By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
The top teams are starting to emerge in the Districts 32-6A and 32-5A boys and girls soccer races.
Friday marks the final day of first-half competition in both districts.
In most cases, it’s the usual suspects who are atop the standings.
So far in the 32-6A girls race, Harlingen South (5-1, 16 points) is the leader with defending champion Los Fresnos (5-1, 15 points) close behind in second place.
Harlingen High (4-2, 12 points) is in third, while Rivera (3-3, nine points), San Benito (3-3, eight points) and Hanna (2-4, seven points) come next.
Unless something drastically changes, the 32-6A girls race is expected to be decided Feb. 23 when the Lady Hawks play host to the Lady Falcons at Harlingen’s Boggus Stadium.
“We just have to keep preparing for our games and take them one at a time,” said Lady Falcons coach Patricia K. Hernandez after her team edged Rivera 1-0 Tuesday. “Our girls are persevering through the conditions and fighting hard every play to the last whistle. We look forward to the competition. We know South is going to come hard, but right now, it’s just one game at a time.”
In the 32-6A boys race, the usual suspects are Rivera (6-0, 17 points) and Hanna (5-1, 15 points), who are 1-2 in the standings. They open the second round against one another next Tuesday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“We’re doing pretty good, but we still have to learn from our mistakes so we can get better and better,” said Rivera’s Julian Espinoza, who scored what turned out to be the winning goal in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory against Los Fresnos.
Los Fresnos and Harlingen South are tied for third place in the 32-6A boys race at 3-3 with nine points each.
32-5A UPDATE
The Pace Lady Vikings (6-0, 18 points), seeking their first district championship since 2009, lead the 32-5A girls race. Donna North (5-1, 15 points) is in second place, while there’s a deadlock for third place as four teams are tied at 3-3 with nine points each. They are Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Porter, Lopez and Edcouch-Elsa.
For the 32-5A boys, Brownsville Veterans captured important wins last week against Lopez and Porter and remains the leader at 6-0 with 17 points. Lopez (5-1, 16 points) is second, while Porter (4-2, 12 points) is third and Donna North (3-3, nine points) is fourth.
TAPPS PLAYOFFS
The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds (8-13-1) advanced to the second round of the TAPPS Division I playoffs with Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over Beaumont Kelly (15-14).
The Bloodhounds, under first-year coach Edgar Tovar, next play Dallas Bishop Lynch (17-2) in the TAPPS quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cornerstone Christian Academy in San Antonio.
The winner of Saturday’s match goes against San Antonio Central Catholic (11-2-3) or Houston Awty International (14-5-1) in the TAPPS semifinals next week.
The Bloodhounds reached the TAPPS semifinals in 2015 and 2016.
31-4A BEGINS
Port Isabel’s boys and girls began District 31-4A competition last Friday with the Tarpons winning 4-2 against La Feria and the Lady Tarpons coming up short 2-1 in overtime against La Feria.
In the 4-2 win, Brayan Medina scored twice and teammates Angel Sarabia and Angel Fernandez each added a goal. The Tarpons were open Tuesday.
The Lady Tarpons rebounded from the OT loss in their district opener to shut out Lyford 3-0 Tuesday as Esthela Castillo scored two goals and Sabrina Gonzalez scored one. Celia Polsky recorded two assists and Susana Torres had one.
“So far, it seems like our district is going to be more competitive this year,” Lady Tarpons coach Jesus Cardenas said. “Nobody is being blown out. I hope it continues to stay competitive to have us all better prepared for the postseason.”
The Port Isabel teams continue district play at 6 p.m. Friday against the Brownsville IDEA Frontier teams. The Tarpons play host to the Chargers, while the Lady Tarpons take on the Lady Chargers at Brownsville Sports Park.
PORTER SELECTION
Brandon Montes, a freshman starter for the Porter Cowboys, has been chosen to represent Mexico and the USA on a select team playing in China’s Gothia Cup next August. It’s similar to the World Cup U-15.
To raise $3,800 for the trip, the Montes family is selling chicken plates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at 794 South Central Ave., which is a Brownsville residence.
Delivery is also available for the $6 plates. For more information, call (956) 559-8156 or (956) 312-3053.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess