By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
Hanna coach Mark Guess was hoping to avoid yet another slow start against Weslaco East in their bi-district matchup Friday night.
That didn’t happen as the Golden Eagles (9-1) trailed 7-0 early on, but they responded with 6-yard touchdown pass from Victor Campos to Aaron Frausto to tie the game and start a string of 21 unanswered points.
It wasn’t what Guess had in mind in what would turn into a 35-20 win, but he’ll take it.
“Once again, we do what we do and give up a touchdown early, unfortunately, which was the opposite of what we talked about all week,” the Hanna coach said. “It was different this time. It didn’t faze our players that they were down. There was no panic or anything. They were just ready to get back out onto the field. They came out and played after that. It was definitely a tough, physical ballgame like we expected them to be.”
The victory was Hanna’s eighth in a row and its first in the playoffs since 1996, when it bested Mission High in the Class 5A Division I bi-district playoffs.
Now the Golden Eagles turn their sights to the area round, where they take on the Eagle Pass Eagles out of 29-6A in the area round, slated for a 3 p.m. start at the University of Incarnate Word’s Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio.
Eagle Pass (9-2) presents another challenge for Hanna with its size and speed, but that’s nothing new for Guess and company.
“It’s going to be a lot of what we’ve seen this year,” he said. “We’ve been outsized a lot this year, and we’ve been able to persevere through that thanks to our strength and conditioning and that certainly helps. We’re looking forward to this challenge. We know they knocked off a district champion and would like nothing more than to knock off another district champion. We’re definitely going to make sure our kids are prepared and go and give it our best shot.”
In Class 5A division I, both Pace and Brownsville Veterans Memorial were taken down in bi-district action.
Pace had no answers for Corpus Christi Ray as the Vikings gave up 469 yards and 42 points, and managed just a 2-yard Brandon Zapata touchdown run late in the game.
Pace ended the season losing three of its last four games.
Brownsville Veterans fell at Corpus Christi Veterans for the second season in a row, 44-14.
The Chargers racked up 375 yards of offense despite being without junior starting quarterback Liam Longoria, but managed just two scores. Senior quarterback Rolando Izeta stepped in and threw for 270 yards on 22 of 29 passing.
The Chargers finished 7-4 and lost three of their last four games.
Running back Jose Moreno rushed for 87 yards and two scores to lead the way.
In TAPPS Division II, St. Joseph Academy lost at Houston Second Baptist 41-7.
The Bloodhounds were 2-8 this season.