By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS – Los Fresnos is set to host San Benito tonight in a David and Goliath-like clash between the District 32-6A leading Falcons and the Greyhounds, who picked up their first district victory over Brownsville Rivera on Tuesday.

In an 82-51 road win over Brownsville Hanna on Tuesday, Ricky Altamirano scored 26 points and made 13 of his 16 field goal attempts to lead the way for the Falcons (22-3, 2-0 32-6A).

Altamirano also had 10 rebounds and five assists against the Golden Eagles.

Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa was satisfied with the progress his team made in moving the ball more efficiently, racking 17 assists and shooting 58 percent from the field.

“That told us that we were doing a better job of moving and getting higher percentage shots,” Hinojosa said.

Gerry Martinez made three 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and six steals, while Elian Gonzalez chipped in 14 points, eight assists, and nine rebounds for the Falcons.

Hinojosa noted his team’s motto of “respect all, fear none” is a constant in his team’s approach, and ensured he and his players are expecting a competitive outing from the Greyhounds and preparing for them as they would any other contender.

“We fear nobody, but we respect every single team,” Hinojosa said. “We know San Benito is no pushover, they’re well-coached. … They’ve won four out of their last five (games) and six out of their last nine, and we know that. We’re not taking them lightly. They do some good things, they do a lot of dribble-kick and they’re defending very well.”

Also in 32-6A, Harlingen High is set to face Brownsville Rivera and Harlingen South is slated to host Brownsville Hanna. Both games will tip off at 6 p.m. tonight.

VIKINGS AHEAD OF 32-5A PACK

Brownsville Pace remains unbeaten in District 32-5A after a wire-to-wire 68-57 victory over rival Brownsville Veterans Memorial on Tuesday.

Cristian Guajardo topped Pace with 20 points, Elias Fortaneli scored 14 and Alexander Agado added 13 for the Vikings (11-11, 6-0 32-5A) who will hit the road to square off with Edcouch-Elsa at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Damian Maldonado scored 25 points and Lucky Edge posted 17 for the Chargers (19-3, 5-1), who suffered their first loss of the district slate against their rival and will look to rebound when they play host to Donna at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Rounding out tonight’s 32-5A action, Mercedes visits Brownsville Porter and Brownsville Lopez travels to Valley View. Both games are set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.

In TAPPS, Brownsville St. Joseph Academy is slated for a 1:30 p.m. Saturday showdown at home against Corpus Christi Incarnate Word.

TARPONS LOOK TO CLIMB LADDER

Despite sitting at 18-8 overall, Port Isabel is in the midst of a three-game losing streak and finds itself in the crowded middle of the District 32-4A standings at 3-3, behind district leader Hidalgo and second-place Rio Hondo.

The Tarpons will look to get back on track when they return home to battle Progreso at 8 p.m tonight.

The Pirates (16-9, 6-0 32-4A) defeated Raymondville 65-51 on Tuesday. The Bearkats will host Zapata at 8 p.m tonight.

The Bobcats (16-10, 5-1 32-4A) will welcome visiting La Feria, still seeking its first district win, for an 8 p.m. tip off.

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE – Throughout his team’s non-district game against Brownsville Porter on Tuesday night, Brownsville Rivera coach Eduardo Torres found himself emphasizing the same message as he had since his Lady Raiders found themselves trailing during the game’s opening minutes.

After falling behind by two goals, the Lady Raiders summoned the strength to make a late run and pulled even to salvage a 2-2 draw against the Cowgirls.

After coming up short on several prior opportunities, Rivera finally found its equalizer late in the second half with a point-blank header by Nadia Abrego that squeaked past Porter goalie Jasmin Reyna.

“I was telling the girls, ‘It’s never over until it’s over,’” Torres said. “These girls have big (hearts). They never stopped fighting. They went for the ball, every time they competed, we pressed on (Porter).”

Porter’s Azaneth Perez capitalized on a Rivera defensive lapse during the opening minutes and scored on a deflection to put the visitors ahead 1-0.

Perez had a 1-on-1 chance and a shot that was smothered on the ground by Rivera goalkeeper Kayla Alonso at the 23-minute mark, and moments later Alonso came sliding out of the box to thwart another shot Porter attempt.

At the 22-minute mark, Liberty Garza curled a shot from 25 yards out that went off the hands of Alonso and trickled into the net to double the visitors’ lead.

“They say in soccer 2-0 is the trickiest score (to maintain a lead), Cowgirls coach Abraham Garcia said. “It was just two mistakes, and unfortunately mistakes are goals.”

Leslie Peña got the Lady Raiders on the board with a goal on a free kick into the top left corner of the net with 14 minutes remaining in the period.

Porter led 2-1 at the end of the first half.

Torres said he made a defensive adjustment during the second half that helped stave off the Cowgirls, who had been assertive and in control offensively in the first half.

“I told (the team), ‘We need to press up high,’” Torres said. “‘Once (Porter gets) the ball, go to them and let them know that you’re there.’”

The approach allowed Rivera to counterattack and come up with more scoring chances, eventually setting up Abrego’s tying goal.

Play began to open up for the Lady Raiders after fouls committed by both sides resulted in red cards for both teams. The foul took Porter’s Garza off the field, and narrowed each side to 10 players the rest of the way. Garcia said Garza’s absence was a critical blow to his squad.

“Rivera’s a tough team,” Garcia said. “You can’t give them those opportunities, because they’ll take advantage of them.”

Peña took a corner kick for Rivera during the first minute of the second half and Julie Villanueva corralled the ball after it cleared the box, but the Lady Raiders failed to move the ball closer for a shot on goal.

Peña and Yianey Diaz led a surge at the midpoint of the second half for Rivera as both players maneuvered into the penalty area and had their shots stopped from close range. Peña earned Rivera another corner, but the Porter defense bent without breaking prior to allowing the tying goal.

“(Pena and Diaz) have been playing together since last year,” Torres said. “When one of those girls moves, the other knows where they’re going to go even before they’ve started moving.”

The Lady Raiders are scheduled to begin their District 32-6A slate at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Hanna.

The Cowgirls are set to open their District 32-5A schedule at 7:15 p.m. Friday at home against Donna High.­­

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

Hanna’s Axel Guzman and Javi Castan each scored twice in the Golden Eagles’ finale in the South Texas Futbol Showcase, a 4-1 win over La Salle.

It was the first showcase appearance for the boys squad from Matamoros, Mexico. La Salle is a small private Catholic school located less than 10 miles from the Hanna campus. The La Salle girls have played in tournaments in the Rio Grande Valley in each of the past six seasons.

“This is the first year that we invited them,” Hanna coach Reyes Prado said. “Hopefully they can keep coming.”

La Salle coach Fernando Rodriguez said the tournament was a good experience for his players, who are gearing up for their own national competition in Matamoros that will feature various teams from across Mexico.

Rodriguez cited several differences between playing in the Valley and in Tamaulipas, and chief among them was the playing surface.

“In Matamoros there are practically no artificial turf fields,” Rodriguez said. “Also, the ball is different, it’s heavier than the one we use. Some of the rules are not the same, and we have to adapt to them. It is our first time here and we hope to return, because these tournaments help us.”

Showcase hosts Hanna, Brownsville Rivera, and Brownsville Veterans Memorial all featured artificial turf fields.

Castan tallied both of his goals during the first half, and Guzman tacked on another Hanna goal to give the Golden Eagles a 3-0 advantage.

Luis Fernando Gutierrez scored the lone goal for La Salle late in the first half, and the visitors trailed 3-1 at the break.

Hanna dictated the flow of the game by controlling possession and allowing La Salle few chances to chip away at the deficit. One exception occurred with 15:48 to go in the second half, when Hanna goalkeeper Raul Lopez left his feet to glove a strong La Salle shot attempt.

Guzman notched his second goal thanks to a precise lead pass that set him up for an easy chance to restore Hanna’s three-goal margin with 13 minutes to go in the second half.

The Eagles nearly added a fifth goal at the 10:45 mark, but the La Salle goalie made a one-handed save to block a shot by Hanna’s Bryan Delagadillo.

Shortly thereafter, La Salle went on a counterattack and crashed in front of the goal to produce a shot and a quality chance. A couple of La Salle players knocked over Lopez, but not before the ’keeper deflected the ball out of the box.

Several Hanna players made runs that resulted in near-misses, as was the case for Marko Gonzalez when he deftly led Brayan Ruiz with a long pass and 1-on-1 opportunity against the La Salle ’keeper during the waning minutes of the second half.

Like most teams in tournament play, Prado has appreciated the chance to test the legs of some younger players and get a clearer sense of his regular rotation as the District 32-6A season begins.

“We’re trying some players in different positions,” Prado said. “We have our core team (set), but we’re trying to give (other players) experience, too, because we might need them during the season. We’re trying to get our chemistry together. … It’s the same as everybody else, we’re trying to put our best 11 on the field.”

South Texas Showcase

Thursday’s Games

At Hanna

Hanna 2, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 0

Hanna ‘B’ 1, La Salle 0

At Rivera

Donna North 2, Rivera 0

Lopez 2, San Benito 0

At Brownsville Veterans

La Joya High 4, Pace 2

McAllen Rowe 2, Harlingen South 1

Brownsville Veterans 6, Laredo LBJ 2

Friday’s Games

At Hanna

Pace 3, Laredo LBJ 2

San Benito 3, La Salle 0

Hanna 5, Laredo LBJ 0

At Rivera

Donna North 2, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 1

Rivera 1, McAllen Rowe 0

At Brownsville Veterans

Lopez 5, La Joya High 3

Brownsville Veterans 2, Harlingen South 0

Saturday’s Games

At Hanna

Harlingen South 3, Laredo LBJ 3

Hanna 4, La Salle (Matamoros, Mexico) 1

Donna North 2, Harlingen South 0

At Rivera

Rivera 1, La Joya High, 0

Pace vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, canceled

McAllen Rowe 5, San Benito 0

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Veterans Memorial lived up to its host billing by delivering another strong performance in the South Texas Futbol Showcase with a 2-0 victory over Harlingen South on Friday.

The Chargers got on the board within the first four minutes of the game when Ruben Garcia delivered a cross into the box and Felipe Esquivel headed the ball over the left shoulder of Hawks goalkeeper Dustin Sanchez.

Sanchez denied a point-blank attempt by Esquivel in front of the goal with 27 minutes to go in the first half.

Humberto Sosa’s corner kick at the 24-minute mark produced another chance and a flurry of motion in front of the net, though Sanchez pounced on the ball before the Chargers could get off a clear shot.

“They’re very good technical players,” Brownsville Veterans coach Alberto Vasquez said of Sosa and Esquivel. “They can create plays by themselves, for themselves. We would like them to be a little bit quicker on pulling the trigger, but we are creating opportunities. We want to finish them, not necessarily always with goals, but with quicker shots on frame.”

When Albert Maradiaga was tripped with 12:20 left in the first half, Sosa took a free kick from the edge of the box that sailed above the crossbar and through the uprights of the football goalposts.

Maradiaga and Erik Maldonado were effective at moving the ball upfield for the Chargers throughout the game, as Maradiaga led Maldonado to chase down long and mid-range passes to give Brownsville Veterans a few good looks in front of the goal.

“They’ve been working together for a while now,” Vasquez said. “Erik’s a kid who makes real good runs down the wing. When he’s on the field, Albert looks for him and tries to take care of those opportunities as quickly as possible. …. We say Erik is Albert’s little brother because he looks like him, but he’s about a foot shorter. Anytime they’re on the field together, they seem to find each other.”

Leo Torres took a free kick for the Hawks that sailed out of bounds with 3:30 to go in the period. Harlingen South struggled to maintain possession and failed to create a single scoring chance during the first half, which ended with the Chargers ahead 1-0.

Harlingen South’s Isaac Garza had a shot that glanced off the crossbar and out of play at the 35-minute mark of the second half, one of the best scoring chances of the day.

After South’s Luis Aguilar forced Chargers goalie Alek Gamez to make his first save on a shot from 25 yards out, Pablo Perez notched another goal for Brownsville Veterans with 25 minutes to play in the second half.

At the 7:29 mark, Garza had a breakaway and a 1-on-1 opportunity against Gamez, who fully extended to stop the South midfielder’s shot that was headed for the top left corner of the net.

Harlingen South coach Julian Robles said his team, comprised mostly of sophomores and juniors, is eager to begin district play and relished the opportunity to compete in the showcase.

“We played some high-quality teams,” Robles said. “(Brownsville Veterans) is one of the teams you want to play in the (Class) 5A division. We had our chances, and the goalkeeper came up with some great saves on their part. We had some shutdowns on defense. … We’re learning, but we’re getting a lot better right now. That’s what these games are for.”

Up next, the Chargers play host to Pace to open their District 32-5A slate at 5:30 p.m. next Friday.

“We’ve been playing well,” Vasquez said. “We’ve been getting better week by week, and we’re headed in the right direction. Next week is our first district game, and so hopefully things go our way.”

The Hawks are set to begin their District 32-6A season at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Los Fresnos.

South Texas Showcase

Friday’s Games

At Brownsville Hanna

Brownsville Pace 3, Laredo LBJ 2

San Benito 3, La Salle 0

Brownsville Hanna 5, Laredo LBJ 0

At Brownsville Rivera

Donna North 2, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 1

Brownsville Rivera 1, McAllen Rowe 0

At Brownsville Veterans

Brownsville Lopez 5, La Joya High 3

Brownsville Veterans Memorial 2, Harlingen South 0

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE – San Benito goalkeeper Xavier Ibarra was quite busy during Thursday’s South Texas Futbol Showcase game against Lopez at Rivera.

Among his many impressive saves, however, came one crucial mistake – a blunder that proved to be decisive in the Lobos’ 2-0 win over the Greyhounds.

Having already stopped big shots by Aaron Martinez, Juan Jaramillo, and others, San Benito had withstood plenty of pressure from Lopez throughout the first half.

With less than 10 minutes to go in the period, Luis Gonzalez found space to get off a long distance shot, a 30-yarder that bounced in front of Ibarra and trickled through his legs to give the Lobos the lead.

Lopez coach Amadeo Escandon said his team’s approach was to attack from anywhere they could create separation and to not pass up any open looks, even if those chances came further away from the goal.

“In the first half we told (the players) to keep pushing the ball up,” Escandon said. “We told them to take shots whenever they have a chance, and obviously we took a shot and there was a mistake by the goalie, but regardless it went in.”

Lopez’s Jovan Zamarripa struck from close range in the second half to provide the Lobos with an insurance goal.

“It was a set play and (Zamarripa) was there at the right time,” Escandon said. “It worked out. … We try to get whatever (the defense) gives us. I told the kids, whatever you read from the defense, that’s what we’ll do. Those set plays, they call them themselves. That tells us that the intelligence is there, (it just comes down to) the execution I guess just to finish with goal. But we’re very happy with them.”

One of the game’s most notable athletic sequences came late in the second half, when Lopez’s Miguel Perez made an acrobatic shot while fading away and leaning off of one leg, and Ibarra leaped across the goalie’s box to knock the ball out of play.

San Benito’s Hector Garcia (first half) and Axel Rivera (second half) were both issued yellow cards during Thursday’s contest.

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE – Jose Garcia scored twice to lift Harlingen High over Brownsville St. Joseph Academy 2-1 on a warm and muggy Wednesday night.

Garcia’s first goal came at the 14-minute mark of the first half with the Cardinals trailing 1-0 after the Bloodhounds tabbed the game’s first goal off the boot of Salomon Najera four minutes earlier.

His second – the game-winner – came with four and a half minutes to play in the second half. Like his first strike, he sent the ball into the left side of the goal, but instead of going top shelf, he opted to chip the ball low and away on a sharp angle.

“We try to give (Garcia) the ball in space because he’s a three-year starter with a lot of speed and a lot of potential,” Harlingen High coach Johnny Guillen said.

The victory was the first of seven games the Cardinals are set to play in a span of three days.

SJA goalkeeper Francisco De La Garza made several key saves in a half Harlingen High dominated possession but failed to capitalize on its quality chances in front of the net.

In the 19th minute of the first half, Skylen Perez dribbled and juked his way into a 1-on-1 opportunity with De La Garza, who gloved the line drive from about 10 feet away.

The Cardinals’ Zach Munoz had a free kick clear the crossbar and Lucas Zepeda also airmailed another close-range chance.

“I’m proud of these kids and the way they came out,” Guillen said. “We switched our midfield around and to me we controlled the midfield. We played very physical, but they’re a great team as well. … (SJA) did a great job.”

At the 13-minute mark, an accurate through ball by Perez gave Garcia a breakaway chance, but he too managed to lift the ball above the goal.

SJA’s best chance to take the lead came when the Bloodhounds tried a long ball for Antonio Garza that was kicked just out of his reach with five and a half minutes to go in the first half.

Perez took a short corner kick for Harlingen and tried to give the Cardinals the lead himself, but his shot attempt was launched from an awkward angle and the ball struck the side of the net.

The Bloodhounds and Cardinals went into the half tied at 1-1.

SJA’s defense helped prolong the deadlock, as their “wall” blocked Perez’s free kick with 15 minutes to go.

The Bloodhounds’ Pedro Cardenas tackled Perez to prevent a breakaway goal and so the Cardinals were awarded a penalty kick with 6:45 to go in the second half.

Jacob Garza took the penalty shot for Harlingen High and De La Garza dove into the lower right corner of the goal to deflect it away.

St. Joseph Academy assistant coach Pedro Cardenas said he thought the game was a good building block for the Bloodhounds to learn from moving forward as they focus on their next big district contest at Laredo St. Augustine at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

“I think our kids showed a lot of heart,” Cardenas said. “We’re getting ready for district and I think this is a good step to get there.”

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

PORT ISABEL – Jubilee Brownsville likes to play fast and aggressive under coach Robert Coronado.

The Titans exhibited those tendencies and plenty of skill in route to a 3-0 road win over Port Isabel on Tuesday night.

Jubilee scored all three of its goals in the first half, two of which came on penalty kicks.

Eduardo de Ledesma took a free kick from the edge of the box at the 38-minute mark and Diego Araujo took the first corner kick of the game for Jubilee. Araujo skipped the ball into the ground toward a cluster of players in front of the net, but it was cleared away.

Port Isabel took its first corner kick with 36 minutes to play in the first half.

Luis Gonzalez’s clean shot from the top of the box hooked to the right of the goalpost was the closest the Tarpons came to scoring in the first half with 16 minutes remaining.

Araujo’s 25-yard free kick bounced into the arms of the Port Isabel goalie with less than 12 minutes to go, about 15 seconds later, Kevin Ramirez snuck in past the defense and blasted home a low line drive to put the visitors ahead 1-0.

“(Ramirez’s goal) was a team play,” Coronado said. “So I’m pretty proud of that. … I want to have that kind of pace throughout the season, that’s what I’m looking for.”

About a minute later, Port Isabel’s Brayan Medina had a 1-on-1 chance with Jubilee goalie Eduardo Martin, but Medina’s low shot missed just wide of the post.

“Unfortunately we were not able to put it on target,” second-year Port Isabel coach Josh Kirton said of Medina’s scoring chance. “Next thing you know, it’s 3-0 because we (didn’t) take care of our our opportunities and they capitalized on theirs.”

Coronado said he thought the Titans were shaky defensively for the first 15 to 20 minutes of the first half.

“We learned from it, we made some changes, and we got better,” Coronado said of his team’s response in the second half.
Fabian Covarrubias scored on a penalty kick to double the Jubilee lead with 8:23 left in the period.

Gonzalez converted on his penalty kick, squeaking the ball past Juan Martinez, the Port Isabel goalkeeper.

Martinez’s dive toward the ball in the lower right corner was an accurate but late guess, boosting the Titans’ advantage to 3-0 with three and a half minutes to play in the first half.

Yellow cards were issued to Port Isabel’s Medina and Jefferson Nieto and de Ledesma of Jubilee.

“(Jubilee) just wanted it a little bit more than us tonight,” Kirton said. “They worked harder. Hats off to them, they played a great game. We didn’t really show up to play tonight.”

Next up: The Tarpons are slated to face Monte Alto and the Titans are scheduled to play Brownsville IDEA Frontier. Both games are set to kick off at 6 p.m. Friday from Brownsville Sports Park.

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

Sometimes the third time is the charm.

That was the case for Pace’s Erik Chavez, who saved his best effort for the last of his three scoring chances against Rivera for the decisive goal in a 1-0 win in the BISD Showcase on Saturday at Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

After Chavez got off two point-blank shots at the 5:37 mark, Raiders goalkeeper Rodrigo Planeda denied him on the first try and stood his ground to flick away the second shot off of a short rebound.

Chavez and the Vikings took advantage of a giveaway by Rivera’s Efrain Garcia in front of the Raiders’ net to get on the board first with 29 seconds left in the half, as Chavez deposited the ball in the top right corner to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead at the break.

“We had the wind in our favor,” Pace coach Mario A. Zamora said. “We needed to take advantage of that during the first half. We recovered the ball (after the turnover) and (Chavez) was able to put the ball on the (weak side) on the right side of the goal.”

The error the Raiders made was a result of hesitation that blemished what was otherwise an even half between the two teams.

“That’s been the story of our tournament,” Rivera coach Salvador Garcia said. “We had plenty of chances and we made a simple mistake and they scored on us. … I’ve been around and I understand that sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”

Rivera ratcheted up the intensity in the second half and spent nearly the entire period on the attack, beginning with an unobstructed midrange shot by David Villarreal that went straight into the arms of Pace goalie Juan Lucio.

“In the second half they had (the majority of) the chances,” Zamora said. “But we defended very well. We reinforced our defense today and we were able to hold off their attack. I think that’s what we’re working on.”

Salvador De Leon took a free kick for Rivera at the 35-minute mark. De Leon drew another foul and free kick two minutes late from 15 yards out, and the Raiders managed to get a shot off but it carried wide of the goal.

Jamin Muniz was able to slip past the Pace defense for a 1-on-1 opportunity with Lucio with 30 minutes to go after a nifty through ball by Kevin Zarazagas, but Muniz’s shot was knocked away by Lucio.

Villarreal had another shot opportunity that was launched out of bounds into the side of the net and the Raiders had a corner kick that was snuffed out by the Vikings defense at the 17-minute mark.

A corner by De Leon with seven minutes to go failed to create another good chance and was cleared out by Pace. Seconds later, Daniel Esquivel’s shot on goal landed softly into arms of Lucio.

After nearly 40 minutes of applying relentless pressure, Rivera’s Hector Ramirez orchestrated the Raiders’ last stand, a final counterattack that began on their side of midfield and ended in front of the goal.

Pace’s Gabriel Morales was issued a yellow card for his aggressive challenge with 43 seconds to go. Zarazagas took the free kick for Rivera, and after an errant header and some chaos in front of the net, the clock ran out on Rivera’s comeback bid.

Garcia acknowledged that while his team did dominate possession, he felt the number of quality scoring opportunities weren’t high enough to reflect how much time his team spent in control of the ball.

“The bottom line is, you’ve got to create chances,” Garcia. “Yeah, we created a few chances here and there. But not with the kind of possession that we had. We’ve got to be more productive in the offensive third (of the field). We have to create more chances and make a lot more movement. We still have a few weeks to go before the first day of district, so hopefully the kids can learn from it and be ready for that.”

STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

LOS FRESNOS — Harlingen South’s Laura Ramirez set the tone for the Lady Hawks when she drilled a 3-pointer for the first basket of the game.

It was all green and orange from that point on, as the visitors took down Los Fresnos 46-34 on Friday night in their District 32-6A opener.

“We brought a lot of energy tonight,” Harlingen South coach Kelly Garrett said. “Our goal was to be 1-0 after tonight, and that’s what we did.”

The Lady Hawks opened the game on a 7-0 run during the first two and a half minutes of play, which quickly became 9-0 when Alexes Rocha (11 points) knocked down a wide-open 10-footer to prompt Los Fresnos coach Rebecca Valdez to call timeout at the 4:41 mark.

“(Rocha) did a great job,” Garrett said. “She kept her composure, penetrated (the defense), got to the basket. She didn’t force much. She did a really good job keeping her composure.”

Harlingen South relied on balanced scoring from Ramirez, one of three Lady Hawks to score seven points alongside Julia Celis and Allyah Guevara. Guevera and Karla Reyes (eight points) both made a 3.

“We don’t have a main scorer, really,” Garrett said. “Everyone has to do their job, and if we do our job hopefully someone is eventually going to be open.”

Ramirez banked in a triple on the Lady Hawks’ first possession following the timeout and put Harlingen South ahead 12-2 with less than four minutes to play in the period.

The Lady Hawks led 15-4 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams failed to score again until the 5-minute mark of the second quarter.

“We were able to jump on them, and that (early) lead really helped us,” Garrett said. “We were able to maintain it, but we kind of let them in the game again towards the end a little bit.”

Celis drew a hard foul on a made layup and swished the free throw to give Harlingen South a 22-7 advantage with 4:14 to go in the second quarter.

Most of Los Fresnos’ wounds were self-inflicted, as the Lady Falcons committed turnovers in their defensive half and often gave the ball away on the other end when they were just short of finding an open teammate for a good look.

The Lady Hawks led 27-13 at the half.

Reyes hit a floater for South that made it 31-13 with six minutes to play in the third quarter. The Lady Falcons trailed 36-21 at the end of the quarter.

Los Fresnos’ Ari Gallardo (10 points) found Victoria Hernandez for an easy layup under the basket to cut the deficit to 11 points with 6:35 to go in the fourth quarter.

Sarahi Jones had nine points, and Clarissa Esquibel had six points for the Lady Falcons.

Following a timeout by Garrett, the Lady Hawks swung the ball around the arc for Guevara, who sank an open triple to make the score 39-28 in favor of the visitors.

Hernandez split a pair of free throws to cut the Harlingen South lead to nine with four and a half minutes to play.

Gallardo stole the ball from Amber Lopez (five points) and finished with a layup to trim the deficit to eight, but Lopez answered at the other end with a basket ­­­to put Harlingen South back in control, up 42-32 with 1:58 to go.

By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE — Winds in excess of 30 mph made it tough on Brownsville Porter and Harlingen South to get much of anything going offensively during their BISD Showcase game Friday at Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

Alvaro Benavidez’s goal at the 28-minute mark of the first half was sufficient for the Cowboys to hang on for a 2-0 win and their second victory of the day, having dispatched Brownsville Rivera 2-1 earlier.

Porter coach Jose Espitia said his team trailed 1-0 at the half against Rivera before scoring twice to rally and earn a win against a city rival.

During the match against Harlingen South, Espitia said he was impressed by his team’s ability to create several scoring opportunities and to adjust to the conditions by opting to make shorter passes on the ground.

“(Benavides) did really well,” Espitia said. “It was him and (Sabas Pena), they came out and (Benavides) got a good shot.”

A late penalty goal from Rodolfo Armendariz gave Porter an additional cushion.

The Cowboys dominated possession and controlled the flow of the game, though the heavy winds did thwart many longer pass attempts from both sides.

“That’s our style of play,” Espitia said. “We don’t have the size and strength that other teams have. … We’ve got to use our advantages. We’ve got the skill and we’ve got the quickness, so we try to use that and maintain possession of the ball and to not (commit) too many fouls.”

With 16 minutes remaining in the half, Jose Mateos led a push for Porter that generated several rebounds and a frantic scramble in front of the goal, but the Cowboys failed to convert.

Harlingen South’s Christian Hernandez took a corner kick with less than five minutes to play in the first half, and it was promptly cleared away by the Porter defense.

Most of the Hawks’ chances came from corner kicks and free kicks, as Porter kept Harlingen South from getting any clean looks from close range.

Fernando Munoz, fresh off the bench for Porter, had a shot go wide right from inside the box with the Cowboys going against the wind with six minutes to go in the second half.

With two minutes to go, Harlingen South’s Jesus Hernandez was issued a misconduct for his tackle of Porter’s Rosendo Cantu inside the box.

Armendariz took the penalty shot for Porter and buried it into the lower right corner of the net, past the outstretched fingertips of Hawks goalkeeper Luis Beadle to double the Cowboys’ lead and seal the win