FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
The first district games are in the books for sub-5A football and, appropriately, there were some winners and some losers.
In District 16-4A DI, both Zapata and La Feria started their district schedules off on a winning note.
Zapata impressively defeated Hidalgo 37-19 last week to extend its winning streak to six games. After losing their first game to Laredo Cigarroa 62-36, the Hawks have gone on a scoring frenzy, outscoring their opponents 217-95 and averaging 43.4 points in those games.
The Hawks’ offense has been racking up an average of 348 yards per game and has rushed for a total of 1,612 yards behind Raul Ruiz, Orlando Villarreal, and Mac Gomez. The three have combined for 992 yards with Ruiz rushing for 357 on 61 carries; Villarreal has 339 on 45 attempts, while Gomez has rushed for 296 yards on 40 carries.
This week Zapata (6-1, 1-0) will head to Kingsville King and take on the Brahmas, who have a record of 2-4 overall.
LIONS LOOK READY: La Feria also began the season on a winning foot, comfortably defeating Grulla 36-17 at home.
This week the Lions travel to Hidalgo (2-6, 0-1) to take on the struggling Pirates, who have lost five straight. Grulla’s only win this season has come against Progreso (1-5, 0-1), which has also lost five in row.
La Feria gained a total of 243 yards against Grulla, with 141 of them coming through the air. Quarterback Isaac Galpin has thrown for a total of 706 yards this season on 57 of 177 attempts with 10 touchdowns, while also rushing for another 300 yards on 42 carries.
STINGY BOBCAT DEFENSE: In District 16-4A DII, Rio Hondo tamed the West Oso Bears 19-6 and in the process have a three-game winning streak heading into this week’s Valley Morning Star Game of the Week against Port Isabel.
Rio Hondo held the Bears to 199 total yards while gaining 252 of its own. Marco Garate led the Bobcats with 118 yards on 24 carries bringing his total to 781 yards on 116 carries.
The Bobcats stingy defense allowed the Bears to rush for only 25 yards, but the unit will face its toughest task of the season against the Tarpons.
The defense leads the district allowing an average of 166.7 yards per game, with the team allowing a mere 301 yards rushing thus far this season.
TARPON NATION: After dismantling the Progreso Red Ants 61-7 last week, the Tarpons face a much different opponent this week against Rio Hondo.
Port Isabel (6-0, 1-0) gets ready to welcome its toughest opponent of the season in the Bobcats (5-1, 1-0), who boast the district’s best run defense.
The Tarpons, ranked 12th in the state, boast the best run offense in the district, amassing a total of 2,283 yards this year.
With running backs Jaime Gonzalez and Alex De Los Santos combining for 1,525 yards, the Tarpons will test Rio Hondo’s defense.
It’s a battle between the district’s best rushing offense against the districts best running defense, and someone’s got to give.