MISSION — While Sharyland Pioneer was in the heat of its third-round playoff battle against Georgetown East View last Saturday at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi, a purple shirt stood out amongst the Diamondbacks’ home-crowd.
Although purple is the primary school color for Corpus Christi Miller, it wasn’t a Buccaneers shirt. Instead, the back of the shirt read “Puro Pantera” and belonged to a Weslaco High Panthers fan, who made the trip to support Sharyland Pioneer, the only Rio Grande Valley team remaining in the UIL playoffs.
“We’re the last Valley team standing, so we got that chip of the 956 on our shoulder. You look in the stands and you see colors from schools around the Valley. Just to have that support, it’s great. I love it,” Pioneer middle linebacker Caleb Fuentes said.
From Cameron to Starr County, the Diamondbacks have received an outpouring of support across the RGV, as Pioneer prepares for the Class 5A Division II Region IV final against Liberty Hill today in San Antonio. Pioneer is just the eighth team from the Valley to reach the fourth round of the playoffs in the last 30 years.
“We have some great football in the Rio Grande Valley and it is an honor for us to be able to represent the 956 in the fourth round. We’re not done — we feel good about our chances,” Pioneer head coach Tom Lee said. “We know Liberty Hill is a great football program, we know that they’re playing for a lot, but we’re playing for a lot of people down here as well and our goal is to get to that next round.”
| Sharyland Pioneer wide receiver Joseph Graham Jr. (2) makes the catch before running into the endzone against Georgetown East View in a Class 5A Division II Region IV Semifinals at Buccaneer Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020, in Corpus Christi. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) |
Now, the Diamondbacks have an opportunity to create more history. A win would make Pioneer the first team from the RGV in 17 years to reach the state semifinals in football, or the final four of the playoffs. Port Isabel (1981, 1994, 2003), Mission High (1990) and Edinburg High (1999) are among the Valley teams that have accomplished the feat in the last 40 years.
“We’re not just Pioneer going to the fourth round, we’re the RGV going to the fourth round. We’re carrying the torch for everyone to make it as far as we can and represent the Valley, because we don’t really get that much respect as football teams down here,” Pioneer center Vance Roberts said.
The Valley has been known to rally behind its last high school football team standing in the playoffs similarly to how the state supports a Miss Texas pageant winner in the Miss America pageant. No matter the outcome, Texas supports its own on the brightest stage.
In the RGV, football teams go to battle against each other week-in and week-out on the gridiron, but once the playoffs roll around, whichever team is left standing becomes the Valley’s team.
“I know we all battle against each other, but it’s an opportunity for the Valley to get seen, now and in the future,” Pioneer senior receiver/kicker Mike Ramos Jr. said.
Sharyland Pioneer first realized its potential during the 2018 postseason. Although the Diamondbacks lost in the first round —a 56-55 heartbreaker to a Port Lavaca Calhoun team that ended up going four rounds deep in the playoffs — they were encouraged by their grit.
That offseason, Pioneer quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger and the Diamondbacks began making serious strides.
| Sharyland Pioneer quarterback Eddie Lee Marburger (12) carries the ball against Georgetown East View defensive player Thomas Thornburg (33) in a Class 5A Division II Region IV Semifinals at Buccaneer Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020, in Corpus Christi. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) |
Pioneer spent that summer blowing teams away in 7-on-7 football, earning a spot at the Texas State 7on7 Championships in College Station. The Diamondbacks then went 3-0 on Day 1 of the tournament to become the first team from the RGV to go unbeaten in pool play, as Pioneer picked up wins over Cy Woods, Hebron and Temple.
Last fall, Pioneer put together its best season in program history with an 11-2 overall record, as the Diamondbacks won the District 16-5A DII championship outright en route its first ever postseason game. Pioneer went on to battle into the third round of the playoffs, before losing a 45-38 overtime thriller to Boerne-Champion in the Alamodome.
Now, Pioneer is fresh off kicking down the fourth-round playoff door, after beating Georgetown East View 77-64 last week. Up next is Liberty Hill, a team from the Austin area, which is nothing new for Pioneer.
Over the past two years, Pioneer has earned postseason wins over three Austin-area teams (Pflugerville Weiss in 2019, Marble Falls and Georgetown East View in 2020) and two San Antonio-area teams (San Antonio Southside in 2019, Medina Valley in 2020).
“Depending where a team is from, I think that’s zero intimidation factor to anybody on our team. We play everyone the same, and we play to win every game,” Pioneer cornerback Alejandro Vasquez said.
| Sharyland Pioneer wide receiver Tristan Castillo (15) attempts a catch against Georgetown East View in a Class 5A Division II Region IV Semifinals at Buccaneer Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020, in Corpus Christi. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) |
The Diamondbacks have embedded that fearless mindset into their culture. Fuentes, who was on Pioneer’s 2018 state-qualifying baseball team (the first RGV baseball team to reach state since 2007), said he sees the similarities between the two runs in both sports when it comes to the mental side of the game.
“In terms of building that mindset, it’s all about believing in yourselves, trusting each other and that camaraderie. We’ve been playing together for six years now — a lot of times when you think ‘this team is going here, this team is going there’ — to us, we just see it as playing with our buddies,” Fuentes said. “And that confidence comes from that camaraderie, that friendship and that trust that we have in each other.”
All season long, Sharyland Pioneer’s motto has been “Finish the Fight.” Today, the Diamondbacks (8-0, 4-0) will step onto the gridiron for a 48-minute fourth round playoff fight against Liberty Hill (11-0, 6-0) with a spot in the final four on the line.
And when the ball is kicked off, the entire RGV will be behind them.
“It’s an honor to represent the RGV. We’re playing for them come Saturday,” Marburger said.
Kickoff between Sharyland Pioneer and Liberty Hill is slated for 5 today at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio. Ticket information can be found online at SharylandISD.org/departments/athletics/game_tickets.