By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
By now, open dates have come and gone for practically all football teams in the Rio Grande Valley.
Having taken a little “breather” thanks to a bye week, the focus now is for teams to compete well in their respective districts down the home stretch of the regular season and earn a spot in the playoffs.
With that scenario in mind, there’s a full schedule of games on tap involving Brownsville-area teams beginning Thursday and continuing through Saturday.
It all starts at 7 p.m. Thursday as District 16-5A Division I games find Donna High (4-2, 3-2) playing Brownsville Veterans Memorial (5-1, 4-1) at Sams Memorial Stadium and Porter (1-5, 0-5) going to Rio Grande City (1-5, 1-4).
There are four games on tap Friday involving Brownsville-area teams, including a District 32-6A matchup at 7:30 p.m. in Los Fresnos as the Falcons (2-4, 0-1) play host to the Rivera Raiders (0-6, 0-1), plus there’s a 16-5A Division I clash at 7:30 p.m. at Sams between Pace (5-1, 5-0) and Lopez (2-4, 1-4).
Also Friday, District 16-4A Division II gets underway as Port Isabel (3-3) plays at Progreso (3-4).
St. Joseph Academy (1-5, 0-0) begins TAPPS Division II District 4 competition at 7 p.m. Friday at Corpus Christi John Paul II (3-4, 0-1).
The weekend’s big showdown in Brownsville at 2 p.m. Saturday finds Harlingen High (2-3, 0-1) taking on Hanna (4-1, 1-0) in a 32-6A matchup at Sams.
After having only one game at Sams a week ago due to open dates, there are again three contests on the Sams schedule this week.
Brownsville Veterans is one of the area teams coming off an open date.
Chargers coach David Cantu reserves the right to evaluate just how beneficial it was to have a bye week until after his team plays Donna High on Thursday.
“Let’s see if it was a positive bye week by how we respond in our game against Donna,” Cantu said. “We needed a break, and I think we’re definitely ready to get back on the field.
“I believe the key will be how we play on defense,” Cantu added. “Are we going to respond to their type of power running game and physical play? It’s a traditional Donna team with some good athletes and a solid defense, too.
“For our part (on offense), we need to spread the ball around and keep everyone involved. We know Donna is a tough team, and we expect a close game.”
The Chargers have won three in a row since losing to Mission Veterans 45-24 on Sept. 15.
When asked just what type of grade he would give his team at this point of the season, Cantu said, “It’s an incomplete grade at this point (with still more of the season to play). But overall, as far as effort, attitude and the fun they’re having, I’d say the grade is A-plus.
“This team is really united and has good leadership, and that leadership rubs off on everyone,” Cantu added. “It’s a team that has fun and is a blast to be around. They want to go out and compete again. They seem ready (after our bye week).”
Meanwhile, one team is going to come away with a victory Thursday when RGC plays host to Porter. The Rattlers have dropped their last three games and the Cowboys are trying to break out of a five-game slump.
The Cowboys and Rattlers didn’t play each other last season because they were in different districts.
Due to injuries, the Los Fresnos-Rivera matchup in 32-6A could very well see a freshman starting at quarterback for each team, which is a rare turn of events in football at the state’s highest classification. Ramsey Rocha, a freshman, has started already for Rivera and could get the call again. The same could be said of freshman signal caller Matthew Padilla of Los Fresnos.
Port Isabel is also coming off a bye week after witnessing one of its most prolific rushing performances in years.
The Tarpons amassed 512 yards on the ground during a 48-21 triumph at home against Grulla on Oct. 5. Leading the way for the Tarpons in the victory that night was quarterback Cesar Aguilera, who rushed for 270 yards and five touchdowns. Another huge ground gainer in the game for Port Isabel was running back Brayan Medina, who ran for 198 yards and a pair of scores.
Also Friday, St. Joseph Academy plays its first conference game as a member of TAPPS Division II District 4. Friday may also mark the first time the Bloodhounds have ever gone against John Paul II. Previously, SJA competed in TAPPS Division I for a number of years.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess