By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The focus of high school athletics earlier this week in the Rio Grande Valley was the University Interscholastic League’s biennial district realignment that takes effect at the start of school next fall and runs through the 2022 school year.
All sports were affected, including soccer.
District 32-6A soccer is expanding from six to eight teams and will add Weslaco High and Donna North starting for the 2021 season. Already in 32-6A are San Benito, Los Fresnos, Harlingen High, Harlingen South, Brownsville Rivera and Brownsville Hanna.
District 32-5A will stay with BISD schools Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Brownsville Lopez, Brownsville Porter and Brownsville Pace, along with Donna High, Edcouch-Elsa and Mercedes. Weslaco East will move into 32-5A and take the place of Valley View, which is being realigned to District 31-5A. Joining Valley View in 31-5A will be McAllen High, McAllen Memorial and McAllen Rowe along with Sharyland High, Sharyland Pioneer, PSJA Memorial and PSJA Southwest.
Valley View coach Damian Magallan said his team welcomes the challenge in its new district.
“This new realignment gives us a chance to go against teams we haven’t faced in district before,” Magallan said. “Let’s see what level of play this new district brings. I think it will be a benefit to everyone. Our current district has the schools from Brownsville, which are very close in their level of competition. We’ll see what happens in our new district.”
Valley View won 32-5A last season and advanced to the UIL state tournament. The Tigers appear to be on the verge of winning 32-5A again.
Meanwhile, coaches in 32-6A seem to welcome the district’s expansion and view it as an opportunity for greater competition with eights rather than six.
“I feel this new realignment just brings in two more competitive teams into an already competitive district, with Weslaco High and Donna North coming in,” San Benito coach William Huerta said. “It will be interesting and challenging as always.”
Rivera coach Salvador Garcia agreed.
“In my humble opinion, I believe our district is going to be even tougher now with the addition of Weslaco High and Donna North. Donna North has created a powerhouse in boys soccer. This will help all of us tremendously, because that kind of competition will prepare us better for the postseason.”
32-6A UPDATE
After two game dates in 32-6A, Los Fresnos is atop the boys standings with a 2-0 record and six points. Hanna, Rivera, Harlingen High and San Benito are all tied for second place with 1-1 records and three points apiece. Harlingen South (0-2, no points) is next.
For the girls, Rivera and Harlingen High share the 32-6A lead with 2-0 records and six points each. Harlingen South comes next at 2-0 and five points, and Los Fresnos is 0-2 with one point. Hanna and San Benito are each 0-2 with no points.
32-5A UPDATE
Valley View has surged forward in the boys standings to lead with a 4-0 record and 12 points. Brownsville Veterans is in second place with a 3-1 record and nine points. Lopez is in third with a 3-1 record and eight points, and Porter is in fourth at 2-2 with seven points. After that, it’s Donna High (2-2, six points), Pace (1-3, three points), Mercedes (1-3, two points) and Edcouch-Elsa (0-4, no points).
The 32-5A girls are led by Porter with a 4-0 record and 12 points. Second place belongs to Brownsville Veterans with a 4-0 mark and 10 points. Pace is tied for second with the Lady Chargers at 3-1 and 10 points. E-E comes next at 2-2 and seven points, followed by Lopez (2-2, five points), Valley View (1-3, three points), Donna High (0-4, one point) and Mercedes (0-4, no points).
The Brownsville Veterans girls play host to the Cowgirls at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
TAPPS PLAYOFFS OPEN
The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds opened the TAPPS playoffs with a 3-2 win a home Wednesday against San Antonio Cypress. The Bloodhounds led 1-0 at halftime.
The Bloodhounds are scheduled to play an area-round match Saturday.