By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
It will be a reunion of former Hanna acquaintances who are squaring off for the first time as head coaches when the Lopez Lobos take on the PSJA Southwest Javelinas at 7 p.m. today at PSJA Stadium in San Juan.
The Lopez-PSJA Southwest game is one of three contests on tap this week involving Brownsville-area teams.
In a pair of District 32-6A openers at 7:30 p.m. Friday, it’s Hanna vs. Rivera at Brownsville’s Sams Memorial Stadium and Los Fresnos going against Harlingen South at Harlingen’s Boggus Stadium.
Area teams enjoying open dates this week are Pace, Porter, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Port Isabel and St. Joseph Academy.
For the first time this football season, there will be only one game at Sams this week, which is Friday’s Rivera-Hanna matchup.
First-year Lopez coach Armando Gutierrez and second-year PSJA Southwest coach Michael Evans were at Hanna when Michael’s father, Dave Evans, was the head coach for the Golden Eagles for two seasons from 1995-96. Gutierrez, a 1996 Hanna graduate, was an offensive tackle who blocked for highly regarded running backs Tony Ellis and Marc Evans, who is Dave’s son. Another son, Michael, was several years younger and helped out his dad’s team as a ball boy/water boy for the Eagles.
Dave Evans is now the defensive coordinator at Brownsville Veterans.
“I go way back with the Evans family,” Gutierrez said. “I’ve known them for a long time.”
Gutierrez returned to his hometown in August to coach the Lobos after spending the past six years as a coach in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“It’s a dream come true to be back,” Gutierrez said. “Everyone has been supportive and making me feel glad to return home.”
Tonight’s matchup between the Lobos and Javelinas is a District 16-5A Division I contest between two teams eager to get back in the win column. Both squads are 1-3 in district and coming off last week’s open dates.
The most recent game for Lopez (2-3 overall) was a 17-14 setback against Donna High at Sams on Sept. 29. PSJA Southwest’s most recent outing on Sept. 27 resulted in a 28-27 overtime loss at La Joya Palmview. The Javelinas are 1-4 overall.
The Lopez coach said his team expects to confront an opponent that favors the running game on offense.
“We know PSJA Southwest is a well-coached team and they’re just as hungry for a win as we are,” Gutierrez said. “Both teams have stout defenses. We’re preparing for a tight game. You can throw records out the window in these types of matchups.
“We want to see our offense maintain its rhythm, execute and avoid mistakes,” Gutierrez added. “I think the key is going to be which team can sustain long drives (and score). If we can execute and not have any turnovers, I like our chances.”
This will be the first time for Lopez to play PSJA Southwest in football. Prior to this season, the two teams have been in different districts. The Javelinas began varsity competition in 2012.
Meanwhile, two teams that are quite familiar with one another are Los Fresnos and Harlingen South.
Both squads were open last week and both are coming off losses against opponents from the powerhouse district of 2-6A in the Texas Permian Basin. Los Fresnos (2-3 overall) lost at Odessa Permian 56-0 on Sept. 28 and South (2-3) was beaten 44-17 by Odessa High on Sept. 29 in Harlingen.
Actually, both teams are trying to break out of two-game losing streaks.
District 32-6A has been reduced from eight to six teams this season, so every win in what appears to be a very even 32-6A race will be vital concerning the quest for the playoffs.
The Falcons defeated the Hawks 35-7 last year in Los Fresnos. South surprised Los Fresnos 21-14 in 2016 in Harlingen.
Los Fresnos suffered injuries to some key players during its loss to Odessa Permian. Among the injured are wide receiver Nico Valencia and running back Alberto Banuelos. Neither player is expected to be available Friday.
Still, the Falcons have reserve players who are eager to step up and show their abilities.
“Our kids are focused,” Falcons coach Patrick Brown said earlier this week. “We have some kids that have never started at the varsity level, and they’ve done a good job getting ready for this week.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess