By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

The Hanna Golden Eagles winning the District 32-6A championship is one of the top feel-good stories of the 2018 football season in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Eagles last won a district title in football in 2009, and the team’s last playoff win came in 1996, so it’s a pretty big deal.

Hanna is 8-1 on the season and completed 32-6A competition with a 5-0 mark thanks to last Friday’s 30-7 triumph against Harlingen South at Sams Memorial Stadium.

The coaches and players have labored long hours since even before the season began to make the team a success.

“It’s just the work ethic of all the players we have together,” said Juan Cruz, a senior middle linebacker for Hanna and the team’s tackle leader. “We have such a bond together. We all have the same goal in mind (to win), and that makes us try to be the best that we can be. We’re giving it everything we’ve got on every single play.”

From the players to the coaches, students, teachers and fans, everyone is proud of Hanna’s achievement.

“It really means a lot that this is a true district championship and more than a city championship,” said Eagles coach Mark Guess, who took over at Hanna three years ago after serving as Brownsville ISD’s athletic director. “It’s really been since 2009 that the football team here has competed for a district championship. The one thing we have to try to do now is win our playoff game. That’s one of the humps that hasn’t been crossed here in quite a while, and it’s something the guys really want to do.

“This is my first district championship as a head coach, so it means a lot,” Guess added. “Year in and year out, that’s what our goal is every season. I’ve been a coach for a number of years now, and to finally get one in this district means quite a bit because a lot of effort, planning and hard work has gone into it. There has been a lot of time spent away from our families (as coaches) working for this title. (Still) we consider the athletes part of our family, too.

“We just have to keep our eyes on what it is we’re here to do (as coaches). We’re trying help these young men become better young men than they were when they came to us. That’s what our (ultimate) goal is.”

Winning district has lifted everyone’s spirits at Hanna.

“It feels very special,” said Miguel Payan, a senior wide receiver/quarterback/kicker for the Eagles. “Not just anyone can accomplish it, and I’m proud of it.

“Everyone (around school) is very happy about it,” Payan added. “They haven’t seen one in a while. Everyone is supporting us, and it’s great.”

While the Eagles are proud of their district title, they still see plenty of work to be done in the postseason.

The Class 6A Division II bi-district playoffs start this week. Hanna plays host to District 31-6A third-place Weslaco East (5-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sams. Hanna is in the playoffs for the second straight season.

The Eagles and Wildcats originally were scheduled to play a non-district game back on Sept. 15 in Weslaco, but the threat of tropical storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico that week caused the contest to be canceled. Now the teams are playing each other for the first time this season in a contest that is considerably more meaningful than the game that was shelved.

Hanna’s season began Aug. 30 with a somewhat surprising 49-28 victory over McAllen Memorial, a team touted by some as a preseason No. 1 in the Valley. The following week saw Hanna suffer a 35-20 setback at Edinburg Vela, the team that has held the Valley’s No. 1 spot pretty much all season.

Since then, the Eagles have won seven straight games heading into the postseason. A crucial non-district win came Sept. 29 when Hanna downed Amarillo Tascosa 35-19 in San Antonio. Defeating an upstate opponent with a decided size advantage gave the Eagles added confidence going into district.

“That win was huge in the sense that it just confirmed what type of (strong) team we thought we had,” said Jose C. Ramirez, Hanna’s second-year defensive coordinator. “It confirmed we had a special group of players. It definitely bolstered our confidence for what we could do against a bigger opponent.

“To the untrained eye, we were outsized by those guys and there was no way we were going to compete with them,” Ramirez added. “Our program’s identity and our preparedness really came through on the field. We were smaller than Amarillo, but thanks to our dedication to the weight room, we were by no means weaker than them.

“The (Tascosa) coaching staff was wearing T-shirts that said, ‘The Toughest Team Wins,’ and we took it to them. It was good to see them walk out (of the stadium) wearing those T-shirts (with us as the winners). It was a win that showed our players trust in the process we have (to make them a better football team).”

All season, the Eagles, currently ranked No. 2 in the Valley, have thrived on both sides of the ball. They boast the No. 1 defense in 32-6A (239 yards per game allowed) and the No. 2 offense (416 yards per game) in the district.

For example, the defense shined its brightest during a 30-0 district victory Oct. 26 at San Benito.

Cruz is Hanna’s top tackler with 100 stops (61 solo and 39 assisted). Other top tacklers for the Eagles are free safety Andres Sustaeta (74 tackles with 52 solo and 22 assisted) along with tackle Brandon Esteves (70 tackles with 47 solo and 23 assisted). The Eagles have logged 30 sacks for 173 yards in losses. Esteves is the team leader with 12 sacks. Cornerback Alcee Flores leads the team with three interceptions. The Eagles have eight picks overall.

Offensively, Hanna has a number of standouts, including quarterback Victor Campos, who has passed for 1,357 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 386 yards and nine TDs. Running back Cesar Mancias leads the team with 931 yards rushing and has scored eight times. Mancias has had six 100-yard games this season and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry.

Campos has several capable receivers in Payan (23 catches for 505 yards and seven TDs), Ernesto Mendoza (18-301, four TDs), Aaron Frausto (15-247) and Mancias (14-170, three TDs).

Payan has kicked 31 of 33 extra-point attempts and has converted three of six field-goal attempts, with the longest being 35 yards.

“Our offense is full of playmakers,” Mancias said. “Having guys like Victor and Miguel back there (in the backfield), it’s just crazy to have guys who are so capable of making plays.

“It means the world to me and the guys (to win district),” Mancias added. “We’ve all gone through the same (tough) workouts and hardships, and now, it means the world to see that hard work pay off. It’s great to let our school know that we’re the (senior) class with the (top) football team in town that is the district champ. It’s just great.”

Added Cruz, when asked for a final comment, “The season’s not done yet. We’ve got a long way to go.”

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

The Brownsville Herald

The Pace Vikings are riding the momentum of a decisive victory as they advance to the coming week’s Class 5A Division I playoffs.

Pace triumphed over the Rio Grande City Rattlers 57-28 on Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium to finish as the District 16-5A Division I runner-up behind undefeated district champion Mission Veterans Memorial (9-0).

The Vikings finished the regular season with a 7-3 overall record and a 7-2 mark in district. The Rattlers closed their season at 3-7 and 3-6.

Pace next plays host to Corpus Christi Ray in bi-district at 7 p.m. Thursday at Sams.

“This (win) feels pretty good,” said Pace’s Ilijah Solis, a junior wide receiver. “We’re just going to keep on pushing for next week.

“It means a lot to us that we’re playing our first playoff game at home,” Solis added. “We get to rest in our own beds (instead of going to play on the road), so playing here at Sams means a lot.

“(Even though we already had things clinched) we approached tonight’s game like any other game. We always try to win.”

Making a difference Saturday for the Vikings on Senior Night was senior running back Brandon Zapata and sophomore quarterback Jose Banda.

Zapata rushed 20 times for 154 yards and two touchdowns, all during the first half. His scoring runs came on an 11-yard burst at the 2:57 mark of the first quarter and on a 3-yard rush with 1:10 left before halftime.

During the first half, Banda scored on a 4-yard run with 5:35 showing in the first quarter and threw a pair of TD passes in the second and third quarters. The one during the second period came on a 4-yard pass to Jaylun Garcia. The one during the third quarter came on a 26-yard pass to Juan Jimenez to make it 43-7 with 4:49 to go in the period.

“Winning (decisively) like this is a big boost going into the first round of the playoffs,” Banda said. “We had a lack of communication at the beginning (and allowed an early score), but after while we got it going.”

Pace led 15-7 after one period and 36-7 at halftime. The Vikings took a 50-14 edge into the final quarter.

The Rattlers surprised the Vikings by throwing a 77-yard touchdown bomb from QB Adrian Gonzalez to Abelardo Lopez on the second play of the game for a 7-0 lead with barely one minute gone.

After giving up the early bomb, Pace turned on its offense to score eight straight times and build a 50-7 advantage, while its defense made things difficult for the Rattlers.

Banda’s first-quarter 4-yard TD run tied the score at 7. The Vikings went up for good, 9-7, by picking up a safety at the 3:57 mark of the first period. On a fourth-down punting situation, the Rattlers snapped the ball too high and it sailed out of the end zone.

Zapata scored on his 11-yard run with 2:57 remaining in the opening quarter for a 15-7 advantage.

During the second period, the Vikings added 21 points as Garcia caught his 4-yard TD pass from Banda, Daryin Jones returned a pass interception 36 yards to the end zone and Zapata scored his second TD on a 3-yard run for a 36-7 halftime cushion.

The lead increased to 50-7 during the third quarter as Jimenez caught his 26-yard TD pass from Banda and reserve running back Dylan Barron broke loose down the right sideline for a 93-yard sprint to the end zone. Barron actually wound up as the game’s leading rusher with 167 yards on just eight carries.

Rio Grande City’s Allen Garcia ran for a 48-yard TD with 35 seconds left in the third to make it 50-14.

Pressed to pass, the Rattlers’ aerial attack came alive. Gonzalez threw a 31-yard TD pass to Elias Cobos with 6:20 to play before Matthew Cuellar, another reserve running back for Pace, scored on a 14-yard run with 4:23 left for a 57-21 tally.

Gonzalez hooked up with Cobos for 27 yards on another TD pass with 1:50 to play to give the Rattlers their fourth score of the game.

Pace was coming off the previous week’s 21-14 district setback against neighboring rival Brownsville Veterans Memorial. Rio Grande City was coming off a 44-41 district victory at home against PSJA Southwest.

The Vikings are going to the playoffs in football for the second straight season. Prior to that, the last time they made it to the postseason was 2011.

LA JOYA — On a cold, rainy and windy night, the playing conditions were simply perfect for the La Joya Palmview Lobos.

None of the Lobos was complaining about the weather Friday because Palmview clinched a trip to the playoffs.

The Lobos turned loose their vaunted rushing attack, built a 14-0 first-quarter advantage and went on to capture a 28-10 District 16-5A Division I victory at La Joya ISD Stadium against the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers.

“We knew this win was coming, baby, we just had to believe,” said David Flores, Palmview’s senior quarterback. “We’ve been believing all season and we completed it tonight. Our goal (now) is to go to Corpus (Christi for the bi-district playoffs) and kick some butt.

“We didn’t do anything different tonight,” Flores added. “We used the same motivation we’ve been using all season long, and we knew if we played like we did against (district champion) Mission Vets (the week before), we were going to clinch that playoff spot tonight (by winning).”

As it turned out, the Lobos and Chargers both made it to the postseason because PSJA Memorial defeated Donna High 17-14 in another 16-5A Division I game Friday.

It meant Brownsville Veterans and Palmview move on to the postseason along with Mission Veterans and Pace. The Patriots and Vikings clinched playoff spots prior to Friday.

It was a big night for Lobos senior running back Mario Chapa on Friday. He rushed 25 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns.

It all began with the Palmview offensive line, and Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu gave the Lobos credit for their strong play.

“Palmview won the line of scrimmage, and they beat us in the trenches,” said Cantu, whose team came into the contest already hampered by injuries. “We had a few key injuries tonight that also made things more challenging.

“The injuries included middle linebacker Mauricio De La Garza and quarterback Liam Longoria,” Cantu added. “We hope that both of them will be back next week for our playoff game.”

During the final weekend of the regular season, Palmview improved to 6-4 overall and 6-3 in district. Brownsville Veterans slipped to 7-3 and 6-3.

First-quarter touchdown runs by Palmview running backs Freddy Pena of 8 yards and Chapa of 40 yards accounted for the Lobos’ 14-0 lead, which included a pair of extra points by Saul Delgado.

The Chargers narrowed it to 14-7 at the 10:46 mark of the second period when running back Guadalupe Moran went into the end zone from 1 yard out and Israel Barron added the extra point.

Moran led the Chargers with 132 yards rushing on 19 carries.

The Lobos scored on their first possession of the second half and boosted the lead to 21-7 on an 8-yard run by Chapa with 6:07 showing in the third quarter.

Brownsville Veterans responded on its following possession by getting a field goal as Barron converted a 36-yarder with 1:04 left in the third.

It became 28-10 with 2:48 remaining when Chapa broke loose and sprinted 55 yards down the left sideline to the end zone. Delgado then added his fourth extra point of the night.

Earlier, both teams failed to convert a field goal during the second quarter. Delgado missed an attempt of 34 yards against a stiff wind from the north with 3:14 left until the half. With 17 seconds to go before intermission, Barron had a 33-yard attempt blocked.

The Chargers are content in knowing they have another opportunity to play this season and will have a chance to bounce back.

“Making the playoffs for the fourth year in a row was one of our preseason team goals,” Cantu said. “We knew accomplishing that this year, being that we’re in a 10-team district, would be a great achievement. As a coaching staff, we’re extremely proud of our team.”

The Chargers found out after Friday’s game they’ll go up against Corpus Christi Veterans in bi-district at 7 p.m. Thursday at Buc Stadium in Corpus Christi.

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

BROWNSVILLE — The Mission Veterans Patriots wrapped up an undefeated District 16-5A Division I championship with Thursday’s 50-21 victory against the Brownsville Lopez Lobos at Sams Memorial Stadium.

The win allowed the Patriots to finish the regular season with a 9-1 overall record and a 9-0 mark in district.

In 17 years of Mission Veterans’ existence, it’s the first outright district title in football for the Patriots. They’ve shared a district title in football before, but never won one outright, Patriots coach David Gilpin said.

“Our eyes are on a bigger prize this year,” Gilpin said. “The district championship is nice, and we’re excited and happy about that. But we have been talking about making a (long) playoff run all year long. We have some special players (to do it).

“We’re not a big team, but we have special players and we have some really good players,” he added. “I just feel like we’re poised to do something special this year. That’s been the plan since we saw the new realignment (in early 2018). We thought things would fall into place for us. We’re right where we wanted to be, so that’s exciting.”

Mission Veterans, ranked No. 3 in the Valley, now moves on to the Class 5A Division I bi-district playoffs and will go against a team from the Corpus Christi area next week, or possibly one of the schools from Victoria.

The Patriots lost their season opener to city rival Mission High 24-12 on Aug. 31, and since then, have won nine straight games.

It was a tough way for the Lobos (2-8, 1-8) to end their season after advancing to the playoffs during each of the past two years.

It was all the Patriots from the very start as they scored on their first three possessions to build a 21-0 first-quarter advantage. They scored on five out of six possessions in the first half to increase the lead even more.

After scoring three times during the opening period, the Patriots added a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to make it 35-0 at halftime.

Mission Veterans took a 42-7 lead into the final period.

It was another strong showing by Patriots senior quarterback Landry Gilpin, son of the team’s head coach. He rushed 19 yards around the left side to make it 7-0 early in the first quarter before running back Daniel Cantu’s 30-yard run hiked the lead to 14-0. With 33 seconds left in the opening period, Ralph Ochoa caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Gilpin for a 21-0 advantage.

In the second period, Gilpin threw a 10-yard TD pass to Mike Gonzaque and then Gilpin ran 14 yards to the end zone to make it 35-0 after Alfredo Trujillo’s fifth extra-point kick with 1:46 to go until intermission.

Gilpin finished with three TD passes and three rushing scores. During the second half, he threw a 26-yard scoring pass to John Aguilar in the third period and added a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to make it 50-14 with 6:23 left.

For Lopez, Christian Gamez ran for two TDs and teammate Leo Ramos one.

Gamez, who led all rushers with 114 yards on 18 carries, scored on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter and added a 41-yard scoring scamper in the fourth. Ramos burst into the end zone on a 3-yard run with 3:42 remaining to account for the final score of 50-21.

Mission Veterans was coming off last week’s 55-38 district win at home against La Joya Palmview. Lopez was coming off a 31-28 district loss last week at PSJA Memorial.

Prior to Thursday, the last time the two teams played each other was the 2017 bi-district playoffs when the Patriots won 25-17 in Mission.

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The final week of Valley football‘s regular season finds the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers playing on the road and looking for a win to assure their spot in the state playoffs.

The Chargers (7-2 overall, 6-2 district) play at La Joya Palmview (5-4, 5-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a District 16-5A Division I matchup. The game will be played at La Joya ISD Stadium.

Even if they lose, the Chargers figure to still be in the mix for a playoff spot based on a tiebreaker system that could also involve Palmview, Pace (6-3, 6-2) and Donna High (6-3, 5-3). But it’s a much simpler scenario for the Chargers to just win and secure their postseason spot. Since Palmview is still in the playoff hunt, the run-first Lobos have plenty on the line, too.

“Palmview has had a great season, and we know we’ll be going up against a team that, like us, controls its own destiny,” Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said. “The atmosphere should be electric. While the stakes are high, it comes down to execution on the field. The quarterbacks for both teams (Liam Longoria for Brownsville Veterans and Freddy Flores for Palmview) have done a fantastic job.

“Our teams match up well,” Cantu added. “We’re similar in size and speed. We both rely on solid play.”

Brownsville Veterans is coming off last week’s momentum-building 21-14 victory against neighboring rival Pace, while Palmview lost 55-28 to district champion Mission Veterans (8-1, 8-0), ranked No. 3 in the Valley.

Mission Veterans downed the Chargers 45-24 in Mission back on Sept. 15.

This week’s action for Brownsville-area teams gets underway at 7 p.m. today when Lopez (2-7, 1-7) plays host to Mission Veterans at Sams Memorial Stadium in a 16-5A Division I matchup.

The action for other area teams continues at 7:30 p.m. Friday as Porter (1-8, 0-8) plays its season finale at PSJA Southwest (3-6, 3-5) in another 16-5A Division I contest.

There are three games on tap at 7:30 p.m. Friday involving District 32-6A ballclubs. It’s Harlingen South (4-5, 2-2) vs. Hanna (7-1, 4-0) at Sams, Rivera (0-9, 0-4) at Harlingen High (4-4, 2-2) and Los Fresnos (3-6, 1-3) at San Benito (5-4, 3-1).

Hanna, San Benito and the two Harlingen schools already are set as playoff qualifiers from 32-6A.

Hanna can win the outright 32-6A title if the Golden Eagles beat South. A Hanna loss and a San Benito win would mean the Eagles and Greyhounds share the district championship.

Hanna’s last district title came in 2009.

“We want to be selfish and we want to win it all for ourselves,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said of the 32-6A crown.

In another regular-season finale at 7 p.m. Friday, St. Joseph Academy (2-6, 1-1) plays host to San Antonio Holy Cross (5-3, 2-0) at Canales Field in a TAPPS Division II District 4 matchup. This game also has a district title on the line.

Yet another 16-5A Division I game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday when Pace plays host to Rio Grande City (3-6, 3-5) at Sams.

Even if things go to a tiebreaker on a points system to determine the two final playoff qualifiers in their district, the Vikings already have clinched a playoff spot. Still, they want to win on Saturday.

“Yes, we’re set (as a playoff qualifier),” Pace coach Danny Pardo said. “We’d either be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed (for the postseason) from our district. We want to win Saturday. We want to go into the playoffs coming off a win.”

Meanwhile, Port Isabel (4-5, 1-2) has completed its District 16-4A Division II regular-season schedule and has an open date this week. The Tarpons are preparing for next week’s bi-district playoffs.

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 | The Brownsville Herald

The journey of a new basketball season began Tuesday for the Rivera Lady Raiders and Pace Lady Vikings.

The Lady Raiders broke out of a close game in the second half to start the season 1-0 thanks to a 48-40 non-district victory on Pace’s court. It was the season opener for the Lady Vikings as well.

The Pace girls defeated the Lady Raiders in a season opener for both squads a year ago at Rivera.

“Last year we didn’t get our first win of the season until about the seventh game (so this victory was nice),” Rivera coach Willie Brown said. “A year ago, he (Pace coach Eddie Lozano) had a senior ballclub and I have a senior ballclub this time. It just works like that sometimes.”

Rivera led 10-4 after the opening quarter and 23-22 at halftime. The Lady Raiders were up 38-32 going into the final period.

“I thought we didn’t play as well as we should have in the first half, but we knuckled down and played a lot better in the second half,” Brown said. “I told them at halftime, ‘You’re not playing up to your potential. We have a senior ballclub and you’re not playing like seniors.’ Then, in the second half, we played up to our capability.

“If we can continue to build on what we did tonight, it’s a positive,” Brown added. “Kudos to Pace and Coach Lozano. I was one of his coaches (when he played) at Hanna. He’s always going to have his team ready to go.”

The Lady Raiders were led by Jacqueline Montes with 16 points and Makayla Vazquez with 14 points. Susan Baez hit Rivera’s only 3-pointer and finished with seven points.

Besides Montes and Vazquez, Brown also praised the play of Roxana Rodriguez, Alondra Guzman and Alondra Guzman, particuarly on defense.

The Lady Vikings had 10 players score. Their top point producers were Lexy Arce and Sofia Espinoza, each with nine points. The Lady Vikings hit five 3-pointers in the game with Jenny Oliveira netting two of them to finish with six points.

Arce, Vivian Lucio and Sylvia Juarez each had a 3-pointer for the Lady Vikings. Lucio and Juarez each finished with three points. They were the next highest scorers for Pace after Arce, Espinoza and Oliveira.

“We’re real rusty,” Lozano said. “Offensively and defensively, we’re rusty. That’s what the tournaments are for that are coming up, so hopefully, we’ll work out that rust.

“We need to work offensively, but defense is where we need to work the most,” Lozano added. “We just need to work on talking (to each other more) and being where we’re supposed to be (on defense).”

Pace held its last lead of 30-29 with 3:05 left in the third period when Geaceli Orive sank the second of a pair of free throws. A basket on a drive by Montes with 2:37 to play in the third gave Rivera the lead for good, 31-30. By the end of the period, the Lady Raiders were ahead 38-32.

Rivera surged to its biggest leads of 12 points twice. The first time, Guzman scored from underneath to make it 46-34, and the second time, Vazquez scored from underneath as well to boost the lead to 48-36.

Pace’s Espinoza hit a shot at the buzzer to account for the final score of 48-40.

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

All too soon the volleyball season has come to an end for Lower Rio Grande Valley teams following the area round of the playoffs.

It was a volleyball season that included quite a few achievements, including District 32-6A teams winning all four bi-district matches and District 32-5A squads taking three of four bi-district contests.

In area-round matchups involving 32-6A teams last Thursday and Friday, it was Laredo United over Los Fresnos 25-20, 25-17, 25-14; McAllen Memorial over Rivera 25-6, 25-27, 25-11, 25-9; Laredo Alexander over Hanna 25-15, 25-11, 25-19; and McAllen High over Harlingen South 25-14, 25-16, 25-20.

In the Class 5A playoffs, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, the runner-up team from 32-5A, won a close bi-district match with Sharyland Pioneer last Tuesday before falling to Gregory-Portland 25-9, 25-18, 25-15 during an area match on Friday.

Also losing in the 5A area round from 32-5A were Donna High and Edcouch-Elsa. Lopez, which advanced to the playoffs for the third straight season from 32-5A, lost to the Valley’s top-ranked Mission Veterans in bi-district.

The Lady Patriots are the Valley’s only sub-6A team still alive in the postseason and go against Flour Bluff at 6:30 p.m. today at Falfurrias in the 5A regional quarterfinals. The winner goes to the 5A regional tournament later this week.

On the 6A level in the regional quarterfinals, it’s McAllen High vs. Laredo United and McAllen Memorial vs. Laredo Alexander with berths at the regional tournament later this week awaiting the winners of today’s matches.

It was a solid season for Los Fresnos, which in 2018 captured the 32-6A championship for the third time in four years.

Coach Becky Woods, who just completed her 34th season guiding the Lady Falcons, said it was quite a memorable group this year because she had 10 seniors on her roster.

The Lady Falcons went 36-9 overall and 9-1 in district.

“They were so close, all 10 of them,” Woods said. “Most of the 10, I had for three years. One of them (libero Isis Delgado), I had all four years. Isis maintained her No. 1 status as a student in her class of 800 some students for four years, and I commend her for balancing athletics and her academics.

“They are all amazing athletes and students who are very humble and very respectful,” Woods added. “They take the game seriously. We had a lot of fun over the years, and it was hard to end that last match (against Laredo United). I’ve never had a team so close that gave it their all and fought hard for every point and every game and every match.

“They are winners in the eyes of every one of the younger volleyball players who looked up to them the entire season along with the community and school district. I definitely will miss this team of just amazing young ladies. I love them all.”

The players, particularly the seniors, have a lot of appreciation for Woods and Norma Pena, her assistant.

“We definitely have (had) the experience playing with each other (a long time) and we definitely communicate,” Lady Falcons senior Emma Stambaugh said recently. “Most importantly, we know the coaches are there to help us a lot. I’m super proud of this team, and it feels good four years later (to continue to play with these girls) and make it to the end of the road.”

Added Sandra Salazar, another senior standout for the Lady Falcons, “The district title was definitely what we were going for. It was what we were working hard for the whole, entire season. I’m just glad we did secure it. This is probably one of the best teams I’ve been a part of. Everyone is very coachable and communicates. I’m proud of our team and I’m grateful for our coaches. They work hard, too.”

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

BROWNSVILLE — The Donna High Redskins are following a simple game plan to make it to the state playoffs.

Just win.

“You know, that playoff situation (in District 16-5A Division I) is a mess,” said Donna High coach Ramiro Leal after the Redskins defeated Brownsville Porter 42-28 Saturday afternoon at Sams Memorial Stadium. “Next week will probably be the determining factor. A lot of things can happen. The way I was looking at it is you might end up having a four-team tie for second, third and fourth place with 6-3 records. It’s going to come down to the end of the regular season and maybe go to points (on a tiebreaker).

“We won’t find out (our playoff status) until next week (when we go against PSJA Memorial),” Leal added. “I just told our players, ‘Look, you’ve just got to win (to make it to the postseason). If you win out, it will settle itself.’ That’s the biggest thing we can do right now is just focus on winning at home next week against PSJA Memorial.

“You just never know what can happen on any given Friday night. The game is not played on paper, it’s played on the field, so we’ll see what happens.”

Saturday’s victory improved the Redskins to 6-3 on the season and 5-3 in district. Porter is 1-8 and 0-8.

Mission Veterans has clinched the district title with an 8-0 record. Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Brownsville Pace come next, both with 6-2 district records followed by Donna High and La Joya Palmview, each at 5-3.

Mission Veterans is definitely in the postseason, but after that it gets a little complicated with four teams in the running for three playoff spots, although it does appear Pace and Brownsville Veterans should go in.

All the Redskins could do Saturday was do their part by winning. That’s what they’ll try to do next week, too.

On Saturday, Donna High led 14-0 after one quarter and 28-7 at intermission. The Redskins took a 35-13 advantage into the final period.

It was a big scoring day for Redskins quarterback Ryan Espinoza, who rushed for 100 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries along with passing for another TD.

Donna High running back Robert Guerra led the way on the ground for his team by rushing for 107 yards on 14 carries. Teammates Marcus Ysaguirre and Jose Guzman added 83 and 66 yards rushing, respectively. In all, Donna High had 379 yards rushing and 100 yards passing for a total offense of 479 yards.

Make no mistake, the ground game was the Redskins’ priority.

“We run the football, that’s Donna football,” Leal said. “That’s the way it is year after year after year. We’re very physical when it comes to our ground game and we try not to depend on just one guy. There’s a lot of pounding (involved) and we don’t want just one guy to take all the hits. That’s why we try to spread the ball carrying around so the players can be fresh, and we’re lucky to have (at least) three backs who can take the pounding and do a good job.”

A pair of 1-yard scoring keepers by Espinoza and a 34-yard TD scamper by Guzman put the Redskins out in front 21-0 early in the second period.

Porter QB Kevin Garcia, who also enjoyed a standout game, made it 21-7 on a 1-yard keeper at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter. Another Espinoza 1-yard keeper hiked the lead to 28-7 with 25 seconds left before halftime and gave a Redskins a three-TD edge at intermission.

The Cowboys cut it to 28-13 when Kevin Garcia threw a 72-yard scoring pass to Oscar Garcia with 5:05 showing in the third quarter. Espinoza responded by going up the middle 47 yards to the end zone with 20 seconds left in the third period to boost the lead to 35-13.

It became 35-21 with 6:19 showing on the scoreboard in the fourth period when Oscar Garcia and Kevin Garcia hooked up on another TD pass play covering 30 yards. They connected again on a pass for the two-point conversion.

Marcus Ysaguirre caught a 3-yard TD pass from Espinoza with 1:38 remaining to increase the score to 42-21.

On the last play of the game, Kevin Garcia unloaded a “Hail Mary” pass into the end zone. Porter receiver Manuel Sandoval wrestled the ball away from a Donna High defender, who initially appeared to make an interception. An official was there and stood over the players on the turf fighting for the ball in the end zone before raising his arms to signal a TD with time expired, accounting for the 42-28 final score. The “Hail Mary” play covered 31 yards.

“I think the last play of the game indicates the kind of heart our guys have and how they’ve fought all year,” Porter coach Carlos Uresti said. “They play to the last second no matter what. My hat’s off to Donna, they did a great job, but our kids have been playing hard all season.”

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

LOS FRESNOS — The Hanna Golden Eagles have clinched at least a share of the District 32-6A championship.

And, of course, they want more.

The Eagles, who last won a district title in 2009, want to be outright 32-6A champions and put together a successful playoff run after suffering a last-minute setback in bi-district a year ago.

Friday’s 23-13 victory against Los Fresnos at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium improved Hanna to 7-1 on the season and 4-0 in district. The Eagles already have secured a playoff spot and close out the regular season against Harlingen South next Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium.

“Any time you can win a part of a championship that’s awesome, but we want to be selfish and we want to win it all for ourselves (by defeating Harlingen South),” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “We don’t feel that we played up to our potential tonight, but we did play well enough to get the win.

“We’re looking forward to playing the Harlingen South Hawks next week,” Guess added. “They’re the only team on our minds now.”

The Eagles broke out of a 13-13 fourth-quarter tie to win on a 55-yard pass-and-run play by Cesar Mancias and a 21-yard field goal by Miguel Payan.

After the game, Mancias made another sprint to the stands on the visitors’ side, where he leaped up to where his brother, Arturo Mancias, was standing so he could give him a huge hug.

“My brother just got back from Korea,” Mancias said.

“It’s an amazing feeling to win tonight (and become district champions),” the standout Hanna running back added. “We haven’t gotten district since 2009, so getting a piece of it with this win just feels great.

“Now we have to focus on the task at hand and keep things rolling. We want the whole district title, not just a piece of it.”

Los Fresnos, with its postseason hopes hanging in the balance after advancing three rounds in the playoffs during each of the last three seasons, slipped to 3-6 and 1-3. The Falcons close out the regular season next Friday at San Benito.

Leading the way for the Eagles Friday was Mancias, who had a 57-yard run on a burst up the middle for a touchdown at the 9:22 mark of the first quarter to make it 7-0. His 55-yard TD play on a short pass reception to the right flat that featured another sprint to the end zone made it 20-13 with 11:00 remaining.

“I just was thinking I had to make it count,” Mancias said of his scoring plays covering 50-plus yards. “I just had to make sure I got into the end zone. I owe it to our linemen. I scored for them.”

Mancias finished with 128 yards rushing on 20 carries and 68 yards receiving on four catches for the game.

Payan’s 21-yard field goal with 2:05 left sealed the victory, 23-13.

The Falcons have been hampered by injuries in recent weeks and some of the players who had been out were able to play Friday. That factor was one of the things helping Los Fresnos give Hanna quite a battle.

“We’ve had quite a few starters out and we had some of them back tonight, including some from the defense,” Falcons coach Patrick Brown said. “I think it showed. Unfortunately, this late in the year, we’re starting to look like the team I thought we could be. We have a young freshman quarterback (in Matthew Padilla) who I thought battled his tail off.

“Hats off to Hanna,” Brown added. “Besides Odessa Permian, they’re the best team we’ve played this year, no question about it. I think they’re going to do well and make a run in the playoffs.

“I’m just proud of our players and I’m proud of being the coach of Los Fresnos.”

After Mancias’ initial TD run to make it 7-0 following Payan’s extra point, Los Fresnos’ Nico Valencia caught an 8-yard TD pass from Padilla with 5:31 to go in the opening quarter to tie the score 7-7. Jerry Hernandez added the extra-point kick.

It became 13-7 for the Falcons with 2:02 left in the opening period when Padilla went up the middle 23 yards to the end zone on a scramble. The extra point failed.

Hanna’s Ernest Mendoza made an impressive, diving, one-handed catch in the end zone of a 16-yard pass from QB Victor Campos to even the score again with 6:26 showing in the second quarter.

The extra point also failed for Hanna, leaving the game in a 13-13 deadlock that wasn’t resolved until the final period.

The Falcons successfully recovered a pair of onside kicks. Each team set up for a field goal and was unable to convert it. Also, each team ran for a first down after setting up in punt formation on fourth down.

The Eagles beat the Falcons 10-7 when the two teams played last year.

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE — What a difference a week makes.

The San Benito Greyhounds came alive and rebounded from last Friday’s loss by triumphing over Brownsville Rivera 71-14 Thursday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.

The victory in District 32-6A action clinched a playoff spot for the Greyhounds, who lost at home to Brownsville Hanna 30-0 in their most recent game prior to Thursday.

San Benito improved to 5-4 on the season and 3-1 in district with one game remaining at home next Friday against Los Fresnos to complete the regular season.

“The kids executed the game plan and got out there and played like a team,” San Benito coach Dan Gomez said. “We got a lot of our players involved. That’s one thing we try to do our best at (as coaches) is get the kids who work their tails off a chance to get out there and play.

“We’re not about stats at all,” he added. “Our kids are good kids and they enjoy playing together on this team. They like to see their buddies that sometimes don’t get too much playing time get out there, too.”

Rivera slipped to 0-9 and 0-4. The Raiders close the regular season next Friday at Harlingen High.

Rivera was coming off last week’s 41-20 setback at Sams against Harlingen South.

Leading the way for the Greyhounds on Thursday against the Raiders were a host of players, including quarterback Jacob Cavazos.

Cavazos, playing just the first half, threw a 59-yard touchdown bomb to Frankie Garcia on San Benito’s first play of the game, and after that, it was virtually all the Greyhounds.

Cavazos also threw TD passes of 58 yards to John Daniel Gonzalez and 9 yards to Juan Constante during the second period.

The Greyhounds led 13-0 after one quarter and were ahead 43-8 at halftime. They took a 64-8 lead into the final quarter.

Rivera QB Andres Perez scored on a 1-yard keeper early in the second quarter to make it 13-8.

It was close at that point, but not for long. San Benito soon exploded for a 30-point second period to put the game away early as the reserves started getting into the action before too long in the third period.

Pulling out a trick play, the Greyhounds made it 35-8 at the 5:09 mark of the second quarter when reserve QB Smiley Silva lined up as a wide receiver on the left side. He gathered in a lateral from Cavazos, turned to look downfield and then threw a 54-yard scoring pass to Brandon Valadez, who sprinted into the end zone untouched with no defender anywhere close.

Valadez later scored on a pair of 28-yard runs in the third quarter to boost the lead to 57-8.

San Benito’s last TD midway through the fourth period came on a 53-yard scramble by Silva, who by that time had replaced Cavazos at QB.

“I would like to say my hat goes off to the kids over there for the Raiders,” Gomez said. “Under dire circumstances, it’s always hard to come out and do something that takes a lot of physical preparation for (a game like this). To come out and play hard each and every week, it says a lot about those kids and their character and the job that Coach (Tom) Chavez and his staff do.”