By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Consecutive bye weeks didn’t affect the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles, who handily defeated the Brownsville Rivera Raiders 27-3 to clinch the top spot in District 32-6A’s southeast zone Thursday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Hanna senior quarterback Diego Escovar and sophomore running back Kriz Pena scored two touchdowns each, and the Golden Eagles played stout defense to get the win. They’ll face Harlingen High for the district title and No. 1 playoff seed.
“We’re very happy and feel very fortunate and blessed to put ourselves in the position to win that zone championship, but our work is not done,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “Our eye has been on the 32-6A championship since last year, so these kids have been working their tails off. Tonight was just another step toward that goal. As long as they keep their eye on the prize and stay focused, then we’re going to have a great opportunity to win.”
The first half was a low-scoring, slow-paced affair as both defenses played well. Pena got the scoring started on an 11-yard rush. Junior defensive back Anthony Ambriz blocked a Rivera punt to create a short field and aid Hanna’s opening-drive score.
Rivera’s secondary, led by senior defensive back Danny Esquivel, kept Hanna’s offense at bay for the remainder of the first quarter. Ambriz led a dominant Eagles defense that kept the Raiders from the red zone during the first half.
Hanna overpowered the Raiders’ offensive line, sending senior quarterback Chito Perez scrambling constantly and keeping the timing off between quarterback and receivers all night. Perez and junior running back JR Hernandez got most of the positive yards for Rivera’s offense.
“We knew (Perez) had 400 yards coming into the game, 200 in each of their first two games, so we knew he was the key to stopping their offense,” Guess said. “We had three weeks to focus on it, so we did a great job of just maintaining that focus during the game and not getting rattled when they had a decent gain. We just have to keep flying to the football and make sure we’re doing our job.”
The Golden Eagles extended their lead in the second quarter as Escovar scored on a 21-yard run. They turned up the tempo during the third quarter and quickly scored twice to make it 27-0.
Ambriz did the kicking and went 3-for-4 in PATs.
Pena scored the first second-half touchdown on a 6-yard carry, and a big run from Ambriz after an Andrick Flores interception set up the second as Escovar dove in from the 1-yard-line.
Rivera took to the air during the fourth quarter as it trailed by four scores, and the Hanna secondary took the chance to flex its muscles. Flores, Edgar Zertuche and Ramon Reyes played tight coverage to knock down deep passes in the end zone.
But penalties were an issue for the Golden Eagles throughout the night, and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag against Hanna put the Raiders on the 11-yard-line. Tight coverage kept them from a touchdown, but senior Michael Esquivel made a 28-yard field goal to make it 27-3.
“We had some fundamental mistakes that we definitely have to correct, but in the end we played well enough to win,” Guess said. “Hats off to Rivera for the effort that they gave, because they always put up a fight and are a very proud program.”
Rolando Gonzalez, Manrique Cantu and Hector Barron contributed to Hanna’s impressive defensive performance. Ambriz was a standout who made his presence known early and often in several phases of the game.
“It feels great (getting this win). I’m just here to do my job and do it for my teammates,” Ambriz said. “We’re striving to get a state championship, and I’m happy that I could do my best and be a part of this team. I think (the defense) did our job. Practice makes perfect, and we had three weeks of training for these guys. We came out and executed and shut them down.”
Danny Esquivel notched an interception and played a solid game for Rivera. Sophomore linebacker Abel Campos also had a good game defensively.