By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

PORT ISABEL — The Rio Hondo Bobcats seem to have the Port Isabel Tarpons’ number these days.

The Bobcats defeated the Tarpons for the third straight year Friday in a District 16-4A Division II opener at Tarpon Stadium.

This time, Rio Hondo (4-2 overall, 1-0) surged to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage and made the lead stand up the rest of the way in winning 21-7, handing the Tarpons (5-1, 0-1) their first loss of the season.

“We (try to) think of this as just one game, but playing Port Isabel is our big rival — everybody knows that — so this is a pretty big win,” Rio Hondo coach Rocky James said. “We’ve beaten them the last three years now. They beat us two in a row before that, so winning these last three against them is pretty special for our football team.

“I thought we played tremendous,” James added. “Holding Port Isabel to zero points in the first half (and leading 14-0 at intermission) was probably the first time we’ve ever done that against them. It was really important to have that two-touchdown lead. Port Isabel came out and scored in the second half and that made it a tighter ballgame until we got our third touchdown with a little more than a minute left. It was a hard-fought battle throughout the whole game.”

The Bobcats scored on their second and third possessions to go up 14-0.

Tyler Bush, Rio Hondo’s junior quarterback, broke loose on a 14-yard run around the right side and went into the end zone standing up as the Bobcats led 7-0 following Josse Alas-Meza’s kick with 4:25 showing in the opening period.

It became 14-0 on Rio Hondo’s next series when Albert Adames got open on a deep pattern and Bush completed a pass to him for a 70-yard scoring play. Alas-Meza’s kick with 1:54 left in the first quarter gave the Bobcats a two-touchdown edge.

Port Isabel marched to the Rio Hondo 4- and 12-yard lines in the first half only to come away with no points.

The Tarpons found the end zone in the third quarter.

Omar Silva, who led the Tarpons with 161 yards rushing, scored on a 44-yard reverse play that went down the right sideline as Port Isabel pulled within 14-7 at the 5:19 mark of the third quarter.

It continued to be a tight game until 1:39 remaining when Rio Hondo’s Danny Vasquez sprinted around right end and across the goal line from 8 yards out, accounting for the final score of 21-7.

District 16-4A Division II action continues next Friday as Rio Hondo plays at home against West Oso and Port Isabel travels to Orange Grove.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

And now that non-district action is over, the most important part of the football season begins for the Rio Hondo Bobcats and Port Isabel Tarpons.

The two teams play their District 16-4A Division II opener at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tarpon Stadium.

The Bobcats have won their past two district matchups against the Tarpons — 21-14 in 2014 and 20-7 in 2015. PI won 45-14 in 2013.

“We won the last two against them and I know they’re anxious to get out of that little slump against us,” Rio Hondo coach Rocky James said. “I see it as a great matchup. Both teams are going in the right direction (record-wise) and we each want to continue winning.

“I see it as a tough matchup that’s going to come down to the wire,” James added. “Hopefully it’s us coming out with the win.”

Each team had an open date last Friday, so the Tarpons and Bobcats have had two weeks to prepare for each other.

“It’s always a good, tough game when we play Rio Hondo,” PI coach Monty Stumbaugh said. “It’s a rivalry game and it’s a district opener (so you know it’s going to be a good one). It’s always been a good game and I expect it to be that way again.”

In their most recent contests on Sept. 23, PI defeated Brownsville St. Joseph 33-27 in a matchup of unbeatens and Rio Hondo routed Grulla 50-28.

The Bobcats, 3-2 overall and winners of three of their last four games, are led by a capable junior quarterback in Tyler Bush, who has passed for 742 yards and 12 touchdowns with only two interceptions along with rushing for 294 yards and a pair of scores. The Bobcats’ top rusher is sophomore Danny Vasquez. He’s gained 509 yards on the ground and scored six times. Vasquez averages 101.8 yards rushing per game.

The undefeated Tarpons (5-0) are a typical PI team, which means they have a strong rushing attack along with a defense that is stout. When the Tarpons don’t hurt themselves with turnovers and penalties, they are very difficult to beat.

Spearheading the PI offensive attack is running back/QB Omar Silva, a senior who has rushed for 836 yards and six TDs. He’s averaging an impressive 11.1 yards per carry. Fellow running back Carlos Orduna, also a senior, is a ground-game threat as well with 491 yards and three TDs. He averages 7.9 yards per rushing attempt.

The PI defense is led by linebacker Chris Bode with team bests of 53 total tackles and five sacks. Teammate John Ray Martinez, a cornerback, is next with 42 total tackles and has intercepted four passes. Also for the Tarpons, defensive end Dylan Athanas has 31 total tackles, which ranks third on the team. All are seniors.

After Friday’s game, district action continues Oct. 14 for both squads as Rio Hondo is at home against West Oso and PI travels to Orange Grove.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The Rivera Lady Raiders and Hanna Lady Golden Eagles are two pretty evenly matched volleyball teams this season.

That fact was evident in Tuesday’s back-and-forth, five-game District 32-6A match at the Rivera gym.

Thanks to a late surge in the fourth and fifth games by Rivera, the Lady Raiders came away with a 25-17, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10 victory to take over sole possession of second place in 32-6A with a 6-2 record.

Los Fresnos, a 25-20, 25-20, 25-22 winner against San Benito, also Tuesday, leads 32-6A with an 8-0 record. Hanna is now in a two-way tie for third place in the district with Harlingen High at 5-3.

It was the opening night for the second half of district action in 32-6A.

Rivera lost at Hanna 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 when the two teams played in the first round of district on Sept. 10.

“I had told our girls, ‘You’re a better team than what you showed (the last time we played Hanna), so get out there and show them what you really play like,’” Rivera coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said. “Sometimes, they seem to have a fear of Hanna, and I say, ‘What’s this fear for? We’re a good team, too. You’re a better team than you showed before. Get out there and play hard.’ I told them, ‘If you play hard, you can win this match.’”

Rivera surged to a 20-12 advantage in the fourth game en route to winning 25-20 and led the entire way during the fifth game. The match point came on a kill by Victoria Zuniga to make it 15-10 in the final set.

After Hanna took the third game 25-21 to go up 2-1 in the match, Avelar-Guerra challenged her players.

“I asked them after the third game, ‘Why are you playing like this?’” she said. “I actually said to them, ‘OK, I guess you all want third place (in district by losing this match). That’s the way it looks by the way you’re playing. You seem scared to get the win.’ I think that kind of woke them up and we started coming back (and playing better in the final two games).”

The Lady Raiders were sparked by four players with double-digit kills. They were Zuniga (19 kills), Stephanie Garza (18), Litzy Medina (13) and Myra Martinez (12). Garza also had 19 digs while Medina also had four aces and three digs.

Also for Rivera, Kourtney Shears had 31 assists, 19 digs and five kills, while Lilian Vera had 33 assists, 11 digs and one ace. Maddie Blanco contributed 23 digs.

Laure Webb and Ryan Wood led Hanna with nine and eight kills, respectively. Wood had three blocks and Webb two.

Halle Penrod contributed six kills and Xitali Montes de Oca added four kills and one ace. Also for Hanna, Nataly Davila had five blocks and three kills, while Elyani Perez had 16 assists. The Hanna libero, Melina Morales, had 17 digs.

“It was a pretty even match,” Hanna coach Ansgar Hagemann said. “We kind of let it slip away from us in the fourth game when we had a big lead (of 7-1). We got a little careless and the Lady Raiders had a strong comeback. They were very determined to beat us tonight.

“Both teams were very motivated because this is a rivalry,” Hagemann added. “It’s always like that when we play each other. It gets pretty intense. There was a lot of back-and-forth play. Each team had a down time and the other team would capitalize on it. The last set is always a lottery. We came out lucky a lot of times in the match, but not at the end this time.”

District action continues Saturday as Hanna is at home against Weslaco High and Rivera travels to Harlingen High.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Los Fresnos and Brownsville Veterans Memorial have emerged as undefeated leaders of their respective volleyball districts at the halfway point of conference competition.

The Lady Falcons and Lady Chargers each hold a two-match lead over the second-place teams in their districts.

Los Fresnos is 7-0 in District 32-6A while Brownsville Veterans also is 7-0 in District 32-5A.

The second round of district in 32-6A and 32-5A begins Tuesday with Los Fresnos at San Benito and Brownsville Veterans at home against Pace.

DISTRICT 32-6A

The Lady Falcons appear to be on their way to successfully defending the 32-6A title.

Lady Falcons coach Becky Woods said it hasn’t been easy thus far in district and she doesn’t expect the rest of the teams in 32-6A to let up.

“Yes, there have been many surprises (in the district race),” Woods said. “I think we were very fortunate to escape with no losses (in the first round). Every team brings their best game when they play us. We cannot let our guard down for one minute against anyone.

“We need to play our ‘A’ game for the second half of district to prepare for the playoffs,” she added. “I feel we are starting to peak defensively and offensively. We need to take each game one at a time.”

After Los Fresnos at 7-0 in 32-6A, it’s Rivera and Hanna at 5-2, San Benito and Harlingen High at 4-3, Weslaco High and Weslaco East at 1-6 and Harlingen South at 0-7.

A key match in 32-6A Tuesday takes place at Rivera as the Lady Raiders play host to Hanna. During the first round of district on Sept. 10, Hanna edged Rivera 25-22, 25-23, 25-20.

The Lady Raiders are trying to make it back to the playoffs after a two-year absence.

“Right now, our defense is getting better every day and so is our offense,” said Stephanie Garza, a junior back row player and outside hitter for the Lady Raiders. “We practice to be prepared for whatever comes our way.”

Added teammate Litzy Medina, a junior outside hitter, “I see a lot of potential with our team. We can go far as long as we stay focused on our goal (of playoffs) and work hard everyday. I’m proud of my team. It’s going to be an exciting season for us. It’s going to be a good year.”

In other 32-6A matches Tuesday, it’s Harlingen South at Harlingen High and Weslaco East at Weslaco High.

DISTRICT 32-5A

After Brownsville Veterans at 7-0 in 32-5A, it’s Edcouch-Elsa at 5-2, Pace and Donna High at 4-3, Lopez at 3-4 and then Porter, Mercedes and Donna North, all at 2-5.

When asked if she was surprised with how the first round went in her district, Brownsville Veterans coach Lisa Mares said, “I sure am. It’s great, but still very nerve-racking.

“I can’t pinpoint (just) one thing (that has been helping us win),” she added. “One day it may be defense, and another day, it’s our offense. There are so many aspects to a volleyball match and so much emotion. Since the beginning, our goal was to be a more consistent team in all aspects. We are getting there, but we’re not there yet. Still, we’re getting there.”

The Lady Chargers start off the second round Tuesday at home against Pace, a surging team that is coming off wins against E-E, Donna High and Lopez.

In other 32-5A action Tuesday, it’s Lopez at Porter, E-E at Donna North and Mercedes at Donna High.

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

HARLINGEN — Juan Manzano of Weslaco High experienced the euphoric feeling of winning his first cross country meet at Saturday’s Harlingen Invitational.

Meanwhile, for Andrea de la Rosa of Rivera, winning has become pretty much a part of her weekly routine.

The two runners were individual champions of the boys and girls varsity races over a 3.2-mile course at Harlingen Sports Complex. It’s the same site as the District 32-6A meet on Oct. 14.

“Around the two-mile mark I pulled away (from the rest of the field to win by a comfortable margin),” said Manzano, a senior who finished in 15 minutes, 56.24 seconds. “This feels pretty good. It’s what I wanted, you know. It just prepares me for district. I already know the course now. I feel confident.”

The worst finish for de la Rosa this season — if it could be called that — was second place, just a fraction of a second behind the winner, at the Islander Splash Invitational in Corpus Christi on Sept. 17. Otherwise, the sophomore defending 32-6A champion has won all her meets this season.

She’s become used to the winner’s circle and has set a goal of making her first trip to state in November.

“I just feel proud of myself,” she said. “I was up there today (with a good lead). This feels great. Maybe next time (in district) I’ll get the same thing. It helps to know the course. And more than having confidence, it helps to just keep working hard (and run a strong race).

“My coaches are pushing me and I’m working really hard,” she added. “I also want to congratulate my teammate ‘J-Lo’ (Jennifer Lopez). She’s pushing me a lot, too.”

De la Rosa won her race in 18:42.69, while Lopez finished fifth in 19:50.65.

“I feel really good because I have a teammate (in de la Rosa) who is the definition of an extraordinary athlete,” said Lopez, a senior. “She’s the best athlete I’ve ever competed with. I’m just proud of her, myself and our whole team.”

Finishing second through fourth place Saturday in the girls race were Weslaco High’s Gloria Martinez (19:33.37), Edinburg Economedes’ Mayra Bernardo (19:46.12) and Weslaco High’s Haliyah Garza (19:50.18).

The next four finishers after Manzano in the boys race were Rivera’s Ruben Chapa (16:13.05), Harlingen High’s Edward Ramos (16:21.81), Rivera’s Jonathan Herrera (16:28.43) and Harlingen High’s Art Benavides (16:29.87).

Rivera’s boys came in second, fourth, 14th, 15th and 16th to successfully defend their team title at the meet with 51 points. Harlingen High was the runner-up with 63 points and Weslaco High was third with 82 points. All are 32-6A teams that will battle again Oct. 14.

“It’s looking better for us,” Rivera coach Arturo Hurtado said. “We’ll be all right. The district meet coming up is the one that counts.”

Weslaco High was the girls team champion with 58 points. Its runners came in second, fourth, 14th, 17th and 21st. Weslaco East was the runner-up with 115 points and Valley View was third with 134.

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 momentum continues for the Pace Lady Vikings in District 32-5A volleyball.

Having won against two favored opponents in its two previous matches, Pace prevailed 27-25, 26-24, 25-19 at Lopez on Saturday afternoon to improve to 4-3 in conference action.

Pace rallied to beat Edcouch-Elsa and Donna High in its most recent matches prior to Saturday, so climbing above the .500 mark in district felt pretty good because every team in 32-5A battles hard, Lady Vikings coach Gavin Rudder said.

An example of that was provided Saturday by the Lady Lobos (3-4).

“This match made us realize that it doesn’t matter who is on the floor (as your opponent), you’ve got to play the game,” Rudder said. “Going to extra points like we did (in the first two sets), you have to work just as hard no matter if it’s the first-place team, the last-place team or a team in the middle. It’s something that has kept our girls on their toes. We’ve fought through it (in these last three matches) and pulled through. We fought through the little runs that Lopez made today and we were able to finish the fight.”

The back-and-forth first game featured 11 ties. Pace trailed by as many as six points, 14-8, in the opening game before regaining its composure to battle back. There were late deadlocks in the score at 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 before the Lady Vikings captured the last two points to win the opening set 27-25 after the Lady Lobos hit the ball long to make it 26-25 and then couldn’t handle a volley as the ball carried out of bounds.

Pace took the early momentum in the second game and held its biggest lead of seven points, 15-8, when the Lady Lobos hit the ball out of bounds. But the Lopez girls rallied and forged ties at 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 24. From there, a Pace kill and a net violation by the Lady Lobos provided the Lady Vikings with a 26-24 win in Game 2, setting the stage for a three-game sweep.

The score was knotted for the last time at 10 in the third game as the Lady Vikings went ahead to stay after that and won 25-19 to take the match when Lopez hit into the net on the final point.

Katie Quezada and Summer Bohn led Pace with nine kills apiece. Each had an ace. Quezada had 14 digs and Bohn had three. Also for Pace, Amanda Gomez had 15 assists and 12 digs while Kalynn Quezada had 19 digs, 15 assists and six kills. Ebony Casanova contributed 30 digs.

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

HARLINGEN — Juan Manzano of Weslaco High experienced the euphoric feeling of winning his first cross country meet at Saturday’s Harlingen Invitational.

Meanwhile, for Andrea de la Rosa of Rivera, winning has become pretty much a part of her weekly routine.

The two runners were individual champions of the boys and girls varsity races over a 3.2-mile course at Harlingen Sports Complex. It’s the same site as the District 32-6A meet on Oct. 14.

“Around the two-mile mark I pulled away (from the rest of the field to win by a comfortable margin),” said Manzano, a senior who finished in 15 minutes, 56.24 seconds. “This feels pretty good. It’s what I wanted, you know. It just prepares me for district. I already know the course now. I feel confident.”

The worst finish for de la Rosa this season — if it could be called that — was second place, just a fraction of a second behind the winner, at the Islander Splash Invitational in Corpus Christi on Sept. 17. Otherwise, the sophomore defending 32-6A champion has won all her meets this season.

She’s become used to the winner’s circle and has set a goal of making her first trip to state in November.

“I just feel proud of myself,” she said. “I was up there today (with a good lead). This feels great. Maybe next time (in district) I’ll get the same thing. It helps to know the course. And more than having confidence, it helps to just keep working hard (and run a strong race).

“My coaches are pushing me and I’m working really hard,” she added. “I also want to congratulate my teammate ‘J-Lo’ (Jennifer Lopez). She’s pushing me a lot, too.”

De la Rosa won her race in 18:42.69, while Lopez finished fifth in 19:50.65.

“I feel really good because I have a teammate (in de la Rosa) who is the definition of an extraordinary athlete,” said Lopez, a senior. “She’s the best athlete I’ve ever competed with. I’m just proud of her, myself and our whole team.”

Finishing second through fourth place Saturday in the girls race were Weslaco High’s Gloria Martinez (19:33.37), Edinburg Economedes’ Mayra Bernardo (19:46.12) and Weslaco High’s Haliyah Garza (19:50.18).

The next four finishers after Manzano in the boys race were Rivera’s Ruben Chapa (16:13.05), Harlingen High’s Edward Ramos (16:21.81), Rivera’s Jonathan Herrera (16:28.43) and Harlingen High’s Art Benavides (16:29.87).

Rivera’s boys came in second, fourth, 14th, 15th and 16th to successfully defend their team title at the meet with 51 points. Harlingen High was the runner-up with 63 points and Weslaco High was third with 82 points. All are 32-6A teams that will battle again Oct. 14.

“It’s looking better for us,” Rivera coach Arturo Hurtado said. “We’ll be all right. The district meet coming up is the one that counts.”

Weslaco High was the girls team champion with 58 points. Its runners came in second, fourth, 14th, 17th and 21st. Weslaco East was the runner-up with 115 points and Valley View was third with 134.

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 St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds returned to the win column in a big way with Friday’s 68-6 victory against the Hidalgo Pirates at Canales Field.

The Bloodhounds were coming off last week’s 33-27 setback at home to the Port Isabel Tarpons in a matchup of unbeaten teams.

Thanks to three touchdown passes and two scoring runs by SJA quarterback Kai Money, the Bloodhounds surged to a 34-6 advantage by halftime.

Money finished the night by rushing for 180 yards and three TDs while passing for 120 yards and four scores. Three of Money’s TD passes went to wideout Bernie de la Garza.

SJA’s first two TDs came on first-quarter runs of 49 and 35 yards by Money. The junior QB then tossed a 32-yard scoring pass to de la Garza to give the Bloodhounds an 18-0 lead before the end of the opening period.

In the second quarter, after a safety for SJA and a 63-yard TD reception by Hidalgo’s Marco Bella, Money threw a 13-yard TD pass to Andres Martinez and a 15-yard scoring aerial to de la Garza to make it 34-6 at intermission.

Missed conversions after first-quarter TDs, penalties and at times a lack of focus

drew the ire of SJA coach Tino Villarreal and he passed along a stern message to his team at the break.

“I was not happy at halftime,” Villarreal said. “We’ve been having issues all year long of just playing some sloppy football. We came out here and did the exact same thing tonight for one half.

“I just feel it’s my job to tell these players not to play that type of sloppy football if we plan to make a run at the district title and if we plan to win a playoff game,” Villarreal added. “I thought we had a great second half. We were able to get a lot of (reserve) players in there who needed the reps. We executed a lot better in the second half and kept the penalties to a minimum.”

Money came back in the third quarter to score on a 12-yard run and toss a 5-yard TD pass to de la Garza as the lead increased to 48-6.

Also in the third period, SJA’s Mario Garcia rushed 5 and 50 yards for a pair of TDs

for a 61-6 Bloodhounds’ lead going into the final quarter. A 15-yard run with 7:21 left by SJA reserve QB Carlos Esteve accounted for the Bloodhounds’ last score.

SJA had three backs hit triple digits rushing as Money gained 180, Garcia 122 and Anthony Cantu 100.

Villarreal said Money has been dealing with an injury but appeared to be pretty healthy against the Pirates.

“Kai had the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ back, and that’s what we like to see,” the SJA coach said.

SJA now goes into its bye week with a 5-1 record as it prepares for the start of TAPPS district competition later this month. The Bloodhounds have one more non-district game Oct. 14 at home against Harlingen’s Marine Military Academy.

Hidalgo fell to 1-5 with its fifth straight loss. The Pirates lost 59-0 at home last week to Rockport-Fulton. They’ll try to get back on track next Friday at Kingsville King in a District 16-4A Division I opener.

There was a somber mood at Canales Field on Friday as the school mourned the death earlier in the week of longtime teacher Olga Borrego, who also had three children attend SJA.

“She was a phenomenal teacher and even better friend,” Villarreal said. “That may have been a factor in how we started off playing tonight. The students and faculty have been down this week. It’s always good to get a win for the (late teacher’s) family and for everyone, actually. Left wrists were taped black, and that was for her.

“We just want to wish the family the best,” he added. “As a team we’ve been praying for her and for all family members who have lost a special person.”