. “That’s what we have been preaching to the guys (is playing well all four quarters).

“To me, this is the first time that we’re entering this game on an even playing field,” he added. “I feel good about it. If we can just keep from turning the ball over, we should be fine.”

Regarding his impressions of the Tarpons, the SJA coach said, “They’ve added a few wrinkles here and there, and they may be going to the pass a little bit more, but fundamentally, they look like a classic Port Isabel football team. That’s what we’re expecting, and we have to stop what they do. It should be a good, healthy test for both teams.”

The Bloodhounds’ offense revolves around Money, a sophomore QB who leads the team in rushing (537 yards, eight touchdowns) and passing (549 yards, 11 TDs with no interceptions). Money and Anthony Cantu, a sophomore running back (341 yards, eight TDs), are averaging 10.7 and 6.3 yards per carry.

SJA’s top receivers are Bernie de la Garza (16 catches, 196 yards, five TDs) and Dave Lapeyre (15-170, three TDs).

For the Tarpons, the main rushing threats have been quarterback Omar Silva (199 yards, one TD), and running backs Anthony De La Garza (140 yards, one TD) and Ivan Gonzalez (127 yards, one TD). Silva, De La Garza and Gonzalez average 6.0, 5.8 and 6.4 yards per carry, respectively.

“We didn’t do all that well offensively last week against Valley View (in a 14-7 victory),” Stumbaugh said. “We want to do better on offense.

“Being 3-0 feels good, and we’re happy with where we’re at,” he added. “It’s a whole lot better than being 0-3. We just want to be 1-0 this week.”

The Bloodhounds are coming off last week’s 65-8 win on the road against Pharr Oratory in the annual “Holy Bowl.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The football series between Port Isabel and St. Joseph Academy probably won’t ever be considered as one of the Rio Grande Valley’s most storied rivalries, such as Weslaco High vs. Donna High, the “Battle of the Arroyo” between Harlingen High and San Benito or even the “Sugar Bowl” between Santa Rosa and La Villa.

The Tarpons and Bloodhounds haven’t played each other regularly in football on a yearly basis like some of the other Valley teams that boast annual rivalry games. But their series can be viewed as a unique matchup between a Valley public school and a private school that dates all the way back to the 1950s.

Since then, the series has been characterized by games between the two ballclubs over periods of about four to six seasons followed by extended years when they didn’t play each other. Their contests all have been non-district games that at one time were usually played as a season opener or during the second week of the season.

Yet another non-district game in the SJA-Port Isabel series takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Canales Field as the Bloodhounds (3-1) play host to the Tarpons (3-0).

This week’s action for Metro-area teams kicks off at 7 p.m. Thursday as Mercedes (1-2) takes on Pace (0-2) at Sams Memorial Stadium in a District 32-5A opener.

There are three District 32-6A openers involving Metro-area teams scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Friday as Hanna (2-1) travels to San Benito (2-1), Rivera (0-3) visits Harlingen High (2-1) and Harlingen South (0-2) takes on Brownsville Veterans Memorial (3-0) at Sams. Also at 7:30 p.m. Friday, it’s Porter (2-1) at Donna North (0-3) for another 32-5A opener.

District 32-6A action continues at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sams as Lopez (0-2) plays host to Los Fresnos (3-0).

The Tarpons and Bloodhounds went for a period of 10 seasons (2002 to 2011) when they didn’t play each other before they resumed their series in 2012, and they’ve played every year since then. Prior to that, the two teams played in 2000 and 2001 following a long break in the series.

Both sides welcome the renewal of their matchups.

“Let’s face it, Port Isabel is the pride of the Valley in football,” said longtime SJA track coach Meme Garza, who served as a football assistant for the Bloodhounds from 1975 to 1990. “They’re one of the premier teams in South Texas, and home or away, playing them is a special event. It’s another treat to play again (this year) for both schools. They love their football and so do we.”

Added SJA coach Tino Villarreal, now in his first season as the Bloodhounds’ head football coach, “We may not have played them every year in football, but our teams play them every year in every other sport, so yes, there’s a rivalry there.

“(In football), it’s fun,” added Villarreal, a 1999 SJA graduate. “You’ve definitely got two different styles of football, and you might say it’s old school vs. new school because we like to run a high-tempo offense and they like to run the ball and control the clock.

“It’s private school vs. public school, and the colors are different — our red against their blue. The fan bases get into it, maybe even with a little bit of strong feelings, so it’s got all the things that make a rivalry.”

According to records, the last time SJA beat Port Isabel was 1977, when the Bloodhounds prevailed 28-26 in a season opener. After Port Isabel won 27-0 in 1983, it appears the two teams didn’t play again until 2000, when the Tarpons defeated the Bloodhounds 13-7. In 2001, Port Isabel won 26-21, and since 2012, the Tarpons have triumphed by scores of 51-30, 49-18 and 44-21, which was last year’s result of the game at Tarpon Stadium.

“At the realignment (of 2012), we had some teams drop us (because of their new schedules), and we needed a game,” said Port Isabel coach Monty Stumbaugh, now in his 15th season of guiding the Tarpons. “St. Joe needed a game, too. They wanted to play a team that ran the ball, and we wanted to go against a team that runs the spread (passing attack).

“It’s been beneficial for both teams in helping us each prepare for our district races,” Stumbaugh added. “It gives us the experience of going against a team that likes to play at a fast pace. It’s different than we are (on offense) because we try to (run the ball and) control the clock. There’s a little contrast in (offensive) styles with everybody we play.”

One game in the series that stands out for longtime observers from each team took place in 1975 or 1976 when the Tarpons and Bloodhounds played at Canales Field. SJA led the entire game until Port Isabel tight end Juan Castillo, who won a national championship as a linebacker at Texas A&I in 1979 and now coaches in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens, got open with about one minute or so remaining and caught a pass over the middle to complete a scoring play of approximately 25 yards, giving the Tarpons a 15-14 come-from-behind win.

“That was a good, close game that went right down to the wire,” said Gualberto Gonzalez, a 1971 Port Isabel graduate who has been the announcer for the Tarpons’ home games for 39 years. “St. Joe has had some good players over the years, and that was one of the closest games (in the series) that was decided in the last minute. That was in the 1970s, I believe, and in the 1980s, Port Isabel became more of a powerhouse and we stopped playing St. Joe (in favor of non-district opponents from a higher classification such as Los Fresnos, Edcouch-Elsa and Raymondville).”

Garza remembers that game quite well, too. He was a coach on the SJA sideline that night, and he recalls that there was a standing-room-only crowd with a large number of Port Isabel fans gathered on each side of the field.

“It was a classic game with Port Isabel making the right play at the right time,” Garza said. “Castillo was open on that drag route, and when he scored, I heard this incredible roar (of cheers) right behind me. I turned around and there was this wave of like 300 blue shirts there, and only a rope separating us. They had been pretty quiet all night until that play, and then they exploded. I can still picture it very clearly.

“Juan Castillo has reached the pinnacle of his football career (as a coach in the NFL), and I guarantee you that he has never forgotten scoring that touchdown,” the SJA coach added.

Garza also remembers another Port Isabel-SJA game played at the Tarpons’ old stadium that was situated in a more central location of town and not on the school campus as it is now. It was probably the late 1970s or early 1980s, he said.

“There was maybe an hour or less left before kickoff and we were out on the field (as a team) working on our special teams and things like that,” Garza said. “I looked up into the (home) stands, and among all these 1,000 or so (Tarpons) fans packed together and wearing blue shirts, right in the middle of them with the best seats in the house were these two nuns dressed in their nun’s attire.

“I remember thinking, ‘We’re in trouble now, they’ve even got the nuns on their side,’” Garza added. “We were the ones who were supposed to have the Catholic ‘mojo’ on our side.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The Porter Cowgirls are making some noise in District 32-5A volleyball.

Porter (10-15, 3-1 district) remained in the thick of the 32-5A race with a 25-17, 26-24, 25-14 victory on its home court Tuesday against Pace (6-11, 1-3).

“Tonight was crucial. It’s always a crucial match when we play Pace,” Cowgirls coach Laura Fortner said. “The thing that I thought really helped our team tonight was that everyone played a part (in getting the victory). From the defense to the passing to the strong serving, I felt like every single person had something to contribute.

“Not many times can you say that, because there always seems to be that one girl who carries the team,” Fortner added. “Tonight for us, it was all of them. They just came together.”

Leading the way for the Cowgirls were Marquel Rivera with 21 assists and seven digs, and Karen Garcia had 14 digs and three aces. Also for Porter, Karla Sosa recorded 12 kills, five digs and three blocks, and Melanie Gasca added six blocks.

“Before the match, we really prepared ourselves,” Sosa said. “We really focused (on winning). Every time we meet Pace it’s always something personal. We really wanted it.”

For Pace, Valeria Varela had nine kills, Jessica Aguilar had 13 assists, Summer Bohn had seven assists and Nadia Mendoza had nine digs and three aces. Also for the Lady Vikings, Keyla Maldonado had six digs and three aces, and Ebony Casanova had 26 digs.

There were two early ties in the first game before the Cowgirls were ahead for good at 4-3 and led by as many as 10 points, 23-13, en route to taking the opening set 25-17.

Pace battled back from a 17-9 deficit in the second game to tie the score at 18, 20, 22, 23 and 24, and even led 23-22 before back-to-back hitting errors by the Lady Vikings enabled the Cowgirls to prevail 26-24.

Pace surged to an 8-4 advantage in the third game thanks to a kill by Varela before the Cowgirls came back to tie the score at nine and then reel off eight straight points with Garcia, a libero, serving to go ahead 17-9. Garcia had her three aces during that stretch.

Minutes later, the Lady Vikings couldn’t quite get the ball to make it over the net, giving Porter a 25-14 win in the third game as the Cowgirls swept the match.

“You come into this place and it’s always going to be a crazy match between Porter and Pace,” Lady Vikings coach Gavin Rudder said. “It’s crazier, I think, for Coach Fortner and I because I coached her (in college) and I’ve known her forever.

“Our team started off slow and then we came back strong in the second game, but we just couldn’t really pull it out,” Rudder added. “We had that (8-4 and then a) 9-7 lead in the third game before their libero went on a tear (serving) and kind of took the wind out of our sails.

“Porter is a good team. Coach Fortner is doing a good job with those girls.”

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

From the very beginning of the season, Los Fresnos volleyball coach Becky Woods has said she believes her 2015 team could wind up being one of her best.

She’s coached the Lady Falcons for 31 seasons, so that’s quite a statement. At this point, with the squad just beginning District 32-6A competition, Woods has no intention of backing away from the high expectations she has for her group of girls this year.

“This is the tallest team I’ve ever had (overall), and probably one of the most athletic,” said Woods, who is approaching 600 career wins. “The jumping ability of these girls is out of this world. When everything is in sync and the setter is putting the ball up there for our middle blockers, that ball is going down (for a kill).”

The main ones who are making that process at the net work so well for the Lady Falcons are a pair of middle blockers, 6-foot-1 Sam Ibarra and 5-11 Joseline Caraveo, and 5-10 outside hitter Jackie Kingsbury along with 5-9 setter Miranda Gonzales. All are seniors but Kingsbury, who is a junior.

“It’s just a combination of positions that I think we’re real deadly at,” Woods said. “We’ve got the middle hitters, the outside hitters, the middle blockers, and there’s a freshman libero (Isis Delgado) who’s just rock solid on the court. My whole bench is solid. I don’t have a problem with putting any one of them in at any time when we might be struggling.

“These girls are working hard, and they want it,” Woods added. “Our seniors have been working hard for four years, and they’ve always said since their freshman year that they wanted to make a difference and go to state.”

With a little more than half of the season already completed, Woods is confident that her team is right on course to meeting its goals.

Los Fresnos is 26-8 overall and boasts a 3-0 record in district. The Lady Falcons are ranked No. 3 in the Rio Grande Valley. They next play at Harlingen High at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Lady Falcons have no problem with their coach’s high expectations. They aspire to do great things as well.

“I don’t really think it’s pressure,” Ibarra, a three-year member of the varsity, said of the lofty goals for Los Fresnos this season. “I think it’s exciting. Every single girl here has so much talent, and we’re all working together to do well, so it’s something great that’s happening with a good team effort.”

Added Caraveo, a four-year member of the varsity, “I’ve experienced what it was like to be on past teams here, and this team has been the best one I’ve been on so far because we’ve worked so hard. We’ve all been playing together, and we have this sister-like chemistry. We went to the regional tournament last year, and (even so) we didn’t go as far as we thought we’d go. This year we honestly feel that we have the team to make it to state.

“We play for God,” she added. “He’s the one who’s up there and helping us do everything.”

Gonzales said it has helped that the girls train year-round to keep their skills at a high level.

“We’re just always training and always working hard to reach our goals,” said Gonzales, a three-year member of the varsity. “This is the year I feel we have just a little more potential. They had the drive and the skills in the past years, but this year I think we have more willpower, and I think it will help us get back on top.

“Playing for Los Fresnos has meant the world to me,” she added. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

Kingsbury said one of the reasons behind the Lady Falcons’ success is the versatility of the players.

“I definitely see our height as an advantage, but not only our height (on offense), because our height can turn into (a strength on) defense,” Kingsbury said. “We’re not one-dimensional players. We can do many things. Our blockers can pass, too. Little do people realize that. All of us put in so much work that we can all play so many positions, which is an advantage for us.

“We’re all just well-rounded players,” she added. “Our hitters can pass, and our passers can hit. It’s just something that is really good for us.”

Having such strong support at home matches has helped, too, said Kingsbury, a three-member of the varsity.

“Our fans are great,” she said. “We thank everyone for coming out, and we invite them to bring everyone else they know.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.