By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Hanna and Los Fresnos meet with different objectives, and Porter and Mercedes look to better their district standing in Week 11.
The Golden Eagles travel to face the Falcons in one of the last District 32-6A games of the season at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Leo Aguilar Stadium in Los Fresnos. The Cowboys are on the road against the Tigers in their District 32-5A season finale, also at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Tiger Stadium in Mercedes.
Hanna fell out of the playoff race in Week 9 with a loss to Harlingen South, and Los Fresnos sits tied atop the district standings with Harlingen High and San Benito. A win gives the Falcons a share of the district title.
“We have a big game against Los Fresnos that we’re playing for pride because we know we’re out (of the playoffs),” Hanna coach Rene Medrano said. “Our kids have manned up all year long, and we really went through a lot. There’s no argument, our district to me, in my opinion, was by far the toughest district in the Valley.
“When you line up to play every week, it doesn’t matter the other team’s record. You know they’re going to be an outstanding group that you’re up against, and physically tough, you know you’re going to get beat up.”
The Eagles have been banged up in recent weeks and have been limited in depth at a few positions. The Falcons are relatively healthy and want to accomplish another goal from the beginning season, winning a district championship.
Medrano feels the team needs to play a complete game like it did last week against Rivera.
“Los Fresnos is good,” he said. “They’re on a role, they’re in the playoffs, they want to end the regular season on a positive note before the playoffs. We’re going to have to play how we did last week, with zero turnovers. You can see the difference, and we’re going to have to do that same thing on offense. On defense, we’re going to have to take advantage of opportunities.”
The Falcons have the third-best offense and the Eagles have the third-best defense. The side that makes the plays will likely come out on top. The Falcons want to earn a share of the district title, but the Eagles would be happy to play spoiler.
“It would be a great way to jumpstart us to the offseason, that would be awesome,” Medrano said.
Porter and Mercedes have both clinched playoff berths, but each is looking for more.
The Cowboys can get to second in district with a win and a win by Donna High against Edcouch-Elsa. The Tigers need to get a win and hope for a Donna High loss to clinch a share of the District 32-5A title.
Porter has one of the best rushing attacks in the district led by Jorge Gutierrez, who leads the district with 1,875 yards and 23 touchdowns on the season. Mercedes has the stingiest defense in the district and only allow 132 yards on the ground per game.
“We have to take advantage of our series,” Gutierrez said. “They know we’re going to run the ball, we pound it, we pound it, nothing’s going to change.”
The Tigers average 317 yards per game, with a heavier run load as well. The Cowboys’ defense is ready though.
“We know the quarterback is a good runner and the running back is pretty fast,” Porter defensive tackle Manny Rodriguez said. “We’re trying to put more people in the box, minimize the run, contain the outside and plug up the middle like we always do. We’re a run stop defense.”
For now, Porter isn’t thinking about the playoffs, it is focused on Mercedes.
“This is just another game. We want to finish the regular season and prepare ourselves for the postseason,” Gutierrez said. “The postseason does matter, but we’re worried about our last regular season game, that’s it.”
The Cowboys hope they can keep the momentum as they finish the regular season and begin the postseason next week.
“Going 2-0 into the playoffs would be a confidence boost,” Rodriguez said. “We just need to believe in each other. We have the talent, but we need to believe in ourselves. Our coaches believe in us, all we need to do is believe in each other.”
Los Fresnos coach Clint Finley could not be reached via phone for comment.
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.
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