Hanna and Rivera played a volleyball match worthy of going five games.

It was the District 32-6A opener for both teams Tuesday night at the Rivera gym.

The momentum went back and forth throughout the match as the Lady Golden Eagles rallied and came on strong at the end to prevail 25-21, 9-25, 11-25, 25-19, 15-12.

Hanna was swept by Rivera in district last year as the Lady Raiders captured the 32-6A title with a 14-0 record. That was one of the reasons winning Tuesday’s district opener on Rivera’s court felt so satisfying for the Hanna players, coaches and fans.

“This feels great,” Lady Eagles coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “I’m just overwhelmed right now because of the way the match went, but it was kind of like our season has been going. It’s been a roller coaster season with ups and downs.

“It’s horrible for a coach (with all the stress a season like that brings),” Hagemann added. “I think I’ve already put on 10 extra pounds. We started well in this match (winning 25-21), and then we completely lost track of things (and lost 25-9 and 25-11).

“Things just spiraled down (in the second and third games) and everyone was not pulling their weight all of a sudden. We talked to the girls (during a timeout) and asked them, ‘Are we going to be a one-set (winning) team or a three-set team (and take the match)?’ They decided to be a three-set team.”

During the fifth game, Hanna raced to a 5-0 advantage before Rivera narrowed the lead to 9-7, 11-8 and 13-11. Still, the Lady Raiders could not take the lead and wound up losing the final point of the fifth game and the match, 15-12, by hitting the ball into the net.

For Hanna, Tabitha Fernandez had 20 assists and 10 digs, Odalys Gonzalez had 18 kills and four blocks, Aniel Aguero had 14 assists, and Vivian Izaguirre had six kills. Also for Hanna, Angelina Castillo had 14 digs, and Nataly Davila had six kills and four blocks.

“Rivera is always a good team to play,” Hagemann said. “Every win you get against them is pretty tough.”

Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra huddled with her players after the match and told them they lost their aggressiveness after winning the second and third games decisively.

“It was a good match, but I was just telling my girls they played too scared in the fourth game,” Avelar-Guerra said. “They started playing too safe and it came back to bite them. If they would have just played all-out like they did in the second and third games, I think we would have won, but they played like they were nervous, and we wound up losing.

“The girls played well in the last game, and it was a good match (overall), but unfortunately, we just didn’t do enough to win,” the Rivera coach added.

For Rivera, Kenya Ibarra had eight kills, six blocks and two aces. Also for the Lady Raiders, Kourtney Shears had 12 kills, 13 digs, 25 assists and seven aces, and Maddie Blanco added 33 digs and three aces.

District 32-6A competition continues at noon Saturday. Hanna is at home against Harlingen High and Rivera travels to Los Fresnos.

At long last, the District 32-6A volleyball race is starting.

It’s taken more than six weeks of non-district matches and tournament play since the start of the UIL season in early August to arrive at this point for the six teams of 32-6A, which include Brownsville schools Hanna and Rivera, Los Fresnos, Harlingen High, Harlingen South and San Benito.

Now the most important part of the season begins for them at 6:30 tonight with defending 32-6A champion Rivera playing host to Hanna, Los Fresnos visiting Harlingen South and Harlingen High playing at San Benito.

Each team has done its best to prepare for district, and ready or not, it’s go time.

Los Fresnos, with a 25-7 record, is blessed with a senior-laden, cohesive squad. Los Fresnos has been the most successful of the six 32-6A teams thus far during the first six weeks of the season. But the Lady Falcons were handed a 20-25, 29-27, 21-25, 25-21, 15-12 setback in a non-district match at San Benito on Saturday. If anything, that result suggests the 32-6A race could hold some surprises as it unfolds during the next month or so.

San Benito coach Ruby Medina said last week the Lady Greyhounds’ non-district match against the Lady Falcons would show her just where the team stood going into 32-6A action. Medina received a pretty positive response from her girls Saturday.

“I’m very pleased with the performance of the girls (so far),” Medina said. “Things are going well. I hope we can continue to improve.”

At the same time, Los Fresnos coach Becky Woods is upbeat about the Lady Falcons’ prospects. They’ve been to the playoffs 12 straight years, many times as the district champion.

“Honestly, I feel very optimistic,” said Woods, now in her 34th season as the Lady Falcons’ coach. “We probably have one of the best teams this year that I’ve ever had the privilege to coach in Los Fresnos. It definitely has the most seniors (11) I’ve ever had at one time. That’s what makes this team very special.”

The 32-6A race can be summed up by saying there are six teams vying for four playoff spots. Last year, it was Rivera, Los Fresnos, San Benito and Hanna going to the postseason. Let’s see how it turns out this time around.

32-5A UPDATE

A crucial victory by Edcouch-Elsa over Donna High in five games on Saturday left the Lady Yellowjackets with sole possession of the District 32-5A lead at 3-0. Donna High is 2-1 along with Brownsville schools Veterans Memorial, Lopez and Porter. Mercedes is 1-2, while Pace and Valley View are each 0-3.

E-E prevailed over Donna High 25-21, 23-25, 25-12, 23-25, 15-5.

Also Saturday, Lopez won a five-set match at Pace with an epic comeback, 22-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11.

“It’s crazy because there’s no one dominant team (in 32-5A),” said Noemi Gallardo, Lopez’s senior setter. “The best team last year (Brownsville Veterans, which won 32-5A in 2017 with a 14-0 record) has already lost (to Donna High). It’s looking like a very close race right now.”

32-4A UPDATE

Two District 32-4A matches postponed from Saturday were played Monday night as Port Isabel entertained Hidalgo and Progreso visited Raymondville. Hidalgo and Raymondville were the winners.

Including the results of those matches, Hidalgo is the 32-4A leader at 4-0, while La Feria and Zapata come next with 3-1 records. Port Isabel and Grulla are 2-2 and Rio Hondo is 1-3. Raymondville is now 1-3 and Progreso is 0-4.

TAPPS OPENER

St. Joseph Academy’s fledgling volleyball program plays its first TAPPS district match at 5:30 p.m. today. The Lady Bloodhounds play host to Corpus Christi Incarnate Word Academy.

“I really don’t know too much about Incarnate Word, but I’m sure they will be competitive,” SJA coach Dolores Olguin-Trevino said. “I just want my girls to play to their potential. We’ve struggled a little in our last three matches, but if we can play relaxed, move (around like we should) and communicate, we can be pretty competitive.”

The Lady Bloodhounds continue TAPPS district action at 3 p.m. Saturday at Laredo St. Augustine.

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

Lopez and Pace have staged some epic volleyball matches in district during recent seasons, with a playoff berth on the line many times.

They played another one Saturday at Pace in District 32-5A competition.

Battling back and forth in a match either team could have easily won, the Lady Lobos did just enough at the very end to prevail 22-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11.

“ I think what helped us was we never gave up,” said Lopez’s Amanda Parra, a senior outside hitter. “We always kept each other up, and we played (hard) to the very end. I think this (win) prepares us for our next match so we can (continue to) pick each other up. We always have each other’s backs on the court, no matter what.”

It wasn’t looking all that positive for the Lady Lobos after Pace won the first two games 25-22 and 25-19. But the match was far from over.

“ I’m super happy and proud of our girls,” said Lopez’s Daya Venegas, who recently took over as coach for the Lady Lobos in place of Jacquelynn Touchet, who is now the assistant coach. “The girls have been working really hard. Every time we play Pace it’s a very close match, and it comes down to who plays better that day.

“ Pace is a good team with a lot of seniors (so this is a good win for us),” Venegas added.

There were 10 ties during the fourth game, the last one at 19, before the Lady Lobos had a hit go off a Pace player and carry out of bounds for a 20-19 edge in the set. It was a lead the Lady Lobos didn’t surrender in winning the fourth game. Lopez eventually prevailed 25-21 in the set on a well-placed tip by Kat Barrientes.

That meant a deciding fifth set.

The fifth game saw the score tied at 2, 3, 4, 7 and 11. Pace had led by four points, 11-7, before the Lady Lobos came on strong at the end. From the deadlock at 11, they tallied the next four points and won the fifth set 15-11 on a serving ace.

“ I guess we work better under pressure, so once we see that the coaches are getting on us, we know we need to get together (and play better),” said Noemi Gallardo, a senior setter for Lopez. “We have the best coaches in BISD and the Valley, and it happens the majority of the time (that they get after us and motivate us to produce).”

Pace saw its 32-5A record dip to 0-3.

First-year Lady Vikings coach Pamela McCumber knew it was a match that could have gone either way.

“ The girls played well,” she said of her squad. “Stephanie Saenz had 10 kills and really helped at the net.”

District 32-5A action continues at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Donna High is at Pace, and Porter is at Lopez.

LA VILLA — Someone forgot to tell the Santa Rosa Warriors not to spoil the La Villa Cardinals’ inaugural game on their new artificial turf field as the two teams renewed their Sugar Bowl rivalry Friday night.

The Warriors, boosted by a 33-point second quarter, cruised to a 46-12 non-district victory over the Cardinals on a rainy evening in La Villa.

Santa Rosa has enjoyed the upper hand in the Sugar Bowl series during the past decade. The Warriors downed the Cardinals 34-14 last year, so they retained the Sugar Bowl trophy under second-year Santa Rosa coach Hector Ayala.

“It’s good to win this one,” said Ayala, whose team improved to 1-2 on the season. “It’s the Sugar Bowl rivalry, so it’s good to keep the trophy.

“I think we executed real well tonight,” Ayala added. “That’s what I’m most happy about. We have young quarterbacks, and they both came out and saw the field well (with their passes) and moved the team. A game like this helped them a lot. We ran the ball well, too.”

The Warriors led 6-0 after one quarter and 39-0 at intermission. They took a 46-6 advantage into the final period.

Santa Rosa QB Jose Ruiz threw touchdown passes of 9 and 7 yards to Robby Bentley to make it 12-0 at the 11:14 mark of the second quarter.

That was just the start of the fireworks during the second period.

Santa Rosa’s Jose Diaz-Mendez raced 31 yards to the end zone to make it 18-0 before fellow running back Ryan Mesa scored on a 71-yard punt return and added scoring runs of 37 and 59 yards, giving his team a 39-0 halftime cushion.

Mesa led all rushers with 140 yards on 10 carries, all in the opening half. He didn’t play during the final two quarters as a precautionary measure, Ayala said.

Bentley caught a 69-yard TD pass from Ruiz with 11:16 showing in the third quarter as the lead became 46-0.

La Villa QB Rey Felix threw a 19-yard TD pass to Orlando Vallejo during the third period and a 35-yard TD pass to Manuel Solis with 5:31 remaining to account for the final score.

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

A strong second half lifted the Pace Vikings to victory.

Trailing 9-3 at halftime, the Vikings scored a pair of touchdowns during the final two quarters and kept the Donna High Redskins scoreless to win 17-9 in District 16-5A Division I action Thursday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.

“Our offense pushed the ball down the field (in the second half) and we made some good plays on third and fourth down,” Pace junior wide receiver Ilijah Solis said. “That’s what helped us win.”

The Vikings improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in district. The Redskins are now 2-1 and 1-1.

Jose Banda bulled his way across the goal line to put Pace into the lead for the first time, 10-9, with 2:13 left in the third quarter.

Banda’s score on fourth down from the 1-yard line capped an 18-play, 61-yard drive that consumed all but 2:13 of the third quarter. The Vikings received the second-half kickoff and put together their impressive TD march. They converted fourth-down plays three times during the drive.

“That was a decisive play for us,” Solis said of Banda’s score. “It turned things around for us. It changed the momentum of the game.”

Pace coach Danny Pardo agreed.

“We were kind of stagnant in the first half,” Pardo said. “We just couldn’t get things going. Last week we started out slow and this week as well. One of these days we’re going to put together a whole game.

“We had that long drive to open the second half, and I think it might have affected Donna High and maybe broke their spirits a little bit,” Pardo added. “Our defense kind of fed off of it.”

A 12-yard sprint up the middle to the end zone by Brandon Zapata with 2:24 remaining made it 17-9 for the Vikings.

Zapata, playing both quarterback and running back, was the game’s top rusher with 103 yards on 17 carries.

The first-half scoring was all field goals with Geronimo Fragoso making three for Donna High and Jovany Garcia converting one for Pace.

Fragoso was successful on field goals of 27 and 40 yards to give the Redskins a 6-0 advantage by the end of the first quarter.

Garcia cut the lead to 6-3 at the 8:37 mark of the second period by making a 22-yard field goal for the Vikings.

Fragoso’s 35-yard field goal with 3:44 to go before halftime made it 9-3 at intermission.

Pace was coming off last week’s 34-14 victory at Sams against Porter in its district opener. The Vikings opened the season Aug. 31 with a 20-17 overtime loss at Sharyland High.

Donna High began the season on Aug. 31 with a 58-6 triumph against crosstown rival Donna North before opening district with last week’s 30-14 victory at home against PSJA Southwest.

When the Vikings and Redskins played in district one year ago, Pace rallied in dramatic fashion to win 35-31 in Donna.

District 16-5A Division I competition continues next week. Donna High is at home against La Joya Palmview on Thursday and Pace plays at PSJA Southwest next Friday.

The Pace coach said Thursday’s win was an important victory for his team.

“I see about six teams vying for the four playoffs spots in our district, and Donna High is one of them,” Pardo said. “They’re not completely out of it, but they’ve got to really fight hard now. We were looking at the same situation. This win puts us in a better position (at 2-0 in district).

“That’s the way we were approaching this game,” Pardo added. “We wanted to win tonight so we could be a little more at ease in the district race as we go into the following games. I’m just glad we got this ‘W.'”

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

Mother Nature is prompting some Rio Grande Valley football teams to call an audible this week.

With the threat of inclement weather on the horizon due to tropical storm activity in the Gulf, teams are moving games originally scheduled for Friday to today.

The non-district matchup in Elsa between Los Fresnos (1-1) and Edcouch-Elsa (0-2) is one of them.

Kickoff is now set for 7 p.m. today at Benny Layton Sr. Memorial Stadium.

Los Fresnos comes into the game with plenty of momentum following a remarkable rally to beat Austin LBJ last Friday. The Falcons came back from a 28-point deficit (35-7) in the second half to win 36-35 after opening the season with a 16-13 loss against El Paso Montwood on Aug. 31. Both games were played at Los Fresnos.

E-E has had a tough start to the season with road losses against Corpus Christi Veterans (38-0) and Weslaco High (58-7).

“It’s really hard to determine yet what kind of team Edcouch-Elsa has because they’ve gone up against two monster opponents,” Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown said. “They are 0-2 with nothing to lose, so that makes them scary. I’ve been there (in that situation).

“The Edcouch-Elsa players are playing with a lot of heart,” Brown added. “I see it on film. There’s a lot of pride in that program.”

The Los Fresnos coach said one of the reasons the Falcons had a better showing last week was the improved play of senior quarterback Sergio Martinez. Against LBJ, he completed 19 of 29 passes for 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. Martinez also rushed 20 times for 81 yards and another score.

“Sergio is finally settling in at quarterback,” Brown said. “He’s doing a good job.”

Another playmaker for the Falcons is wide receiver Nico Valencia, a junior who has started since he was a freshman. He caught 11 passes for 132 yards and two TDs against LBJ.

Meanwhile, first-year E-E coach Bradly Chavez is telling his team to give a maximum effort all the time.

“The biggest thing for us is to do what we’re supposed to do and play with heart,” Chavez said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”

The Yellowjackets have had two players at QB — senior Albert Trevino and sophomore Raven Rojas. Trevino’s passing stats (11-24-1, 74 yards in two games) are slightly better than Rojas’ passing numbers (7-16-0, 58 yards). Neither one has thrown a TD pass thus far.

Isaac De Anda, a senior running back, leads E-E’s ground game with 27 rushes for 54 yards in two games.

Chavez said he has seen enough film of Los Fresnos’ game last week to know the Falcons are a dangerous team.

“I’m impressed with the way they came back against LBJ,” Chavez said. “They’ll be a tough team for us to face.”

Brown also is feeling admiration for his team and how it rallied to win.

“It’s the greatest comeback that I’ve been a part of (as a player or coach),” Brown said. “Before that, the biggest deficit I’ve ever seen (as a coach) was 24 points at halftime (and we came back to win). Yes, it was pretty impressive.”

Regarding the matchup with E-E, Brown said, “It’s hard to predict whether it will be high scoring or low scoring, but I do know both teams will be playing hard.”

Non-district action continues for each of the squads on Sept. 21 as Los Fresnos is at home against Edinburg Vela and E-E plays host to Edinburg North.

Brownsville Veterans Memorial doesn’t lose very often in District 32-5A volleyball, but it happened Tuesday night at home against Donna High.

The Bravettes did just enough to stay out in front most of the time and won 27-25, 25-16, 23-25, 27-25.

“Donna is an awesome team, and defensively, they were picking everything up,” Brownsville Veterans coach Lisa Mares said. “It was just a matter of which team played with the most consistency.

“I felt we started playing (well) too late,” Mares added. “I don’t know exactly what it was, but I felt our girls started off too nervous. I had a little speech with them (during a timeout), and they finally started to play better.

“We missed some crucial serves at key times, so this is a learning experience for us. You just can’t let that happen when the match is so tight. Hopefully, these girls learn from this loss. There’s still a whole lot of district left.”

The Lady Chargers are the two-time defending 32-5A champions who won the past two titles with a 14-0 record each year.

Tuesday marked their first district loss in three seasons.

Donna High improved to 2-0 in district, while Brownsville Veterans slipped to 1-1.

Both teams were coming off wins in Saturday’s 32-5A openers. Donna High defeated Porter 25-19, 25-22, 25-16, and Brownsville Veterans downed Pace 25-19, 25-11, 25-16.

Donna High coach Cynthia Viesca said the victory was quite an achievement for her team.

“To be able to win here at Brownsville Veterans is very special for us,” Viesca said. “As far as morale and confidence, I think this win is very big. It’s a confidence booster as we get ready to go up against (fellow district favorite) Edcouch-Elsa on Saturday.

“Brownsville Veterans played an awesome match as well,” Viesca added. “They came back and were fighting hard all the way through the match. We finished strong and ended up winning, so it was awesome for us.”

The fourth game was tied at 22 and 25 before a kill by Donna High’s Nicole Rodriguez made it 26-25. On the next point, the Lady Chargers hit the ball into the net, ending the match and lifting the Bravettes to victory.

Rodriguez led her team with 19 kills and five blocks. Also for the Bravettes, Brianna Quesada had 18 kills. Ileana Gallegos added 39 assists, and Bianca Quesada had 21 digs.

For Brownsville Veterans, Pamela Sanchez recorded 11 kills and 19 digs. Dominique Mena added nine kills and 12 digs, and Alexandra Parchmont had 39 digs and Daniella Espinosa had 40 assists.

District 32-5A action continues at 1 p.m. Saturday, as Donna High plays host to E-E and Brownsville Veterans is at Mercedes.

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers don’t like the idea of being considered underdogs in the District 32-5A volleyball race this season.

Brownsville Veterans has captured 32-5A championships during each of the past two seasons with a 14-0 record each time.

But the Lady Chargers are virtually a new team this season, and as a result, other squads such as Donna High and Edcouch-Elsa appear to be the 32-5A teams to beat.

“At first, I thought the goal of winning another district title might be too much for us after losing so many players (to graduation) as we did from last season,” Lady Chargers coach Lisa Mares said. “But seeing the way the girls are playing now, I think they’re very capable of doing it.

“At the beginning of the season, I told the girls we were going to be considered underdogs (in our district) because of our lack of height and the number of people we lost from last year’s team,” Mares added. “The girls are working hard to do well because they don’t want to be looked at as underdogs. They want to maintain our tradition (of being one of the best teams in 32-5A).

“We’re excited that district has started, and we’re going to keep working hard. These girls really want the district title.”

The Lady Chargers opened 32-5A competition with a 25-19, 25-11, 25-16 win Saturday at Pace. Varsity returnees Pamela Sanchez (15 kills, eight digs, two aces) and Frida Rangel (six kills, four blocks) were among the standouts in the match for Brownsville Veterans.

The Lady Chargers will attempt to improve to 2-0 in district when they play host to Donna High at 7 p.m. today.

The Bravettes opened 32-5A action Saturday with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 win at home against Porter.

In other 32-5A openers the same day, E-E defeated Lopez 16-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17 and Mercedes downed Valley View 25-12, 25-16, 25-14.

DISTRICT PREP

The San Benito Lady Greyhounds have been steadily improving as they draw closer to their District 32-6A opener Sept. 18.

“The girls are becoming more united and more familiar with their strengths and weaknesses (on the court),” Lady Greyhounds coach Ruby Medina said. “They’re learning what they have to do (to win).

“District is coming up, and we’ll see how we do,” Medina added. “I’m very pleased with the performance of the girls (so far). Things are going well. I hope we can continue to improve.

“We play Los Fresnos (at San Benito in a non-district match at noon Saturday), so that will give me an idea (of where we stand).”

Saturday’s match against the Lady Falcons will be the Lady Greyhounds’ final non-district test before they begin 32-6A action Sept. 18 at home against Harlingen High.

Standouts for the Lady Greyhounds thus far during the season include Alysa Naranjo, Devany Castillo, setter Ariel Garcia and liberos Sarah Garcia and Halley Rodriguez.

For the past two seasons, San Benito has advanced to the playoffs along with Rivera, Los Fresnos and Hanna.

32-4A UPDATE

The La Feria Lionettes are chasing a third straight District 32-4A championship.

So far, things are going well for them as they stand 2-0 in district action with victories against Progreso (25-17, 25-14, 25-8) and Port Isabel (25-17, 25-9, 25-15).

“I’m very pleased with our senior leadership and the communication within the team,” veteran La Feria coach Rebea Fraga said. “I expect the players on the team to lean on each other throughout the season, and especially in times of adversity.

“Our record reflects the team leadership and the communication within the squad,” Fraga added.

Hidalgo and Zapata also are 2-0 in 32-4A.

It figures to be a challenging week ahead for the Lionettes as they play at Hidalgo today and travel to Zapata on Saturday.

Key contributors for La Feria have been hitters Sierra Salinas, Natalie Gonzalez and Jenoveva Ortiz. Also contributing to the team’s success are Mary Winton as a blocker and Karina Diaz in assists.

Also in 32-4A, Port Isabel and Grulla are 1-1, and Rio Hondo, Raymondville and Progreso are 0-2.

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

Call it coach’s intuition.

Brownsville Veterans Memorial volleyball coach Lisa Mares didn’t feel quite right about her lineup.

Even though the Lady Chargers have been playing matches with that lineup since the beginning of the UIL season in early August, Mares still made changes with her starting six just prior to Saturday’s District 32-5A opener at Pace.

The result was a solid 25-19, 25-11, 25-16 victory for Brownsville Veterans over the Lady Vikings and a 1-0 start to district.

“I was a little nervous about this match because I had been thinking a lot about changing the lineup,” said Mares, whose Lady Chargers have captured the past two 32-5A championships with undefeated district records each season. “We had (already) played all these tournaments and non-district matches, and Friday, I just decided to change it. I didn’t feel quite right about it, and that’s why I was a little nervous going into this match.

“We practiced with the lineup change only once, and we hadn’t played any matches with it,” Mares added. “That’s why I’m so proud of the girls for not letting the lineup change matter. It was the same people (in the lineup), they were just switched around. I am proud of the girls because they played well against Pace.”

The Lady Chargers built an early lead during each game, and besides a 1-1 tie in the third set, they stayed out in front throughout the match to win each of the three games comfortably. They led by as many as eight points (19-11) during the first game, 14 points (25-11) in the second set and 10 points (24-14) during the final game.

“We have room for improvement and I’m telling the girls that, but overall, we’re jelling better,” Mares said. “We’re talking to each other more (on the court) and showing very good teamwork. From where we started off the season, we’re getting more consistent. I like the scrappiness of our game (now). The girls are making plays and it’s awesome.”

The Lady Vikings (0-1) are under the direction of new coach Pamela McCumber. She was disappointed her team didn’t make it a closer match against the Lady Chargers, but she sees positive things ahead for Pace.

“We made a lot of mistakes, but we did see a lot of good things,” McCumber said. “Hopefully, we can capitalize on that for our next match.”

Libero Lexy Arce was a standout Saturday for Pace, recording 28 digs.

For Brownsville Veterans, the top performers included Pamela Sanchez (15 kills, eight digs, two aces), Frida Rangel (six kills, four blocks), libero Alexandra Parchmont (14 digs, four aces) and setter Daniella Espinosa (27 assists, 14 digs).

District 32-5A competition continues Tuesday as Brownsville Veterans plays host to Donna High and Pace is at Edcouch-Elsa.

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

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

HIDALGO — Don’t look now, but the Valley View Tigers are 2-0 to start the 2018 football season.

It’s the same start they had one year ago, when they finished 3-7. This time around, they are seeking a better showing with the playoffs in mind.

Valley View is on its way toward reaching that goal this season thanks to Friday night’s 34-7 non-district triumph at home against the Port Isabel Tarpons.

“Our guys have been working hard, and they deserve to be 2-0,” Valley View coach Eli Esquivel said. “Being 2-0 makes the team feel good and know that hard work pays off.

“Our offense moved the ball and our defense had five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumble recoveries), so it was a solid night for us,” Esquivel added. “Being 2-0 feels great. Valley View hasn’t been known as being a powerhouse in football. These boys have been working hard during the three years that I’ve been here, and it’s paying off for them.”

The Tigers led 3-0 after one quarter and 20-7 at halftime. Valley View took a 27-7 lead into the final period.

Jorge Amaya put Valley View ahead 3-0 on a 29-yard field goal with 5:23 showing in the opening quarter.

Port Isabel’s lone score came at the 11:26 mark of the second period and gave the Tarpons a 7-3 advantage.

The Tarpons’ touchdown came on an 11-yard run around the left side by quarterback Cesar Aguilera. Anthony Orduna added the extra point.

Juan Cantu caught a 6-yard scoring pass from QB Simon Fernandez as Valley View went ahead for good, 10-7, with 8:54 to go in the second quarter. Amaya added the extra point.

Amaya’s 40-yard field goal with 8:03 showing in the period made it 13-7.

Brandon Gonzalez scored on a 7-yard run with 2:33 left in the first half to give the Tigers a 20-7 cushion at intermission.

It became 27-7 at the 6:58 mark of the third quarter when Fernandez scrambled 34 yards to the end zone and Amaya again added the extra point.

Fernandez threw a 38-yard scoring bomb with 5:40 remaining to complete the 34-7 tally. In all, the Valley View QB passed for two TDs and ran for another score.

Javier Lopez highlighted Valley View’s defensive effort by making a pair of interceptions. Lopez also had two picks in Valley View’s 41-7 win against Hidalgo to open the season a week ago.

Tarpons running back Bryan Medina was a workhorse and finished as the game’s leading rusher. He carried the ball 31 times for 123 yards.

The Tarpons went into Friday’s game with a 6-0 edge in their series with the Tigers. During the most recent game between the two teams prior to Friday, the Tarpons beat Valley View 14-7 in 2015 at Port Isabel.