By DAVE FAVILA
Staff Writer
SAN BENITO — The last time the San Benito Greyhounds walked off a football field was the first time all season long that they did so in a losing effort.
And while the emotional 29-27 loss to Harlingen High in the annual Battle of the Arroyo was a hard pill to swallow, it’s now a thing of the past and not something the team is dwelling on.
“We do not look in the review mirror around here, just straight through the windshield for what’s ahead of us and that’s the Edinburg Bobcats,” said ‘Hounds head coach Dan Gomez.
San Benito (9-1) hosts the Cats in a Class 6A Division II bi-district playoff match tonight at Bobby Morrow Stadium.
Edinburg (7-3), was a bit of a surprise success story this season as they finished 6-1 in District 31-6A and only lost to league champ Edinburg Vela. Not bad considering that last year’s squad won only one game.
First-year coach JJ Leija has apparently pushed all the right buttons and now has the Cats back in the postseason for the first time since 2011 when they, coincidentally, lost to San Benito in the opening round.
Led by senior running back Nathan Marez, who rushed for 1,156 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, the Cats enter tonight’s game riding a five-game win streak including a hard-fought 10-7 win over PSJA North just last week.
Despite Marez’s abilities, the Cats’ offense ranked second to last in 31-6A this season and their passing game accounted for only 533 yards. Compare that to San Benito’s offense, which was ranked first in District 32-6A and threw for 2,116 yards, and it would appear that the Cats don’t stand don’t stand a chance.
However, what they lack on offense, the Cats make up for on defense as they were ranked second in their league, allowing just 247 yards per contest.
Still, the ‘Hounds’ D has been on point all year as they finished the regular season as the league leader, giving up just 233 yards per outing and allowing only 1,577 yards of rushing all season.
LOOKING AHEAD: The winner of tonight’s contest will take on either La Joya Palmview or Laredo United South in the area round next week.
Palmview (5-5) finished in second place in District 30-6A behind McAllen Memorial while United South (8-2) also was the runner-up in District 29-5A behind Del Rio.
United South handed Harlingen High one of its two-losses of the season in Week 2 when they beat the Cards at Boggus Stadium 30-13.