By ROY HESS
Staff Writer
So what were the most impactful sports stories of 2018 in The Brownsville Herald’s Metro area, which includes Brownsville, Los Fresnos and Port Isabel?
There were certainly plenty of sports events and athletic accomplishments that stood out locally during the past year.
As it turns out, the area’s No. 1 sports story of 2018 was an obvious choice in voting by The Herald’s sports staff.
With its record-setting showing in the playoffs, Hanna football was the unanimous pick as No. 1.
Here is a brief look at each of The Herald’s top sports stories in the area during 2018:
NO. 1: HANNA FOOTBALL SHINES
No football team in the school history of Hanna/Brownsville High had advanced three rounds in the UIL state playoffs until the Golden Eagles accomplished the feat in December. And they almost made it to the fourth round, but came up just short 33-32 in a regional playoff matchup against Northside Brandeis on Dec. 1 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
The Eagles finished the season 10-2 after winning District 32-6A with a 5-0 record and posting wins over Weslaco East (35-20) and Eagle Pass (28-13) earlier in the playoffs.
Hanna carried the pride of Brownsville football during its Class 6A Division II postseason run and attracted quite a following. Top players included running back Cesar Mancias, quarterback Victor Campos, QB/wide receiver/kicker Miguel Payan and linebacker Jose Cruz, plus a host of others, including all-state honorees Brandon Esteves at defensive tackle, Alcee Flores at cornerback and Andres Sustaeta at safety.
As a result of Hanna’s strong showing, the Eagles’ Mark Guess was named coach of the year on the All-Metro and 32-6A teams.
“It’s very humbling to be the first to do something,” said Guess, who just completed his third season of guiding the Eagles. “In this case, to be the first ones to win a second-round game, and then being able to advance to that third round, is very humbling. It’s hard for me to believe that the Hanna Golden Eagles have never done that before or that the Brownsville (High) Eagles have never done that before.
“For us to do it with these kids that we’ve had these past few years, I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world,” Guess added. “It’s a very, very amazing feeling, and I’m just so happy that I was able to experience it with those kids.”
NO. 2: STATE CHAMPS AGAIN
The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons won their fourth straight Class 6A team title at the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association state meet March 16 in Waco.
“It is a joy to watch these girls compete, perform and win,” said Jaime Vela, Los Fresnos’ powerlifting coach. “We always go into the regional meet (two weeks earlier) with the intention of qualifying as many of our lifters as possible for state competition. Then our mindset at state is we’re going to win (the team title). These girls proved it again.”
The Lady Falcons captured their fourth consecutive state crown in decisive fashion by totaling 28 points compared to 20 for runner-up Wylie. Edinburg High (18 points) was third, Edinburg Economedes (17) was fourth and Laredo United South (14) was fifth. Hanna and La Joya Palmview tied for sixth place with 13 points apiece.
“It was a great day,” Vela said. “The girls competed (well).”
The Lady Falcons were led by individual state champions Aliana Richardson in the 105-pound weight division and Bella Vargas in the 123-pound weight division. Placing third in their weight divisions for the Lady Falcons were Angel Esquivel and Ruby Quintero.
NO. 3: SOCCER SUCCESS
Brownsville didn’t send a team to the UIL state tournament in April in Georgetown for the first time since 2012, but it was still a pretty successful season for area teams, especially for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial boys and the Rivera girls.
On April 14, Brownsville Veterans played in the Region IV-5A final for the second straight year and wound up on the short end of a 3-1 score against Valley View. The District 32-5A runner-up Chargers ended the season with a 27-3-3 record.
On April 13, Rivera’s boys and girls both advanced to the Region IV-6A Tournament in San Antonio, and both lost in the regional semifinals at Blossom Athletic Center. It was the first appearance at the regional tournament for the Rivera girls, who were coached by Peter A. Rodriguez. For the Rivera boys, the 2018 season marked the 26th time in 27 years that they qualified for the postseason.
NO. 4: BODDEN SHINES AT STATE
Brownsville Veterans’ Andres Bodden, a senior, enjoyed a solid showing at the UIL state track & field meet May 11 in Austin. In the Class 5A division, he placed second in the discus to win a silver medal with a personal-best throw of 173 feet, 1 inch. A few hours earlier in the shot put, Bodden took third place for a bronze medal with a toss of 53 feet, 6.5 inches.
“I knew the top guys in my region and in my area were going to be here at the state meet,” Bodden said of his medal-winning performance. “It’s just a matter of competing today. I’ve competed against all these guys in the summer and throughout the year. I’ve seen all of them.”
NO. 5: ZOLEZZI REPEATS IN DISCUS
St. Joseph Academy enjoyed medal-winning performances by Pablo Zolezzi and Camryn Gloor at the TAPPS track & field state meet May 4-5 in Waco. Despite some adverse weather conditions, Zolezzi, a junior, defended his TAPPS state title in the discus, and Gloor, a senior, took third place in the pole vault. Zolezzi won with a throw of 160 feet, 2 inches, and Gloor cleared 10 feet in her event to take third.
Zolezzi battled through rainy weather and a foot injury to repeat as a TAPPS state champion.
“What stood out to me was how he performed under adverse conditions,” SJA coach Teddy Lopez said. “The communication between Pablo and Rey Cortinas, our throwing coach, had to be in sync, and it was. The rain, the condition of the (throwing) ring, and a foot injury from regionals — those were key (factors involved) in his execution.”
NO. 6: A WILD 57-56 PLAYOFF GAME
An amazing, back-and-forth football playoff game Nov. 16 in Mercedes ended with the Port Isabel Tarpons coming up painfully short, 57-56, in the Class 4A Division II bi-district round.
The West Oso Bears survived Port Isabel’s barely missed 27-yard field-goal attempt on fourth down with seven seconds left to prevail over the Tarpons by one point in a game that featured more than 1,100 yards of combined offense by the teams.
Against West Oso, Port Isabel QB Cesar Aguilera rushed 30 times for 291 yards and five touchdowns, and completed nine of 13 passes for 120 yards and a pair of scores. Teammate Brayan Medina, a running back, rushed 29 times for 184 yards and one TD, and caught two scoring passes from Aguilera.
“This was a hell of a game, and it’s a shame someone had to lose,” said first-year Port Isabel coach Jason Shrunk, whose team finished the season 4-6 after going 2-7 the previous year. “This is no indication of our sophomore kicker (who missed the field goal at the end). We win and lose (together) as a team.”
NO. 7: A GOLF ROUND TO REMEMBER
Hanna golfer Santiago Garcia was at his best during the final round of the District 32-6A Tournament on April 5 at Weslaco’s Tierra Santa Golf Course. Garcia, a senior and past 32-6A champion, shot an 11-under-par 61 on a par-72 course to capture district medalist honors again. The senior standout finished with a two-day score of 73-61—134. His 61 tied the best 18-hole round by a Texas high school golfer.
“I’m extremely blessed and honored to have won four district titles,” said Garcia, who two weeks later signed a golf scholarship with Texas A&M International University in Laredo. “And about my 61, all I can say is my hard work pays off, but my ultimate goal is a trip to state.”
NO. 8: A TELEVISED PRO BOXING DEBUT
Brownsville super lightweight Omar “El Relampago” Juarez made a successful pro boxing debut Sept. 30 in Ontario, Calif., with a four-round unanimous decision victory (39-37, 40-36, 40-36) against Matt Gavers (0-2) of Bakersfield, Calif. The fight was televised live internationally by the Showtime network and its affiliate channels.
“I feel such a relief (to have my pro debut over),” Juarez said. “The experience (of fighting on international TV) was surreal.
“God blessed me with the win,” added Juarez, a 2016 Hanna graduate who currently attends college and gives motivational talks at local schools. “Now I’m ready to go forward.”
Juarez’s goal is to become the first world champion boxer from Brownsville.
“It feels amazing (to win on live TV),” he said, “It’s exactly what I wanted to do, which is to rep Brownsville. I’m grateful for all the support.”
NO. 9: RIVERA RUNNER EXCELS
Andrea de la Rosa has been a standout runner for the Rivera Lady Raiders for four years in cross country and track. She completed her senior season of cross country by competing at the UIL state meet Nov. 3 in Round Rock. She finished 20th at state in the girls 6A race to earn third-team all-state honors. She went to state in cross country three out of four years, only missing state as a sophomore due to an injury.
De la Rosa won District 32-6A again this past cross country season and took third place at the Region IV-6A meet in Corpus Christi to qualify for state. Leading up to the regional meet, de la Rosa placed first at eight straight meets. In December, she signed to run next school year for Bethel University of McKenzie, Tenn. Now, her senior season of track starts in January.
NO. 10: ARTIFICIAL TURF FIELDS COMPLETED
The final on-campus artificial turf field for football and soccer at Brownsville ISD’s six high schools was completed and dedicated in December. The final field to be completed was at Brownsville Veterans. Earlier in 2018, the artificial turf fields at Hanna, Rivera and Pace were completed and dedicated. The fields at Porter and Lopez were completed prior to 2018. All of BISD’s sports-playing high schools now have artificial turf fields, which will be used during the upcoming soccer season.
HONORABLE MENTION
>> Deaths of Brownsville sports legends and RGV Sports Hall of Famers Hank Hollingsworth (March 13, age 79) and Frank Maldonado (May 2, age 93)
>> Pace boys basketball wins District 32-5A, enjoys a strong season ending in February
>> Brownsville Veterans girls return to UIL state golf tournament in Class 5A in May and finish 10th after finishing fifth in 2017
>> FC Brownsville Coyotes play first NPSL soccer (semi-pro) game May 12 at Brownsville Sports Park and lose 1-0 on a penalty kick
>> Gilbert Leal is named Brownsville ISD athletic director in May to replace interim AD Tom Chavez
>> Three area individuals are inducted into the RGV Sports Hall of Fame in June. They are former Los Fresnos girls basketball coach Kim Edquist, former Pace standout runner (and now Brownsville Veterans coach) Sammy Montalvo and former Valley football coach Tony Villarreal
>> St. Joseph Academy’s David Rodriguez, a senior running back/defensive back, is chosen by Texas Football Magazine as a player of the week/impact athlete in October
>> Los Fresnos volleyball wins its third district championship in four years in October