By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
SAN ANTONIO — This game may be a rematch of last season’s area round game, but it’s a different Los Fresnos team that faces Southwest (San Antonio) this week.
The Falcons are a more complete, experienced team on both sides of the ball and are quite familiar with a Dragons’ squad they’ll face for the third time in two years when they match up in a Class 6A Division I area round playoff game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Alamo Stadium.
Last season, Los Fresnos defeated Southwest 27-19 in its area round game after taking an early lead and not letting up in the second half. The Falcons (8-3) faced the Dragons (9-2) again during a preseason scrimmage and now meet one another once again in the same round and same stadium in which they battled a year ago.
“We’ve had a good week of practice,” Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown said. “Our kids have been locked in pretty good … I’m very pleased about where we’re at. We know each other … we know what they want to do and they know what we want to do.”
Los Fresnos hasn’t lost in a month and it has played well on both sides of the ball. The offense has scored nearly 30 points per game during that time and have been led by the outstanding play by senior quarterback Charles Chapa, who has accounted for 2,500 yards of offense and 25 touchdowns this season.
The Southwest defense allows less than 18 points per game. Senior linebacker Bostin Crisp leads the team with 108 tackles and has two of the team’s 16 sacks. Junior defensive back Cade Stott has five interceptions for the Dragons on the year.
But it’s the Southwest offense that is of the upmost concern for the Falcons, with an average of nearly 27 points and 359 yards per game, the majority of those from its rushing attack. Led by senior running back Sean Ruiz, who has rushed for 1,141 yards and 19 touchdowns and junior quarterback Damian Lopez has run for 506 yards and five touchdowns. Lopez also has 589 yards passing and three touchdowns, but doesn’t throw that often in the run-heavy offense.
“What they do (on offense) you just don’t see anymore,” Brown said. “The old single wing, two big fullbacks and a tailback … they’re trying to pound you with multiple players. This is a type of offense you only see once every several years and for us, luckily this is our third time now.”
The Falcons’ defense has allowed less than 13 points per game during the last month of the season. Led by Cristian Pena, who has 124 tackles and three and a half sacks on the year, the team has totaled 14 and a half sacks and 13 interceptions this season.
The unit has been a big part of the team’s success, holding opponents in check and giving more opportunities to the offense, which have in turn capitalized.
Brown will again rely on his defense to set the tone in the game.
“We have to stop their run and if we can do that we may have some success,” he said. “I think if we can have some success early and force them out of what they want to do, maybe throw the ball a little bit, that would definitely benefit us. I like how our defense is playing … I think they’re playing as well as anyone in the Valley.
“When you have a good defense going into the playoffs, you have a shot in every game.”
This looks to be a physical game with a run-heavy Southwest offense going against the Los Fresnos defense. If the Falcons can get a couple stops, force a turnover or two and get the Dragons out of their element, it could be a good day for the Los Fresnos offense. The Falcons have been playing well on both sides of the ball and if they do their season should continue to the third round.
Prediction: Los Fresnos 31, Southwest 24
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.