ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers continue on an unbeaten journey through the District 32-5A boys basketball race.

The state-ranked Chargers turned it on in the fourth quarter to pull away and defeat the Pace Vikings 64-47 Tuesday at the Brownsville Veterans gym.

Brownsville Veterans, ranked No. 12 in the state in Class 5A by the TABC, improved to 24-3 overall and 6-0 in 32-5A with the win. The Chargers increased their winning streak to eight games. Brownsville Veterans last lost 55-42 to Weslaco High on Dec. 17 in the finals of a tournament in Pharr.

Pace, the defending 32-5A champion, slipped to 3-3 in district.

The two teams were tied 11-11 after one quarter Tuesday. The Chargers were up 28-23 at halftime and 39-33 going into the final period. They outscored the Vikings 25-14 during the last eight minutes to win by a 17-point margin.

“I think this is one of those intracity rivalries and both teams played hard,” Chargers coach Larry Gibson said. “Down the stretch we just had a little bit more than they did because it was a good game all the way through. It wasn’t a 17-point game (at all). It was more like a two- or three-point game all the way through.

“We’re staying the way we want to be,” Gibson added. “You can’t be any better than undefeated, and we’re undefeated (in 32-5A), so I’ll take that. We just have to keep playing hard, take them one at a time and just keep going.”

Aaron Villarreal, Kevin Gomez and Alex Marquez led Brownsville Veterans with 18, 13 and 12 points, respectively. Gomez hit a 3-pointer. Teammate Seth Weaver finished with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Also, Justin Anaya finished with seven points, including a 3-pointer.

Randy Aguilar led the Vikings with 13 points and teammate Andres Salgado added 12. Aguilar hit three 3-pointers and Salgado had two. Also for Pace, Alex Acosta had eight points while Jose Salinas and Julio Ortega each added seven points. Salinas made two 3-pointers and Ortega hit one.

Brownsville Veterans held its biggest lead of 19 points twice in the last quarter.

A put-back from underneath on an offensive rebound by Marquez made it 55-36 with 4:51 left. Later, with 27.3 seconds remaining, Villarreal scored from underneath to put the Chargers up by 19 again, 64-45.

“We gave them everything we had,” Pace coach Jose Luis Ramirez said. “Once they had a six-point lead and they started to spread us out a little bit (as we tried to guard them), we had no choice but to switch our defense (to try to force a turnover). Veterans did a good job. They are bigger and they outrebounded us, but my guys gave everything they had. It was a 100 percent effort, and that’s all I ask of them win or lose. I’m so proud of my boys.”

Brownsville Veterans was coming off last Friday’s 81-31 victory against Donna High. Pace was coming off a 56-55 win against Lopez the same night.

District action continues Friday as Brownsville Veterans plays at Mercedes and Pace is at home against Porter.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Lopez, Los Fresnos and McAllen High each won three pool-play games apiece to become frontrunners in their respective groups during Thursday’s opening day of the 18th annual Brownsville ISD girls soccer tournament.

Lopez and Los Fresnos are co-leaders with 3-0 records in Group B. They square off in their group today.

The three-day, 28-team tournament at Brownsville Sports Park continues today with pool play in four groups before the field is narrowed to 16 teams for Saturday’s bracket play in the Gold and Silver divisions.

In the fourth group, Pace, Hanna and La Joya High all had 2-1 records after the first day of pool play, but the Lady Vikings were ahead by one point over the other two teams for having their first match go to penalty kicks even though they lost.

Brownsville Veterans won all three of its matches by 1-0 scores against La Joya Palmview, Donna North and PSJA Southwest. Scoring goals for the Lady Chargers were Sam Bodden, Kat Bodden and Ana Karen Garcia.

“We played good today and we were organized in all three games,” Lady Chargers coach Luis Troncoso said. “We were competitive against some strong teams and our girls kept their composure even though it was tough at times.

“The wind was pretty intense in the earlier games and that made things more difficult,” Troncoso added. “We tried to play the ball more on the ground (when it was windy). We held strong when we needed to, and we came out (of the tournament’s first day) feeling good after a lot of hard work.”

Most of the tournament’s teams will have three pool-play games again Friday. A few will play four games.

Los Fresnos has won the past two BISD Tournaments. The Lady Falcons continued their strong play Thursday by defeating Edinburg Economedes 3-0, Donna High 3-0 and Rio Hondo 5-0.

Lopez, which made it to the BISD Tournament final one year ago, opened play Thursday by beating Rio Hondo 3-0, Economedes 2-1 and Donna High 2-1.

McAllen High had little trouble in Group C as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Edinburg High 4-0, Porter 2-0 and Mission High 5-0.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

It was an alumni day of sorts for Juan de Dios Garcia on Thursday at the 35th annual Brownsville ISD boys soccer tournament. Garcia coached the Hanna boys soccer team for 30 years prior to stepping down following the 2012 season.

This school year Garcia has returned to coaching boys soccer at St. Joseph Academy and Thursday marked the first time he has ever gone against his former team as an opposing coach. It happened during the opening round of the three-day, 32-team BISD Tournament at Brownsville Sports Park.

In a bit of a surprise, SJA prevailed over the Golden Eagles 2-1 on penalty kicks. Alumni day continued for Garcia later in the afternoon as SJA went against Laredo United South and fell short 5-0.

Hanna is coached by Reyes Prado and United South is coached by Willy Santos. Both of them played for Garcia when he was coaching at Hanna.

The veteran soccer coach said a win against Hanna didn’t mean anything special to him. Garcia said it was far more important for his Bloodhounds to gain exposure and experience by playing against strong soccer programs such as Hanna and United South.

“There’s nothing for me to brag about,” Garcia said. “Our boys (at SJA) need to grow, and playing against these types of (strong) teams helps us. It’s a learning experience for the St. Joe players, and that’s what is most important.

“I was not about to celebrate anything (after we defeated Hanna) because that’s the school where I coached and that’s my alma mater,” Garcia added, “I love the school, I love the teachers and the administration. I know that right now Hanna is trying to find its best 11 players. They’re in their preseason, basically. We’re a step ahead of them (because we’ve been practicing a month or so longer).”

It was a rough day for Brownsville boys teams Thursday. During the second round of the bracket-play tournament, Lopez lost to La Joya High 2-1 on penalty kicks, Porter lost to Laredo LBJ 4-1 after having two of its players red-carded in the first 20 minutes, Brownsville Veterans Memorial came up short against Harlingen South 2-1 on PKs and that was after Pace lost to McAllen High 2-0 in the opening round.

Rivera was the only Brownsville team to win two games Thursday. The Raiders opened the day with a 3-2 win against Grulla before edging Donna High 1-0 in the evening.

Rivera next goes against Harlingen South in the Bracket A championship semifinals at 11 a.m. today on the main artificial turf field.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

A total of 163 games.

By any measure, that’s a lot of soccer.

Sixty teams (32 boys and 28 girls) descend upon Brownsville Sports Park beginning today for the annual Brownsville ISD boys and girls soccer tournaments that will continue through Saturday. Between the two tournaments there are 163 scheduled matches — 98 for the girls and 65 for the boys. It’s bracket play all the way through for the boys in their tournament, while the girls have pool play the first two days and finish up with bracket play starting with the quarterfinals on Saturday.

It’s the 35th annual tournament for the boys and the 18th annual event for the girls. Both tournaments begin at 9 a.m. today.

The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons have won the past two BISD girls tournaments. Last year in the final, they defeated Lopez 2-1 on penalty kicks.

Los Fresnos coach Patricia K. Hernandez has some specific things in mind to look for from her team this week.
“First, I want us to go out and play as one team,” Hernandez said. “Secondly, we want to use the tournament to help us identify the areas that need improvement, make adjustments and fine-tune our game in time to face our District (32-6A) competition.

“As a team, we are going in with high expectations for this tournament and the season,” she added. “We know that our journey to the state tournament starts with the Brownsville Tournament, so our girls are excited to compete at a high level with other talented teams this week.”

Pace girls coach Jesus O. Villarreal has specific goals in mind as well for his squad.

“This tournament is very competitive and I am hoping to see how our girls react to different scenarios during the games, individually and collectively,” Villarreal said. “For example, if they score on us, how are the three lines going to react? Also, if we are winning, how are we going to handle the rest of the game? And how are the girls going to react individually?

“These are things that only a tournament such as the BISD can provide us (coaches) due to the fact that there are so many different (playing) styles and teams that we will face,” he added.

The BISD boys tournament actually had two champions last year as Porter won one bracket and Laredo United South won the other bracket. The title match on final day to determine an overall tournament champion was canceled, leaving the Cowboys and Panthers as champions of their respective brackets.

Porter, which went on to capture the Class 5A state title, defeated Harlingen South 3-1 in the Gold Bracket final last year, while United South triumphed over McAllen High 3-0 in the Navy Bracket final.

There will be competition in two brackets again this year for the boys with the bracket winners scheduled to square off at noon Saturday to determine an overall tournament champion.

Porter boys coach Jose Espitia said one week has passed since the season opened and his team continues to be a work in progress.

“I feel good about our team’s chances, but I don’t feel that we are at 100 percent (of our playing ability yet),” Espitia said. “We want to continue getting better and improve our finishing.

“We are hoping to improve during these tournament games to be at our full potential for our District (32-5A) opener (on Jan. 24 against Lopez).”

Of the three BISD tournament champions last year — the Los Fresnos girls and Porter and United South boys — all of them advanced to the regional tournament with the Cowboys going on to win state.

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

SAN BENITO — Maybe it wasn’t quite yet time for Hanna to hit the panic button, but the situation was getting a little serious for the Golden Eagles in the District 32-6A basketball race.

Hanna entered Friday’s district game at San Benito with an 0-2 record and wanted to avoid dropping its third straight conference contest at all costs.

As things turned out, the Eagles got off to a strong start and were up by double digits most of the second half on their way to capturing a 55-48 win over the Greyhounds. Both teams are now 1-2 in district.

After losses to 32-6A frontrunners Harlingen South (57-37) and Los Fresnos (67-50) to begin district action, Friday’s road victory felt pretty good for the Eagles.

“I think we just finally put together 32 minutes of good basketball,” Hanna coach Fermin Lucio said. “Playing at San Benito is always tough and our boys overcame some of the obstacles that we were challenged with.

“I think we learned from our first two district games that we could put things together (at some point),” Lucio added. “Hopefully we can keep getting better as we continue to play our district games. I hope we can keep it up and that this win is just as starting point for us to string together more victories.

“The district race is going to be long and tough. We want to be in the mix (at the end).”

What seemed to work well for the Eagles against San Benito was their inside play. Adam Lopez and Vicente Garcia, Hanna’s big men, enjoyed productive nights. Lopez, a constant presence around the basket, led all scorers by tallying 26 points, including 16 in the second half. Garcia finished with 10.

Those two were the only Hanna players to score in double figures, but it was enough for the Eagles to walk off the court victorious. Teammate Jaime Rucoba contributed eight points with a pair of 3-pointers.

The Greyhounds repeatedly tried to get back into the game after trailing 16-9 at the end of one quarter and 31-18 at the half. They went into the final period down 43-30.

“From the beginning, we weren’t playing as a team,” San Benito coach Eddie Abrego said. “Two of our best players were allowing the pressure to get to them, and in district play, you can’t play two on five or one on five (if someone is not performing). It has to be five on five.

“We spoke about it at halftime and it changed the players’ mentality (for the final two quarters),” Abrego added. “We put in about a quarter and a half (of playing with a unified, strong effort). That’s tough because Hanna is very aggressive. I tell our guys all the time, ‘They have a basketball school over there. They love basketball.’ We knew they were going to bring it against us tonight.”

Leading the scoring for the Greyhounds were David Sanchez, Rick Lucio and Jacob Sauceda with 16, 14 and 13 points, respectively. Sanchez and Lucio each hit three 3-pointers. Sauceda scored all of his 13 points during the second half.
Hanna went up by as many as 15 points twice during the third quarter at 33-18 and 38-23 as Garcia and Lopez each scored from close range.

The Greyhounds pulled within eight points, 53-45, with 30.9 seconds remaining as Sauceda made a pair of free throws.

Lopez drove down the lane and scored on a layup to restore Hanna’s lead to 10 points, 55-45, with 18 seconds to go before a San Benito 3-pointer with nine seconds showing accounted for the final outcome of 55-48.

Both teams continue district action Tuesday as Harlingen High is at Hanna and San Benito plays at Weslaco High.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The basketball battle of Lucio brothers was won this time by the older one.

St. Joseph Academy, coached by Samuel Lucio, rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes to win 50-47 in a non-district contest that went down to the wire against Hanna, coached by younger brother Fermin Lucio, Tuesday at the Hanna gym.

It marked the first time the brothers faced each other as opposing coaches in a high school matchup.

The Bloodhounds, 15-8, trailed by as much as 13 points, 35-22, early in the third quarter before coming back to defeat a Class 6A opponent for the seventh time this season.

“We’ve played against each other a couple of times in some sports, but this is the first time to go against each other as (head) coaches,” said Samuel Lucio, who is six years older than Fermin. “This is the real thing, and this is what we’ve dreamed about since we were little kids. We both went to school here at Hanna, so this game was pretty special (playing at the Hanna gym).”

The momentum went back-and-forth during the contest.

SJA led 14-9 after one quarter, but the Golden Eagles outscored the Bloodhounds 24-8 during the second period to go up 33-22 by intermission. Hanna outpointed the Bloodhounds 12-0 over the final 2:37 before halftime to gain its 11-point advantage at the break.

Hanna took a 39-34 advantage into the final quarter and led by seven points, 45-38, with 4:02 remaining, but the Bloodhounds then began narrowing the lead.

Trailing 47-43, SJA received new life when Carlos Esteve made a 3-pointer from the left side to pull the Bloodhounds to within one point, 47-46, with 56.2 seconds to go. Teammate Jorge Villarreal then tipped a Hanna inbounds pass to himself and scored on a fastbreak layup to put the Bloodhounds up 48-47 with 25.7 seconds left.

Hanna soon was forced to foul and SJA’s Rodolfo Cabido converted both ends of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 8.8 seconds showing to make it a three-point game, 50-47.

Hanna attempted two shots in the final seconds that bounced off the rim before the buzzer sounded to give SJA the comeback victory.

“We played tough and we played hard,” Fermin Lucio said. “In the big picture, this was just another game to help us get ready for District (32-6A). Every Tuesday and Friday it’s going to be just like this (close game), so I think it’s a good learning experience for us. We’ll watch film, see where we made our mistakes and learn from it.

“Getting better for district is really all we’ve got to worry about,” the Hanna coach added. “We’ve got our first district game Friday (at home against Harlingen South), so we’ve just got to get ready to bounce back. That’s our focus now.”

Eight different players scored for Hanna, none in double figures. Adam Lopez and Joe Cavazos led the way with eight points apiece. Jaime Rucoba and Noah Armstrong each added seven points. Cavazos made a pair of 3-pointers and Rucoba had one. Jose Torre and Rick Rocha contributed five points apiece for the Eagles, each with a 3-pointer.

Cabido led SJA with 14 points. Esteve and Cesar Garcia each contributed 11. Esteve drained three 3-pointers and Garcia had one. Also for the Bloodhounds, Villarreal finished with eight points.

Samuel Lucio said Tuesday’s game was a good test for his team as well because the Bloodhounds start TAPPS district play at home Friday against San Antonio Central Catholic.

“I told our guys this game should be a little test (to get us prepared) for our district,” the SJA coach said. “We battled back to win, so that was good for us. I told our team at halftime and then again after the third quarter that there was still a lot of time left and not to be in a hurry. I said, ‘Be quick, but not in a hurry.’ I told them to relax and make one stop at a time. If we were patient and moved the ball around, we were going to get some good shots, and it happened.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to go into our district now (coming off this win).”

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

It was a day for the Rivera swimmers to shine at Wednesday’s annual city meet at the Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center.

Rivera captured the boys and girls championships by decisive margins over Brownsville’s other five public high school teams. Due to testing, St. Joseph Academy did not participate.

Rivera’s girls won the team title at the city meet last year along with the boys of Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

This time, the Lady Raiders were team champions with 328 points compared to 220 points for second-place Brownsville Veterans. Hanna was third with 213 points.

For the boys, Rivera won with 345.5 points and Hanna was the runner-up with 274 points. Brownsville Veterans was third with 249.5 points.

“I thought everyone did well for the whole team and everyone contributed,” said Rivera’s Pablo De Los Santos, a senior who won the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke while swimming on two first-place relays. “Being city champs, that’s pretty good. We get good vibes from this and it gives us good momentum going into the District (32-6A) meet next month.”

Another double-winner in individual events for the Rivera boys was Adrian Flores (100 and 200 freestyles), while a double-winner for the Rivera girls was Stephanie Castillo (100 freestyle and 100 backstroke). Both Flores and Castillo swam on first-place relays as well.

Also, individual event winners for Rivera included Ryan Shea (boys 100 butterfly), Jose Santos (boys 500 freestyle) and Ximena Gonzalez (girls 500 freestyle).

Rivera’s boys won all three relays, while the Rivera girls captured firsts in two relays.

“Our swimmers showed up today and they swam well,” Rivera coach Ryan Shea said. “It was exciting to watch them. They earned it and I’m proud of them.

“This is one of the meets we like to look forward to every year,” the Rivera coach added. “We all practice together, so it’s nice to race against each other and have fun. We have some hard work ahead of us now so we can have another good showing at the district meet (at the end of January). That’s what we’re hoping for.”

Hanna had some girls double-winners, too. They included Gloria Orta (200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke) along with Natalia Davila (50 and 100 freestyles). Both also swam on Hanna’s first-place 200 freestyle relay.

Also for Hanna, Matthew Lovett took first place in the boys 100 backstroke and Nadia Gutierrez was first in the girls 200 freestyle. Hanna’s Andres Anorga was first in the boys 1-meter diving.

“We had a few best times from the boys today and that surprised me, so it was a really good meet,” Hanna coach Sam Perez said. “You get to see all these swimmers everyday (at practice), and to have them finally race against each other, it’s something fun to do in a meet like this.

“We’re just looking forward to going to district and having a good season (with a strong finish),” Perez added.

Other individual winners Wednesday included Pace’s Victor Reyes (boys 50 freestyle) and Lopez’s Thadey Diaz (girls 1-meter diving).

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 Harlingen South Lady Hawks came alive in overtime to stay unbeaten in the District 32-6A girls basketball race.

The Lady Hawks, now 3-0 in 32-6A, outscored the Hanna Lady Golden Eagles 16-6 in OT to capture a 67-57 conference win at the Hanna gym on Tuesday.

South trailed 49-45 with two minutes left in regulation and rallied behind the play of Karla Reyes, who went into the fourth quarter with only three points in the contest.

Reyes wound up finishing with a team-high 20 points thanks to some accurate free-throw shooting down the stretch. She made seven of eight free throws in the final 3:23 of regulation and scored on a drive with 5.6 seconds left in the fourth period to make it 51-51 and send the game to OT.

“It was a hard-fought game and I think our girls did a good job of fighting and coming back,” South coach Kelly Garrett said. “We didn’t start very strong and we had some lapses, but overall, they did a good job.”

South quickly went ahead for good in extra time, going up by eight points, 59-51, with less than a minute gone in OT. In the final 36.7 seconds, when Hanna was forced to foul, the Lady Hawks made six of eight free-throw attempts to seal the victory and stay unbeaten in 32-6A.

The final score of 67-57 accounted for South’s biggest lead of 10 points.

Hanna, now 1-2 in district, led 15-13, after the opening quarter, but trailed 26-23 at halftime. The score was tied 34-34 after three quarters and 51-51 after four periods.

The Lady Eagles’ largest lead was nine points, 47-38, came at the 5:03 mark of the fourth period when Mia Paz sank a pair of free throws. But from there, South began its comeback that resulted in the win.

Laura Ramirez added 13 points for South. Both Reyes and Ramirez had a 3-pointer apiece.

Paz finished with a game-high 28 points for Hanna. She hit three 3-pointers. Teammates Sofia Salinas and Jacky De La Rosa added 12 and 11 points, respectively. De La Rosa also had three 3-pointers for Hanna.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Her college future already secured, Juliette Gonzalez can now enter her upcoming senior season of softball at Hanna playing with some added confidence.

That college future became a reality Tuesday as the standout right-handed pitcher signed an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship agreement to play for Texas Southern University in Houston.

The signing ceremony was held at Hanna’s new Buchanan Performing Arts Center with family, fellow classmates and teammates, coaches and other Brownsville ISD staff members on hand to witness the eventful moment.

“This is an incredible experience,” said Gonzalez, who began playing softball at age 3 and has started for the Lady Golden Eagles since she was a freshman. “It’s what I’ve worked hard for all my life. I never thought this day would come, but it came sooner than I thought (during the early signing period).

“To play Division I softall, I consider that a big achievement, and I’m proud of myself,” added Gonzalez, a recipient of all-district honors throughout her high school career while also playing club softball. “I just thank my parents (Humberto and Cindy Gonzalez). I wouldn’t be here without them.”

The road has been anything but easy for the Hanna pitcher. While Gonzalez was in middle school, she developed a tumor in her lower back that was surgically removed. Those were dark times as her future in softball was in doubt.

“I was told I’d never be able to pitch again,” she said. “Actually, I was even told that I would barely be able to walk, but I overcame that (condition) in six months. I worked hard to come back.”

With Hanna’s 2017 softball season just ahead in less than two months followed by her graduation, there’s plenty to be excited about, especially now that her college status is set with softball right in the middle of the mix.

“It takes a load off my shoulders knowing that I’m already set to go play in college,” said Gonzalez, who plans to study broadcast journalism at TSU. “But that won’t change my outlook on players in the Valley (and playing against them during the upcoming season). We have a lot of talented players here who go unnoticed, so I always have to keep my head up and stay on my toes (playing against them).”

Hanna coach Rey Lerma said he’s gotten to know Gonzalez’s parents quite well because their older daughter, Jacque, a 2013 Hanna graduate, started four years for the Lady Eagles before Juliette came along.

“It’s kind of like a family affair that’s gone on for eight years (with the two sisters on the Hanna ballclub at different times),” Lerma said. “The parents are great and very supportive. I’m happy for Juliette and for the whole family.”

To his knowlege, Lerma said, it’s the first time Hanna has had an NCAA Division I signee in softball.

“From my standpoint, this is a very happy day because I understand the hard work and determination Juliette has put in,” the longtime coach said. “I still remember when she was told she would never play softball again. I know that through her determination, her father’s and that of the entire family, she just fought back and fought back to be where she is now.

“I used to see Juliette running out here (at Hanna) in the evenings (as part of her rehab training),” Lerma added. “She’s really a strong girl and all of her hard work has paid off. She’s a perfect role model. You couldn’t ask for a better one.”

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Life beyond coaching football is going well for Rene Medrano.

It was a significant change for him not to be on the Hanna sideline during the just completed 2016 high school campaign as for 35 years he had coached the sport every season but this past one.

Medrano said his voluntary move away from coaching and teaching, a decision he announced six months ago, has brought about a smooth transition into retirement.

“After so many years of coaching football, it’s really been an interesting time for me this fall,” he said. “Having gone through all the work of preparations, practices and meetings (that it takes to get a team ready for a game), it’s really been different not to do all that now. But it’s been a good different.”

Upon giving it a lot of thought, Medrano decided 35 years was enough and turned in his resignation as Hanna’s head coach in late June.

Medrano directed the Golden Eagles four seasons (2012-2015). He was the head football coach at Pace for 14 years (1998-2011) prior to his move to Hanna. Before his time with the Vikings, Medrano served as head baseball coach and varsity football assistant at Porter (nine years, 1985-1993) and then at Harlingen High (five years, 1993-1998). Even earlier, he was at Porter as an assistant coach in baseball and football (1982-1985).

Overall, Medrano compiled an 89-99 record as a head football coach with seven trips to the playoffs. He finished with a 188-77 mark as a head baseball coach with 10 trips to the postseason.

He was named The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro coach of the year in football five times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011) while at Pace and received the All-Valley coaching award in 2000.

In 2009, Medrano was nominated to be president of the Texas High School Coaches Association and finished as runner-up in the voting.

He guided Pace to the playoffs five straight years (2007-2011), which appears to be a record in football for Brownsville public schools.

It all began for Medrano in 1981 at Faulk Middle School, where he started off as the seventh grade basketball coach and an assistant in football.

“I’ve always felt that if you are going to lead anyone such as young athletes and assistant coaches, you have to lead by example,” Medrano said. “I’d always be the first one at work. The idea of not being successful is something that has made me want to outwork everybody in order for that to never happen. My saying is: ‘It’s better to be an hour early than a minute late.’ That was me.”

The 57-year-old Medrano graduated from Hanna in 1977, played two years of baseball at Texas Southmost College and continued his college baseball career at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton before graduating in 1981.

That was 35 years ago. A new life away from coaching has begun that now includes more time for hunting and fishing among other things.

“People see me and ask, ‘So what do you miss (about coaching)?’” Medrano said. “I miss the athletes and coaching them plus being there with the other coaches and getting together in our meetings to do planning for what we’re doing day in and day out. You sort of miss that, especially when you’ve done it for so long.”

Yet, the benefits of the retired coach’s new-found freedom far outweigh the alternatives.

One of the main things Medrano likes most about not being tied to coaching anymore is enjoying more time at home with his wife, Ida, and their special needs adult son, J.R. He also tries to be available for his mother (Hortencia Medrano) and his two brothers (David and Joe Medrano). His father, Joe Medrano Sr., is deceased.

“Spending more time with J.R., that’s always great,” Medrano said. “You tend to take something like that for granted when you’re coaching because you’re always gone. (Having more) time with Ida and J.R., and spending time at the house, it’s been a big, big change, but it’s been a positive change. It really has.”

Another nice thing is having Friday nights open. It has allowed him to go see another son, Joe David Medrano, who coaches the running backs for the Rockport-Fulton Pirates. This is Joe David’s third year on the coaching staff at R-F. He’s a 2006 Pace graduate who played two years on the varsity on defense for his father a decade ago.

“I’ve been able to be there for my son’s games, and I’m really proud of him,” Medrano said. “He’s doing great and his (coaching) career is taking off. Rockport-Fulton has a very good program. I’m glad he’s over there. They went two rounds in the playoffs this year and lost to the defending state champion. I just want him to enjoy what he does.

“In a sense, these last few months I was away from football, but then again I wasn’t, you know,” Medrano added. “After games, the first thing Joe David always asked me was ‘What did you see?’ I’m in the stands now, so I have a little different view of things.

“The majority of the time (on Fridays) I was over there watching Joe David’s team. I did get to see a few Brownsville games. I sat in the corner (at Sams Memorial Stadium) and just watched. It’s not really the same (as coaching), but it’s fun. Especially in Joe David’s games, I still get caught up in it all (with the play calling and coaching strategies).”

At the end of the day, the longtime coach counts his blessings.

“I feel very fortunate that God has led me down the right path,” Medrano said. “Regrets? None whatsoever. Up to now, things have been going great. If I had to do it over again, I’d choose the same highway.

“I go places and sometimes I see players I coached 30 years ago,” he added. “You know you’ve done your job when they make it a point to come up and say thank you. To me, that means everything. It makes every hour and every minute you’ve spent coaching all worthwhile.”

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