By ROY HESS
Staff Writer
The Hanna Golden Eagles winning the District 32-6A championship is one of the top feel-good stories of the 2018 football season in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Eagles last won a district title in football in 2009, and the team’s last playoff win came in 1996, so it’s a pretty big deal.
Hanna is 8-1 on the season and completed 32-6A competition with a 5-0 mark thanks to last Friday’s 30-7 triumph against Harlingen South at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The coaches and players have labored long hours since even before the season began to make the team a success.
“It’s just the work ethic of all the players we have together,” said Juan Cruz, a senior middle linebacker for Hanna and the team’s tackle leader. “We have such a bond together. We all have the same goal in mind (to win), and that makes us try to be the best that we can be. We’re giving it everything we’ve got on every single play.”
From the players to the coaches, students, teachers and fans, everyone is proud of Hanna’s achievement.
“It really means a lot that this is a true district championship and more than a city championship,” said Eagles coach Mark Guess, who took over at Hanna three years ago after serving as Brownsville ISD’s athletic director. “It’s really been since 2009 that the football team here has competed for a district championship. The one thing we have to try to do now is win our playoff game. That’s one of the humps that hasn’t been crossed here in quite a while, and it’s something the guys really want to do.
“This is my first district championship as a head coach, so it means a lot,” Guess added. “Year in and year out, that’s what our goal is every season. I’ve been a coach for a number of years now, and to finally get one in this district means quite a bit because a lot of effort, planning and hard work has gone into it. There has been a lot of time spent away from our families (as coaches) working for this title. (Still) we consider the athletes part of our family, too.
“We just have to keep our eyes on what it is we’re here to do (as coaches). We’re trying help these young men become better young men than they were when they came to us. That’s what our (ultimate) goal is.”
Winning district has lifted everyone’s spirits at Hanna.
“It feels very special,” said Miguel Payan, a senior wide receiver/quarterback/kicker for the Eagles. “Not just anyone can accomplish it, and I’m proud of it.
“Everyone (around school) is very happy about it,” Payan added. “They haven’t seen one in a while. Everyone is supporting us, and it’s great.”
While the Eagles are proud of their district title, they still see plenty of work to be done in the postseason.
The Class 6A Division II bi-district playoffs start this week. Hanna plays host to District 31-6A third-place Weslaco East (5-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sams. Hanna is in the playoffs for the second straight season.
The Eagles and Wildcats originally were scheduled to play a non-district game back on Sept. 15 in Weslaco, but the threat of tropical storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico that week caused the contest to be canceled. Now the teams are playing each other for the first time this season in a contest that is considerably more meaningful than the game that was shelved.
Hanna’s season began Aug. 30 with a somewhat surprising 49-28 victory over McAllen Memorial, a team touted by some as a preseason No. 1 in the Valley. The following week saw Hanna suffer a 35-20 setback at Edinburg Vela, the team that has held the Valley’s No. 1 spot pretty much all season.
Since then, the Eagles have won seven straight games heading into the postseason. A crucial non-district win came Sept. 29 when Hanna downed Amarillo Tascosa 35-19 in San Antonio. Defeating an upstate opponent with a decided size advantage gave the Eagles added confidence going into district.
“That win was huge in the sense that it just confirmed what type of (strong) team we thought we had,” said Jose C. Ramirez, Hanna’s second-year defensive coordinator. “It confirmed we had a special group of players. It definitely bolstered our confidence for what we could do against a bigger opponent.
“To the untrained eye, we were outsized by those guys and there was no way we were going to compete with them,” Ramirez added. “Our program’s identity and our preparedness really came through on the field. We were smaller than Amarillo, but thanks to our dedication to the weight room, we were by no means weaker than them.
“The (Tascosa) coaching staff was wearing T-shirts that said, ‘The Toughest Team Wins,’ and we took it to them. It was good to see them walk out (of the stadium) wearing those T-shirts (with us as the winners). It was a win that showed our players trust in the process we have (to make them a better football team).”
All season, the Eagles, currently ranked No. 2 in the Valley, have thrived on both sides of the ball. They boast the No. 1 defense in 32-6A (239 yards per game allowed) and the No. 2 offense (416 yards per game) in the district.
For example, the defense shined its brightest during a 30-0 district victory Oct. 26 at San Benito.
Cruz is Hanna’s top tackler with 100 stops (61 solo and 39 assisted). Other top tacklers for the Eagles are free safety Andres Sustaeta (74 tackles with 52 solo and 22 assisted) along with tackle Brandon Esteves (70 tackles with 47 solo and 23 assisted). The Eagles have logged 30 sacks for 173 yards in losses. Esteves is the team leader with 12 sacks. Cornerback Alcee Flores leads the team with three interceptions. The Eagles have eight picks overall.
Offensively, Hanna has a number of standouts, including quarterback Victor Campos, who has passed for 1,357 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 386 yards and nine TDs. Running back Cesar Mancias leads the team with 931 yards rushing and has scored eight times. Mancias has had six 100-yard games this season and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
Campos has several capable receivers in Payan (23 catches for 505 yards and seven TDs), Ernesto Mendoza (18-301, four TDs), Aaron Frausto (15-247) and Mancias (14-170, three TDs).
Payan has kicked 31 of 33 extra-point attempts and has converted three of six field-goal attempts, with the longest being 35 yards.
“Our offense is full of playmakers,” Mancias said. “Having guys like Victor and Miguel back there (in the backfield), it’s just crazy to have guys who are so capable of making plays.
“It means the world to me and the guys (to win district),” Mancias added. “We’ve all gone through the same (tough) workouts and hardships, and now, it means the world to see that hard work pay off. It’s great to let our school know that we’re the (senior) class with the (top) football team in town that is the district champ. It’s just great.”
Added Cruz, when asked for a final comment, “The season’s not done yet. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.