By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
Only three weeks remain in the regular season, leaving little time for the Hanna Golden Eagles and Harlingen South Hawks if either team hopes to make a playoff push in District 32-6A.
That likely will require them to win each of the remaining games on their respective schedules. The two teams begin that stretch when they face off at 7 p.m. tonight at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Hanna (2-4, 1-3 in district) earned its first district win of the season last week, 34-15 over a winless Lopez Lobos team. The Eagles’ offense has been productive of late, scoring 76 points during their past two games primarily thanks to one of the best quarterback-wide receiver combinations in the district.
Hanna quarterback Andy Lopez leads the district in yards per game with 206 and has been incredibly accurate, completing more than 75 percent of his passes. Nearly one-third of those completions have gone to his favorite target, Lucas Olivares, who leads the district in receptions with 26.
Eagles coach Rene Medrano — who is expected to coach tonight after the recent death of his father — is pleased to see his offense hit its stride, and it could be the ticket for Hanna to make a late run.
“The kids are working hard in practice,” he said. “They continue to get better.
“They’re going to keep fighting to be successful. They know where they sit, and they know they’re still in it. But you can only play the games that are in front of you.”
Harlingen South (2-5, 1-3) will look to reset after a mistake-plagued loss to the Rivera Raiders last week.
“We need to play a clean game against Hanna,” Hawks coach Lanny Wilsonsaid. “We’ve had drives, quarters and halves where we’ve played well, but we need to put a complete game together.”
South ranks in the middle of the district defensively. If his team is going to beat the Eagles to stay alive in the playoff race, Wilson believes it will come down to eliminating mistakes and making adjustments.
Harlingen South quarterback Jimmy Morton was injured during last week’s contest and missed the remainder of the game. Wilson has classified him as day-to-day, and he will be a game-time decision against Hanna.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.