By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
LOS FRESNOS — There was only one place to be for football playoff action Saturday in the Rio Grande Valley.
The lone postseason matchup in South Texas took place at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium as the Los Fresnos Falcons played host to the defending Class 6A Division I state champion Lake Travis Cavaliers in a third-round game.
The Falcons (9-4) were the final Valley team to bow out of the 2017 state playoffs as they were defeated 42-7 by the Cavaliers (11-2), who advance to the coming week’s 6A Division I state quarterfinals and will play San Antonio O’Connor (13-0), a 52-43 winner against San Benito on Friday.
Last year, the Falcons lost 54-7 at Lake Travis in the third round. This season, the Cavaliers came to play at Los Fresnos, where they were greeted with quite a few cordial welcomes, particularly over the PA system on Saturday. There were even leaflets with attached candy handed out to the incoming fans on the visitors side. The leaflets listed a brief history of the city and let the visitors know they were valued guests of Los Fresnos.
Overall, the atmosphere at the game was electric and emotionally charged on the home side, even into the second half when it became certain the home team’s season was about to end. Lake Travis led 21-0 after one quarter, 35-0 at halftime and 42-0 after three periods.
“I think it’s truly special to be in the third round of the playoffs and have your opponent come to you,” said Laura Orive, a former Port Isabel athletic secretary who this school year is working with Communities in Schools at Los Fresnos United. “You have the whole community (of the Valley) behind you, and it just can’t get any better than that.”
Orive said she especially came to cheer for her cousin, Darren Vasquez, a senior athlete on defense for the Falcons.
Not only did the Los Fresnos faithful turn out in great numbers and pack the stands on the home side of the stadium, there were also football fans in attendance from across the Valley as evidenced by the caps and T-shirts they wore with the familiar colors, lettering and insignias of their respective schools.
Among the other Valley schools represented at the game based on the fans’ attire included Port Isabel, San Benito, Raymondville, Weslaco High, Weslaco East, Harlingen High, Harlingen South, Edinburg High, Edinburg Vela, McAllen Rowe, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, Mission Veterans, Hanna and Brownsville Veterans Memorial.
“Fortunately, I was able to experience support from all over the Valley at Port Isabel (during the Tarpons’ playoff runs),” Orive said. “When you see signs saying ‘The Harlingen Cardinals support you’ or ‘The McAllen Bulldogs support you’ or ‘The San Benito Greyhounds support you,’ it’s the best feeling ever. I’ve experienced that several times (at Port Isabel). It’s special. It’s the whole community (of the Valley).”
The energy of the Valley fans and Los Fresnos’ warm welcome made a strong impression upon the visitors.
“We played great and came out and executed the way we wanted, and (yet) maybe something (that stands out) more than us winning the game was those (Los Fresnos) guys,” said Lake Travis quarterback Matthew Baldwin, who passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another score. “Talk about sportsmanship, those guys are a class act across the board. We welcomed them to our place last year and they’ve just been so great about having us (as the visitors) this year. It’s been a pleasure to be here.”
The Lake Travis team arrived in the Valley Friday and spent the night in one of the upscale hotels on South Padre Island. The players and coaches also had a chance to visit the beach, so they mixed a little vacation time into their business trip of winning Saturday’s playoff contest.
“The weekend (trip to the Valley) has been a unique experience and a team-bonding opportunity,” Baldwin said. “We told some college recruiters about what we were doing and they said, ‘Wow, that sounds just like (college) bowl week.’
“I’m thankful for our team and I’m thankful for teams like Los Fresnos, the way they are,” he added.
The Lake Travis fans were impressed with Los Fresnos’ hospitality as well.
“It was a long trip, but we’re excited to be here,” said Michael Wahl, a Lake Travis resident whose wife Donna teaches at Lake Travis High School. “The pictures we’ve seen on Twitter (of the Cavaliers on the beach), it’s looks like they’ve been having a really good time (this weekend).
“Last year, with Los Fresnos coming to play at our stadium, it made for some really good bonds of friendship between the two teams, so I think our team was happy to come down here this year and see what it’s like in the Valley,” Wahl added. “I just wish everyone a safe trip home.”
It’s believed that Lake Travis is the first defending state champion in UIL football to play in the Valley during the playoffs.
“To me, having this game in Los Fresnos is a big thing for us,” said Jose Ramirez, a Los Fresnos resident. “Last year we traveled over there and it was big because it was a third-round game. Now, having the (third-round) game here in Los Fresnos makes it even bigger.
“Yes, Lake Travis is a little bit better than we are, but we’re still going to support the Falcons no matter what,” Ramirez added. “We cheer on our Falcons win or lose.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess