HARLINGEN — Harlingen South head coach Lanny Wilson talked about forcing turnovers and ball control heading into their District 32-6A matchup with the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles.
The game plan was easy and the Hawks (3-4, 3-2) made it look easier as they forced four turnovers on their way to a 27-9 victory over Hanna (3-5, 1-4) Friday night at Boggus Stadium.
South’s defense put pressure on 32-6A’s leading passer Andy Lopez and intercepted him three times, one of which was returned for a 30-yard touchdown by Hawks’ corner Darren Perez early in the second quarter.
“Hanna is a great football team. We played the pass and we bit on some things, but we really concentrated on our matchups,” Wilson said. “Our offense did a good job of keeping the ball tonight as well. Whenever you score 27 points, to me, you ought to win the game.”
Hanna dropped its fourth district game and is out of the playoff hunt.
With the win, South moved into a fourth-place tie with Brownsville Veterans and remains in the thick of the 32-6A playoff race with games against San Benito and Harlingen on deck.
South, which has won its last three of four, is getting hot at the right time and getting just as confident.
“Things are in our hands to get into the playoffs, but things are going to be really tough,” Wilson said. “We’ve got confidence and we’re up to the challenge. All we ask for is a chance and we got one.”
The defense did its thing, but the offense had another good outing.
Quarterback Brandon Villarreal hooked up for another touchdown, this time it was a 48-yard bomb to Alec Garza, who also had an interception on the night.
Villarreal finished with two touchdown passes and now has nine on the year, while running back Steven Rodriguez added another touchdown to his total after a 16-yard run with 3:44 to go in the first half to make it 21-3.
Hanna did manage to get into the end zone early in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run by Roel Arreola to make it 27-9.
South’s Perez ended the night with two interceptions as the Hawks held Hanna QB Lopez without a passing touchdown. He has 11 on the year.
Unfortunately for Hanna, Lopez had his leg rolled up on a late punt in the fourth quarter when a teammate tackled a Hawks defender into him.
Lopez was seen on crutches after the game.
There is no word on the severity of the injury as Hanna head coach Rene Medrano was unavailable for comment following the game.