KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN—Harlingen South will host PSJA North tonight at 7:30 for their 2018 home opener at Boggus Stadium. The Hawks are looking to rebound after a rough loss to Edinburg High, meanwhile PSJA North will be riding in hot after their win against PSJA Memorial.
“We’re excited and the kids are excited to be back at Boggus and having their home opener,” said Hawks coach Brian Ricci. “It was a great test for us playing Edinburg High in week one and PSJA North is another tough team, it will be another good test for us.”
South will line up against a familiar opponent in Junior quarterback Iziaah Rangel. Rangel who is a transfer from Edinburg North, helped lead the Cougars to a win last year against Harlingen South. At the time Rangel was playing wide out and took over under center when starting QB Frankie Zuniga left the game with an injury.
Rangel is now the starting QB for the Raiders and dazzled in his debut in the black and silver. Rangel ran for 151 yards on 14 carries and threw for 119 yards, three scores while completing 7 for 13 passes.
“He is a heck of an athlete, he is very quick,” Ricci said of Rangel. “He is tough to tackle in space so we’re going to have our hands full with him and they also got a stout defense with some size on their offensive line.”
Despite the loss, Ricci was pleased with his team’s effort; it is a matter of putting together a complete game effort and cutting down on the mistakes. Special teams is one side of the ball the Hawks will look to correct heading into week two.
“The effort was there, that is one of the things I talked about with the kids,” said Ricci. “We need to finish games, last week we were in a position to win the game, but we didn’t get it done. Avoiding mistakes at the wrong time is another topic we spoke about. Those mistakes are what can cost you a game.”
The Hawks got a solid effort from QB David Torres who found his top targets Brady Bennett and Derrick Delgado. On the ground, the combo of Corbin Hendrick and Emilo Quiroz also shined against Edinburg High.
2011 was the last time PSJA North and Harlingen South played each other. The two were district rivals in 31-5A at the time with the Raiders squeaking out a 26-23 win in Pharr.