By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
It’s “deja vu” all over again this week for the Rivera Raiders.
For the second straight year, the Raiders have come on strong at the end of the regular season to earn a spot in the state football playoffs.
One year ago, the Raiders emerged out of a three-way tie for fourth place in District 32-5A to advance to the postseason, where they upset District 31-5A champion McAllen High 33-21 during the opening round of the playoffs.
This time, Rivera again has qualified for the postseason by winning its past five games of the regular season to capture a share of the District 32-6A championship, all after starting 0-5. Thanks to a 42-35 road triumph over San Benito last Friday, the Raiders (5-5, 5-2 district) now move on to the 6A Division II bi-district playoffs and will take on the PSJA North Raiders (5-5, 4-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
Needless to say, there are some pretty positive feelings evident on the Rivera campus this week.
“It feels great,” said Edward Rubio, the Raiders’ senior tight end. “Since way back in two-a-days, that’s what our coach has preached, going for the district title. Now that we’ve made it, it just feels very good.
““I’ve seen the growth throughout the season of every single player on our team,” Rubio added. “No one gave up, not even after we had some very tough losses. We just didn’t give up, and that’s what has really helped us.”
Regarding the atmosphere around school, Rubio said, “We see a lot of support. The fans have really helped, and we feel they’re going to help us get this next win, too.”
Aimee Garza-Limon, now in her second year as Rivera’s principal, commends the football team, especially coach Tom Chavez, for the way the Raiders have persevered since their rough start.
“We kept hearing (earlier this season) that Rivera was the best winless team in the Valley, and now, here we are,” Garza-Limon said. “Our football team stuck together and really came through. It’s a team that has stuck together the last few years (to do well). My hat is off to Coach Chavez, to all his coaches and to the players.
“There is an excitement on our campus right now,” she added. “Both years (for me as Rivera’s principal) have been good. I’m very glad to be here.
“We really feel we have a good chance to win Friday. Hopefully, the real Raiders win.”
Playing tough opponents early in the season such as the Rio Grande Valley’s top-ranked Sharyland High, No. 7 Weslaco East and previously ranked Edinburg North was all part of the plan, Chavez said.
“We started off with a tough schedule, which is something we always try to do,” Chavez said. “Hopefully, doing that is something that works out, and this year it seemed to work out again. Our boys have been playing very well lately, and we started on a (winning) run. When we got that first win (24-9 over Lopez on Oct. 10), we got a little confidence in ourselves, and now, our guys are just making plays. The offense has come along. Our defense has been playing well all year long.
“I’m real proud of these guys,” Chavez added. “They could have given up a long time ago and just played out the rest of the season, but they hung in there. Once we got a little success, we got more confidence in each other and we started playing better.
“The atmosphere around school has been good. Like the old saying goes, winning solves a lot (of problems), and it helps a lot, too.”
Chris Martinez, the Raiders’ senior middle linebacker, said the football team shares its success with everyone associated with the school.
“It feels great, not only for us, but for the community,” Martinez said. “We’re trying to bring the (winning) tradition back to Rivera. It’s slowly getting there. It’s prideful for us to say that our (senior) class is bringing the tradition back. Since our freshman year, this group (of seniors) has always been together. We’ve always had the right mentality, and everybody has wanted to win. We’ve brought that attitude with us this year, and we’ve included the juniors and everyone else because we need to have them with us also in order to win.
“Yeah, I love my teammates because they all have that mentality of wanting to win, and that’s a big part about (doing well) playing football,” Martinez added. “The tradition (of fielding winning football teams at Rivera) is coming back. It’s getting to the point where it’s kind of expected (to reach the playoffs), and that’s a good thing. It shows we’re bringing the tradition back.”