By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
With a share of the District 32-6A title on the line, Los Fresnos Falcons quarterback Pierce Ruiz wasted no time carrying his team to a 49-0 rout of the Hanna Golden Eagles on Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The win gives the Falcons (7-3, 5-2) their first district championship since 2008.
“It’s great to have our piece of the cake,” Los Fresnoscoach Clint Finley said. “The boys worked hard all season long, and they did what it took to get it done.”
Los Fresnos opened the scoring after a fortuitous bounce gave Taylor Kage an interception of Hanna quarterback Andy Lopez, giving the Falcons the ball at the 7-yard line of Hanna (3-6, 2-5).
Ruiz carried the ball into the end zone to put the Falcons ahead 7-0, and they never looked back.
Ruiz added another touchdown at the end of the first quarter with a 17-yard run, and teammate Eli Cruz started the second quarter with a score from 7 yards out.
“(Ruiz) is a hard worker,” Finley said. “He’s a smart kid, he’s a team player, he does everything you ask him to do, and his hard work paid off for him this year.”
Miguel Garcia caught a pass from Ruiz to close out the half, and Los Fresnos took a 28-0 lead into halftime.
The second half was the same as the first.
The Falcons’ backups took the reins and jumped out to a quick lead when Rene Ortega carried it in from 3 yards out and Sammy Cruz added another score on an 11-yard run.
With the score at 42-0 in favor of Los Fresnos, Mark Zamorano finalized the scoring with a 20-yard reception from Ortega with less than one minute remaining in the game.
Hanna had already been eliminated from playoff contention prior to Saturday’s game, but with the season officially coming to a close, Eagles coach Rene Medrano will try to get his team geared up for next season as soon as possible.
“You hate to end it the way we did,” he said. “You never want it to end, but these (seniors) were here through it all, they did what they needed to do.
“It didn’t work out for us, but we’ve got a lot of kids coming back. We’ll regroup, and we’ll move forward. We had some guys out with injuries late in the year, and it took its toll on us.We’ll just regroup, put it together and try to revamp everything on Monday.
Los Fresnos will play in the bi-district round of the playoffs against the Edinburg North Cougars at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Cats Stadium in Edinburg .
“I’m excited about (our team),” Finley said. “We’ve got a little momentum going into the playoffs, and I think (our team is) excited. I think that’s what it takes this time of year. It’s been a long season.”
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.