STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
One of Harlingen South’s signature wins last season came against PSJA North, thanks to a late go-ahead field goal by Jose Lerma to lift the Hawks over the Raiders 24-23.
The rematch will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr, with each team looking to remain unbeaten following the second leg of their non-district schedules.
Harlingen South is coming off of a 24-0 win over Edinburg High, while PSJA North dispatched PSJA Memorial 44-8 in their season opener.
Hawks coach Brian Ricci said he felt his team still has some things to shore up offensively.
“Last week, we had some penalties,” Ricci said. “We got a little lazy on the offensive line. We’ve got to clean up some of the penalties we’ve taken that stop drives.”
Ricci expects another close game with PSJA North, led by quarterback Izaiah Rangel and Isaac Gonzalez, a seasoned team with close losses to Harlingen High last season and to San Benito in the 2018 postseason.
“They’re a solid team,” Ricci said. “They’re a playoff team, and definitely tough to cover.”
Harlingen South will set out to establish the run against the Raiders, led by running backs Oscar Muniz (18 carries for 97 yards against Edinburg High) and Israel Vasquez (65 yards on 13 carries).
The Harlingen South defense swarmed against Edinburg High, forcing four turnovers — three fumbles and an interception — and Ricci emphasized the importance of maintaining positive turnover margin, and praised sophomore outside linebacker Josh Cantu for his ability to make an impact.
Kicking off at 7:30 p.m. tonight are San Benito (taking on another opponent from outside the Rio Grande Valley in Victoria West) and Santa Maria, which is slated to face the Los Fresnos JV squad.
The Greyhounds are searching for their first win of the season at Victoria after dropping their first game 28-20 to Corpus Christi Calallen. San Benito edged Victoria West in a shootout last year, 43-41.
The Cougars also hit the road for Week 2 after thrashing Marine Military Academy 55-8 in their first game.
Also on Friday, Rio Hondo will have an opportunity to bounce back after dropping their first game against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln with another non-district matchup with Zapata. The Bobcats defeated the Hawks 18-0 last season. Rio Hondo will look to build off of the strong debut of sophomore starter Zechariah Rios, who completed 61 percent of his passes, throwing for 313 yards, a touchdown, and an interception last Friday.
Rios will look again to Smiley Rodriguez, who broke onto the scene with six catches and 141 yards in his first game of the season, and rely upon Fabian Torres (52 yards on 12 carries) to establish the running game.
Elsewhere in District 16-4A Division II, Raymondville heads to Grulla at 7:30 p.m. Friday after a drubbing at the hands of La Feria. The Bearkats will count on Zaraivion Armendarez to rack up multipurpose yardage as he did against the Lions in Week 1, reeling off an 84-yard touchdown catch and accounted for 84 of Raymondville’s 211 yards in the ground game. The Gators dropped their season opener to St. Joseph 39-33 in overtime.
Lyford suffered a major blow to its chances in District 16-3A Division I after losing junior quarterback Cayleb Klostermann to a broken collarbone in a 32-12 loss to Santa Rosa, which visits rival La Feria at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Bulldogs host Hidalgo at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Pirates are coming off of a 21-13 opening week loss to rival Valley View.