By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Of all the districts in the Valley, 31-6A seems to hold the most uncertainty heading into the final week of the regular season.
The top three teams (Edinburg High, Edinburg North and Weslaco High) are knotted with 9-2 district records. They have their respective matchups today against teams that failed to make the postseason, with the exception of Weslaco High, which hosts fourth-seeded Weslaco East.
“We haven’t had a three-way tie,” said Edinburg High coach Jesse Banda, who is in his seventh year with the program. “We’ve had two-way ties, but the three teams here are pretty close to each other.”
Should the top three teams win their respective games tonight, one of two things could happen.
The participating coaches would have to mutually agree to a coin flip to help determine seeding. Otherwise, the teams would have to play additional games to figure it out.
Banda called it a “weird season” because of the rain, which caused many postponements across the Valley. There could be further delays in gearing up for the playoffs if teams finish tied in district and decide to play seeding games.
“The problem is, you’ve got to set up who you want to play and you’re running out of time,” said Banda, who expressed skepticism about a mutual agreement to flip coins.
If only two teams tie, however, head-to-head matchups in district games this season would serve as the tiebreaker, unless they split the meetings. In that case, the two coaches would again have to agree on a coin flip or play a seeding game.
Whereas two of the matchups are set in the 29-6A vs. 30-6A bi-district battles, 31-6A remains unclear, not only because of its own seeding situation but because of 32-6A’s own uncertainty.
The top two spots are locked in. San Benito is No. 1, setting up a first-round collision with Weslaco East (7-14, 5-6). And Los Fresnos is set at No. 2, securing a bi-district duel against 31-6A’s third-seeded team, which has yet to be determined.
The playoff picture should clear up a bit after tonight’s games — if not, by early next week, in the event that seeding games are played.
BIG BATTLE
The fourth seed in District 32-5A will come down to the final regular season game of the year for both Donna High (14-8, 8-5) and Edcouch-Elsa (16-9, 7-6).
The Lady Yellowjackets trail the Bravettes by one game, and they could close that gap with a victory at 7 tonight. If Donna wins, however, it would clinch the program’s first-ever playoff spot, by virtue of having swept the season series.
“They know what they’re playing for,” Donna coach Adrian Lopez said. “It’s like I told them, ‘There’s no pressure. You’ve got to execute. Just play ball the way I know you’re capable of playing.’ Hopefully we get it done and we’re the team that gets in.”
The Bravettes were relatively close last year to making the playoffs, coming away with an 8-8 record in a district that featured Edinburg North, Edinburg Vela and Sharyland High, among others, during Lopez’s first year with the program.
“I think the experience we gained there was valuable to our kids,” Lopez said. “That prepared us for this year. You know, we played really good teams and we did pretty good, we just didn’t win a lot of games.”
This year, he said, he told his players, “We can’t put it in auto pilot or cruise control. We have to put teams away. We have to finish. And that’s been a key point for us, to finish teams and put the game away.”
With seven starters back, Donna has improved defensively, and its bats have come around, helping a late-season push to get into the playoffs. If Edcouch-Elsa wins tonight, though, the teams would finish tied and thus need to break that tie, as well.
LOCKED IN
On Thursday, two Valley teams secured their respective district titles outright heading into the final night of the regular season for most districts.
Mercedes beat PSJA Southwest to clinch the 32-5A crown, and San Benito won the 32-6A championship by beating Harlingen South. Weslaco East, which clinched a playoff berth by way of PSJA Memorial (4-8 in district) losing to Edinburg North on Thursday, will face San Benito in bi-district.
Edinburg Vela (31-5A), Lyford (32-3A) and McAllen Rowe (30-6A) have also locked in titles.