By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Through four District 32-6A games, Hanna has come out unscathed, but it faces its toughest test of the season against unbeaten San Benito in Week 9.
The Golden Eagles play host to the Greyhounds with plenty on the line in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Hanna (6-1, 4-0 32-6A) will battle against San Benito (7-0, 4-0), and the stakes are high with just three weeks left in the regular season. The winner ascends to the top of the standings and is a step closer to the district title.
The Eagles are focused on the Greyhounds and the task at hand.
“We take each game one at a time, one week at a time,” Hanna coach Mark Guess said. “We focus on the team we’re going to play. We can’t worry about anything else … we have to take care of business that week; we can’t look ahead or certainly can’t look back.
“We have to continue what we’ve been doing and hopefully we’ll come out on top this week.”
Even Guess admits that won’t be easy. But the preparation for this week has been similar to every other week this season.
“They’re 7-0 for a reason … they do a lot of things well,” he said of the Greyhound. “Coach (Dan) Gomez has done a great job preparing his kids; not only are they prepared physically, but they’re prepared mentally. We have to focus on doing what we do … they pose problems in all three phases of the game.”
San Benito has the top offense in 32-6A, as it averages 385 yards and 40 points per game. Senior running back Tyrone Harper is the ’Hounds’ go-to with 834 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Erick Retta has thrown for 961 yards and nine touchdowns to go with 349 rushing yards and a pair of scores.
“Defensively, we have to do our job … every kid has an assignment, we just have to play fundamentally sound and make tackles,” Guess said. “They’re tough to tackle … they can make you look silly.”
The respect is mutual on both sidelines.
“They’re playing very good football at this point in the season,” Gomez said. “When you play good teams like Hanna … which we consider one of the top teams in the Valley … they do well in all three phases. We’re focused on (what we can do in) all three phases. No turnovers on offense and create them on defense and play sound on special teams.”
Hanna can move the chains and put points on the board too, it averages 311 yards and 28 points per game. Junior running back Cesar Mancias has 645 yards and five touchdowns on the ground while sophomore quarterback Victor Campos has thrown for 596 yards and nine touchdowns this season.
For Gomez, the approach for his team is simple.
“We have to hold onto the ball when we have it and try to take the ball away when we don’t have it,” he said.
Defensively the two teams aren’t that far apart. San Benito allows only 265 yards per game — the best in the district — and 19 points allowed. Hanna allows 292 yards and 16 points per contest. Each is faced with a tall task against two potent offenses.
For the Greyhounds, the opponent or week doesn’t matter. The preparation remains the same as it has all season.
“Our approach to every team in 32-6A is the same … we’re facing the best team in our district,” Gomez said. “If we let up on that approach, it may come back and bite us and it won’t be good in the end.
“We’re going in there with the mindset that we’re facing the best team in 32-6A.”
But the Eagles believe in themselves. After falling just short in two close games last year against Los Fresnos and Weslaco East — teams that both went to the third round of the playoffs a year ago — the team regrouped in the offseason and worked exceptionally harder for another chance.
“That’s what drove us,” Guess said. “I think the kids saw they could play with those guys. I think they believed, ‘why not us?’ If you don’t believe in each other … then you don’t believe in yourself … then you don’t have a chance on the football field.
“That belief in each other … that’s what’s got us here.”
San Benito has the top offense in District 32-6A (385 yards and 40 points per game), but its defense is also stout, allowing (a district best) 265 yards and 19 points per game. Hanna counters with an average of 311 on offense and 28 points and its defense allows 292 yards and just 16 points per contest. The offensive production is going to be key in this game and both offenses can light up the scoreboard. It may come down to the team that gets going first and makes the other play catch up. San Benito is good at getting off to quick starts and if it does, it will be hard for Hanna to keep up.
PREDICTION: San Benito 35, Hanna 27
Thursday’s Game
District 32-5A
EDCOUCH-ELSA AT PACE
WHEN: 7 p.m., Thursday
WHERE: Sams Memorial Stadium
RECORDS: Edcouch-Elsa (4-3, 2-2); Pace (3-4, 2-2)
GAME NOTES: Edcouch-Elsa lost to Mercedes 34-14 in Week 8. … The Yellowjackets’ offense averages 359 yards and nearly 25 points per game. Senior running back Jorge Gomez leads the way with 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Junior quarterback Albert Trevino has thrown for 604 yards and five touchdowns and has also run for 322 yards and five scores. … The Edcouch-Elsa defense allows 228 yards and 23 points per game. … Pace defeated Donna North 34-27 on the road in Week 8. … The Vikings’ offense averages 345 yards and nearly 28 points per game. Senior quarterback Randy Aguilar leads the district with 1,173 yards passing and 14 touchdowns. His favorite target, senior receiver Gabriel Zapata, has 35 catches for 656 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. … The Pace defense allows 362 yards and 30 points per game.
PREDICTION: Edcouch-Elsa 27, Pace 21
— Andrew Crum
Friday’s Games
District 32-5A
PORTER at BROWNVILLE VETERANS MEMORIAL
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Friday
WHERE: Sams Memorial Stadium
RECORDS: Porter (0-7, 0-4); Brownsville Veterans Memorial (6-1, 4-0)
GAME NOTES: Porter lost to Donna High 52-14 in Week 8. … The Cowboys’ offense averages 252 yards and nearly 16 points per game. Freshman quarterback Kevin Garcia leads the way with 579 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also is the teams top rusher with 391 yards and six touchdowns. … The Porter defense allows 425 yards and less than 42 points per game. … Brownsville Veterans defeated Lopez 35-21 in Week 8. … The Chargers’ offense averages 357 yards and nearly 30 points per game. Senior quarterback Gustavo Vasquez leads the way with 1,124 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns. He has also thrown for 570 yards and three scores. … Porter has been bitten by the injury bug, it has already lost four defensive starters this season.
PREDICTION: Brownsville Veterans 35, Porter 14
— Andrew Crum
LOPEZ AT MERCEDES
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Friday
WHERE: Tiger Stadium, Mercedes
RECORDS: Brownsville Lopez (6-1, 3-1); Mercedes (5-2, 3-1)
GAME NOTES: Lopez is looking to bounce back after last week’s 35-21 loss to Brownsville Veterans Memorial while Mercedes won on the road 34-14 at Edcouch-Elsa last week. Friday’s winner stays one game behind undefeated 32-5A leader Brownsville Veterans (4-0) in the district standings … Lopez defeated Mercedes 24-21 last year in Brownsville as both teams went on to make the playoffs … Prior to 2016, the most recent game between Mercedes and Lopez was a non-district matchup in 2007 in Brownsville when the Tigers beat the Lobos 51-20 … The Tigers have a solid offensive leader in QB Marc Ledesma, who has completed 61 of 116 passes for 1,151 yards and seven TDs along with one interception. Ledesma also has run for 533 yards and 11 TDs. Against E-E, Ledesma rushed for 117 yards and three TDs while passing for 150 yards and another TD
PREDICTION: Mercedes 21, Lopez 17
— Roy Hess
District 32-6A
RIVERA AT WESLACO EAST
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Friday
WHERE: Bobby Lackey Stadium, Weslaco
RECORDS: Rivera (1-6, 0-4) ; Weslaco East (4-3, 2-2)
GAME NOTES: Weslaco East proved that they are able to win big games even without Roy Pedraza and J.C. Vargas last week when they knocked off Harlingen at Boggus Stadium 20-17. The win was the first time they beat Harlingen in two meetings… Quarterback Richard LeFerve led the team in rushing with 145 yards and a score. He added a throwing score to knock off then-No.3 Harlingen High Now the Wildcats will be at home against one-win Rivera… Weslaco East might have trouble keeping up with the 72 points Weslaco High scored against Rivera a week ago. The Raiders are at the bottom of both offense and defense in 32-6A. Even with those low rankings, Rivera has scored over 20 points against San Benito, Harlingen and Brownsville Veterans but also surrendered 40 points in those games.
PREDICTION: Weslaco East 52, Rivera 20
— Nathaniel Mata
HARLINGEN HIGH AT LOS FRESNOS
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Friday
WHERE: Leo Aguilar Stadium, Los Fresnos
RECORDS: Harlingen High (5-2, 3-1); Los Fresnos (4-3, 2-2)
GAME NOTES: The Cardinals and Falcons meet in a Distirct 32-6A clash of teams coming off close losses. … Los Fresnos was held to their lowest scoring output of the season in a 10-7 loss at Hanna. That was despite outgaining the Golden Eagles by 103 yards. … On the season, Los Fresnos averages 335 yards per game on offense, good for third in the district behind Weslaco East (380) and San Benito (385). … Falcon receiver Nico Valencia had the lone Los Fresnos score last week on a 43-yard pass from Charles Chapa. Valencia finished the game with 92 yards and is now fifth in the district in receiving yards with 374. … The Falcons have been solid defensively, holding opponents to 290 yards per game, which is fourth in the district.
PREDICTION: Harlingen High 27, Los Fresnos 24
— Mark Molina
District 16-4A DII
PORT ISABEL AT PROGRESO
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Friday
WHERE: Red Ant Stadium, Progreso
RECORDS: Port Isabel (1-5, 0-2); Progreso (1-5, 0-2)
GAME NOTES: Progreso senior Aldo Martinez has been the spark for Red Ants offense. Martinez has 192 receiving yards and has also been productive in the return game. Against Santa Maria two weeks ago, Martinez went into the backfield, and was productive with 176 rushing yard and 3 TDs. Since then, Martinez has gotten carries and been a threat in the backfield for Progreso. … Junior RB Jose Medrano has 302 yards and 5 TDs on the season. … Port Isabel has had a carousel at QB this year, with four players totaling over 70 pass attempts. … One thing that has been consistent for the Tarpons is the production of sophomore RB Bryan Medina, who has 573 rushing yards and 5 TDs on the season. … The Tarpons have also gotten good work out of senior RB Travis Camacho, who has 239 rushing yards and 4 TDs on the season.
PREDICTION: Progreso, 28, Port Isabel 21
— Saul Berrios-Thomas
TAPPS DI DISTRICT 2
S.A. CENTRAL CATHOLIC AT ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY
WHEN: 7 p.m., Friday
WHERE: Canales Field
RECORDS: S.A. Central Catholic (5-2, 0-0); St. Joseph Academy (4-3, 0-0)
GAME NOTES: S.A. Central Catholic lost to St. Thomas Catholic 31-28 in Week 8. … The Buttons’ offense averages 291 yards and 33 points per game. Junior QB Nick Chavez has thrown for 870 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior running back Zach Davidsmeyer leads the team 346 yards and seven TDs. Senior receiver Jack Perkins has 21 catches for 432 yards and six scores. … The Central Catholic defense allows less than 16 points per game. … St. Joseph defeated Marine Miliary Academy 56-16 on the road in Week 8. … Through six games, the Bloodhounds’ offense have averaged 486 yards and nearly 51 points per game. Senior quarterback Kai Money is a dual threat as he has thrown for 1,318 yards and 18 touchdowns and has rushed for 783 yards and seven touchdowns.
PREDICTION: St. Joseph Academy 34, S.A. Central Catholic 31
— Andrew Crum