KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN—For a second straight year, Harlingen South is back in the playoffs. The Hawks fought tooth and nail to earn the fourth spot in a rugged District 32-6A.
The Hawks will square off against arguably the hottest team in the Rio Grande Valley in District 31-6A champion Weslaco East at 7:30 tonight at Bobby Lackey Stadium in the Class 6A Division II bi-district round.
“Weslaco East is a well-coached ballclub. Coach Mike Burget and his staff does a great job over there,” Hawks coach Brian Ricci said. “A lot of times the kids will lose focus because of the weather. We don’t get weather like this too often. As a coach we want to keep the kids focused, and I feel the kids have done a good job on staying focused this week.”
After back-to-back losses to Brownsville Hanna and Harlingen High, the Wildcats turned the tide and won their final six games. Two of those wins were signature wins against rival Weslaco High and defending district champion Edinburg Vela.
East, which is known for its strong rushing attack and solid defense, has lived up to that billing this season. This year, the Wildcats’ defense ranked second in 31-6A and the offense finished third.
The Wildcats will look to workhorse QB Ramsey Vasquez, who ran for 1,175 yards and 14 touchdowns. Through the air, Vasquez tossed five touchdowns and 275 yards.
The Hawks have familiarity with the running style that East brings. Los Fresnos went to the flexbone offense this season, giving the Hawks an idea of what’s to come.
“They are both similar because they both like to run the ball,” Ricci said. “You are going to get a physical team in East and we understand that, and I believe this game will come down to pad level. We need to play aggressive and make tackles.”
South’s underclassman have stepped in and make plays. Levi Ince, Jerimiah Rivera and Devin Montemayor — all sophomores — have all made an impact on defense.
“We have been playing a lot better over the last three weeks. We have a lot of younger kids on defense, about four or five of them are getting better each week, and they are making plays and I’m proud of that. They will need to step up and make plays tonight.” Ricci said.
Junior linebacker/safety David Cortez is humbled to be back in the playoffs and feels the experience from last year’s playoff appearance will help make a difference.
“I feel this has been the best week of practice that we have had all year,” Cortez said. “We have all been focused and ready to go. On defense we are just focusing on the run because of the style Weslaco East brings, along with gap control.”
On offense, the Hawks will look to establish their rushing attack with senior running back Israel Vasquez, who carried the workload last week in place of sophomore running back Marcos Gonzales, who missed the Hanna game with a shoulder injury.
Gonzales is listed as probable for tonight’s game but can add a boost to the Hawks’ offense if he is able to go. Senior QB David Torres also is playing at a high level and has made a connection with wideout Alex Esparza.
The speedy Esparza has the ability to stretch the field along with 6-foot, 4-inch Brady Bennett, who provides the Hawks with a big target.
“When you have an opportunity with the football, with the style of offense they run, you don’t get a lot of possessions on offense, so you need to take advantage of them. So we need to limit the mistakes, penalties and turnovers in a big game like this,” Ricci said. “We need to execute and make plays.”