By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
Five Metro-area teams are slated to tip off bi-district games this week, beginning today with the Hanna Golden Eagles.
The Eagles (21-6, 10-4 in District 32-6A) will start their playoff run against the Edinburg North Cougars (18-14, 8-4 in District 31-6A) at 7 p.m. tonight in Weslaco.
Hanna finished tied for first in its district with Los Fresnos and Harlingen South after winning its final two games. Following a coin flip, the Eagles were seeded third and will face a Cougars team that finished in second place in its district.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Hanna coach Todd Barckholtz said. “We responded to three tough losses in a row and took care of business against San Benito to lock up a playoff spot.
“I expect a very competitive game, both sides have some competitive players. We want our captains and leaders to continue leading our team, and hopefully whoever comes off the bench can provide a spark.”
The trio of Alex Herrera, Andy Lopez and Ed Messbarger will lead a balanced Eagles attack. Herrera averages 12.3 points, 7.2 assists and 5.6 steals per game, Lopez averages 12.6 points per game, and Messbarger contributes 12.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
The Brownsville IDEA Frontier Chargers (11-8, 3-5), the third-place team out of District 32-3A, will play their opening-round playoff game against Santa Gertrudis Academy at 7 tonight in Raymondville. The Kingsville squad placed second in 31-3A.
“I feel confident about our team, we’ve competed all year,” IDEA Frontier coach Jerry de la Garza said. “We’ll have to play strong defense. (Santa Gertrudis) is traditionally a very good shooting team.”
The remaining three Metro-area teams — Los Fresnos, Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Pace — will play Tuesday.
The top-seeded Falcons (21-11, 10-4 in District 32-6A) will play host to District 31-6A’s fourth-place team, PSJA North (20-10, 8-4), at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“Overall, I like the way our team’s been playing,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “I like the way San Benito played us, and I think they got us ready for the playoffs.
“We’re going to need good ball control and minimize turnovers. (PSJA North) is a well-coached, scrappy team.”
Los Fresnos will rely on scoring leader Hugo De La Cruz, who averages 16.2 points per game. Other notable Falcons include Jose Mansilla, who leads the team in rebounds with 7.7 per game, and Alex Garcia, who has made a team-high 35 three-pointers.
Brownsville Veterans (18-12, 9-5), the No. 4 seed, will also represent District 32-6A and will face District 31-6A’s first-place team, the Weslaco High Panthers (22-11, 10-2), at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Weslaco.
“We’re two similar teams,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said. “I think that whoever controls the tempo will have the best chance.”
The Chargers’ Aaron Villarreal, who averages 9.3 point per game, is nursing a sprained ankle that sidelined him for their regular-season finale against the Rivera Raiders. Gibson has his fingers crossed Villarreal will be able to play as he’s been making gradual improvements during the team’s last three practice sessions.
Leading scorer Isaiah Torres averages 10.7 points per game and also paces the team with 4.1 rebounds per game, 2.6 assists per game and 2.3 steals per game.
“I feel like we’ve been on a roll. We’ve won our last four games, and the kids have been playing well together,” Gibson said.
Representing District 32-5A in the postseason will be the Pace Vikings (19-12, 11-3), who finished the district season in second place and will face the Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots (27-7, 7-5 in District 31-5A) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Mission.
The Vikings completed their regular season after spoiling Donna High’s previously perfect district record of 13-0 with a 56-50 overtime win.
“We needed that win to catch some momentum and get some wind under our wings heading into the playoffs,” Pace coach Jose Luis Ramirez said. “We know our team’s potential, and when we perform at our best we’re as good as anybody. Going into our last game we knew we couldn’t be satisfied doing what was expected. We told our team ‘Let’s do the unexpected. Let’s beat Donna and let’s go win a bi-district title.’”
Pace is led by Andres Salgado, who averages 14.4 points per game, but the Vikings have received contributions from a number of players of late.
“We need to play (Mission Veterans) tough,” Ramirez said. “They play man-to-man, they’re well-coached, well-disciplined and they can shoot. They play in a tough district. Even the teams that didn’t make the playoffs are really good, and that says a lot about their team. I expect a high-energy game.”
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.