By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Kicking is important
Hanna and Los Fresnos found out how important it is to have a good kicker especially in tense situations during their district games last weekend. The Golden Eagles’ sophomore kicker, Michael Payan, helped earn Hanna a 19-16 district victory over Harlingen South with a game-winning 22-yard field goal with just two seconds remaining. That wasn’t before the Hawks called a timeout in hopes of rattling the sophomore before his kick. “That kid has ice water in his veins,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “He didn’t even know the timeout (that Harlingen South called) was to ice him.” It was his second field goal of the night after hitting a 33-yarder to give the Eagles a 16-9 lead with 4:57 left in the third quarter. Payan’s field goals were the only points Hanna scored in the second half, but it needed them to claim its second District 32-6A win and rise to third in the standings. Los Fresnos was down 16-14 in the fourth quarter on the road to Weslaco East. The Falcons’ defense got a stop as the Wildcats turned over the ball on downs midway through the final quarter. Los Fresnos drove to the Weslaco East 16-yard line before being deciding what to do on fourth down. The Falcons’ Alejandro Fragoso missed a 33-yarder, but the Wildcats were called for a penalty. Fragoso got another chance and didn’t waste it, hitting from 28 yards to give Los Fresnos a 17-16 advantage. It turned out to be the game-winner as the Falcons earned their first victory in District 32-6A this season.
Hanna stepped up after loss
Not only did kicker Michael Payan step up for Hanna, the offense regained some of its momentum after being shut out last week against Weslaco High. Senior running back Jaime Gonzalez, the leading rusher in District 32-6A, got back on track after being held to less than 80 yards last week to rush for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Golden Eagles finished with 314 yards of total offense against the best defensive unit in the district. Quarterback Ernesto Benavides also played well. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 121 yards and kept the Hawks’ defense guessing most of the night. The defense deserves some credit as well as it held Harlingen South to 195 yards and 14 offensive points and forced them to punt four times and turn the ball over on downs once. With the 19-16 win, Hanna moved to 2-1 in district play, good enough for third in the standings behind San Benito and Harlingen High, unbeaten at 3-0 and they share the top spot in District 32-6A.
Los Fresnos gets back on track
Los Fresnos finally got a win in a close game after a few close games in District 32-6A during which the Falcons found themselves on the short end of things. Trailing by 13 points at the break, Los Fresnos quarterback Mark Mata took over in the second half. Mata, suspended a week ago, played with purpose and finished with 212 yards and a touchdown on the ground to lead his team to the comeback 17-16 win over the Wildcats. Los Fresnos kicker Alejandro Fragoso made sure his 28-yard field goal attempt was good the second time after missing a longer field goal that was negated by a Weslaco East penalty with about four minutes left to play. The victory gave Los Fresnos some life in District 32-6A, pushing its record to 1-2 in district play instead of 0-3. With a loaded district from top to bottom, a loss might have kept the Falcons from the playoffs, but a win puts them right back in the mix of things with a home game this week against Hanna coming up.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial bounced back on the road
After a painful loss fueled by too many turnovers to Mercedes a week ago, Brownsville Veterans Memorial played one of its best games on the season. Led by quarterback Gustavo Vasquez and running back Abel Martinez, the duo had more than 400 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns between them in the 50-20 rout of Edcouch-Elsa on the road in District 32-5A. Vasquez also completed 4 of 5 passes for 82 yards through the air. The Chargers’ defense held the potent Yellowjackets’ offense in check as Brownsville Veterans built a 36-13 lead at the break. The Chargers outscored Edcouch-Elsa 14-7 after halftime in the big victory in district play. Brownsville Veterans is now 4-2 overall and 2-1 in district. But it doesn’t get any easier with a game against Lopez (5-1, 3-0) in Week 8.
Lopez offense takes another step forward
It might have taken some time for the Lopez offense to catch up to the defense, but it seems to be pretty even now. The Lobos have now won five straight games after opening the season with a loss. In four of those five wins, Lopez has topped 30 points, including a season-high 49 in a 49-26 victory over Donna High to push its District 32-5A record to 3-0, tied with Mercedes for the top spot in the standings. The Lobos scored double-digit points in three of the four quarters, including 20 in the final quarter to quell any rally by the Redskins. Lopez is scoring through the air and on the ground. Against Donna High, quarterback Alex Ramirez threw three touchdown passes, two to receiver Johnny Ibarra — and running back Ivan Olivo led the ground attack with 98 yards and a trio of touchdowns for the Lobos. Lopez faces a tough test this week against Brownsville Veterans.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.