FREDDY GONZALEZ | Valley Morning Star
When the season began, the Rio Hondo Lady Bobcats set two goals for themselves: Make the playoffs and get further than the team did last year.
Sitting at 5-1, the Lady Cats are back on track to repeat last season’s feat of earning a trip to the postseason.
“We are doing enough to get wins, but we are not where we want to be,” said Rio Hondo girls head coach Karen Ramirez. “We spent the be-ginning of the season going to tournaments and finding out where we stand. In the Progreso tournament we came in second, which gave the team some confidence. Now it’s just a matter of moving people to some different positions and see what works best for us.”
Last season, the team made school history by winning its first bi-district game and this season, with eight seniors and nine underclassmen, the team is well equipped to follow that up. However, for now the message is clear – keep moving forward.
“We’re heading in a positive direction and we are always trying to get better,” said Ramirez. “We’re trying to make the playoffs again and we’re trying to be successful in the playoffs, if we are fortunate enough to get there. We have to keep moving forward because yesterday was yesterday, and we can build off our successes and correct the mistakes that we did and just try to keep learning and keep improving.”
The Lady Bobcats currently sit in second place behind La Feria, which sits in first at 6-0.
BOYS 4A: Rio Hondo can’t seem to stop scoring. The Bobcats have scored 31 goals in five games, have conceded 12 goals and are averaging five goals per game.
Leading the way for the Cats is Jose-Alas Meza, who has scored an eye-opening 17 district goals in five games. The team’s 14 other goals have come courtesy of Zeke Guerreo, Eric Pizarro, Jimmy Weaver, Edgar Marroquin, Oscar Cabello and Andres Najera.
“It’s been a work in progress and to see it all come together is what coaching is all about,” said Rio Hondo boys head coach Candido Ochoa. “The team is playing hard for each other and also for the community of Rio Hondo. We have three games left to win to accomplish our goal of winning a district title.”
After defeating Raymondville 8-3 on Tuesday, the Bobcats sit at 5-1 – one game behind La Feria.