By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
It was clear that Hanna hadn’t played football in weeks. A 39-14 loss in a penalty- and mistake-riddled game against San Benito on Saturday night proved that.
“You could tell we had a long layoff. We’re going to have to go back and regroup for next week,” Hanna coach Rene Medrano said after the game. “We need to eliminate a lot of the mistakes. I didn’t feel the long layoff would affect us the way it did, but obviously it did.”
The Golden Eagles (1-2, 0-1 District 32-6A) didn’t do themselves any favors by committing 13 penalties for 100 yards. It also didn’t help that they started sluggish and found themselves behind quickly as San Benito (2-2, 1-0) scored just over one minute into the game when Armando Medrano hauled in a 56-yard pass from Christian Sierra.
As expected, running back Gabriel Vasquez stole the show for the Greyhounds. He closed out the first quarter with a 46-yard reception from Sierra and followed it with an 80-yard run to start the second quarter. Less than two minutes later, Vasquez piled on by punching the ball in from 3 yards out. The score was 28-0.
“I was proud and impressed (with my team) ,” San Benito coach Dan Gomez said. “It’s what we expect but we’ve still got some things to work on.”
Hanna did not find the end zone until late in the second quarter, and the Greyhounds had distanced themselves by then. Trailing 30-7, the Eagles came out strong during the second half. On the first play from scrimmage, Brando Barrera carried the ball 57 yards into the San Benito red zone. The drive stalled, but Barrera carried it again on Hanna’s next possession for a 62-yard score to cut the deficit to 16 points.
Hanna had multiple opportunities to make the game closer than it was. The Eagles forced a punt that would have given them possession in San Benito territory, but a penalty for roughing the kicker gave the Greyhounds a fresh set of downs.
An interception by Hanna’s Jorge Flores provided yet another chance for the Golden Eagles, but the offense failed to take advantage once again.
The Greyhounds didn’t miss a beat, though, and when they had the ball they ate up as much time as possible on the ensuing possessions. Sierra added a touchdown on a 2-yard run to round out the scoring.
San Benito earned its first District 32-6A victory of the season, and Gomez realizes the importance of notching an early victory.
“(Winning the first game in district) is every coach’s top priority,” he said. “But our district is tough. We don’t have time to sit back and enjoy (this win).”
The Greyhounds will head home to play Los Fresnos at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3, and Hanna will travel to Harlingen High the same evening to face the Cardinals.
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.