footballgal
10-11-2006, 07:18 PM
Oct 11, 2006
One tough district
Competition at a premium in 32-3A
There are four very good teams in District 32-3A. Three teams advance to the state playoffs. Do the math! That’s right, one good team will be watching the postseason in 2006.
What happens in the next five weeks will determine all that.
The four in the playoff derby are Rio Hondo, La Feria, Hidalgo and Port Isabel.
Progreso would be considered a huge underdog to make a bid.
For years 32-3A has been known as a highly competitive district. It seems this year has set a new standard.
The rundown
Rio Hondo: The defending champ is 6-0 and looks even better than last year.
The big question coming in was defense, since the Bobcats graduated the entire down line.
But this year the strength has been a dynamic linebacking crew led by Eric Gantt.
The Bobcats stop unit leads the league with a 194.5 yield and has allowed just 35 points in six games.
Offensively Robbie Mesa and quarterback Aaron Garza carry the superstar labels.
They have combined for 1,538 yards and 30 touchdowns. Mesa is putting up allstate type numbers with 938 yards and 18 TDs.
It wouldn’t be a total surprise if the Bobcats ran the table again.
Hidalgo: The Pirates have been somewhat overlooked in the overall picture but not anymore.
Their 4-2 record includes losses to Class 4A Mercedes and Edcouch-Elsa. The mighty Yellowjackets beat Hidalgo by a mere three points.
While Mesa and Garza have grabbed the spotlight, the Pirate duo of quarterback Oscar Perez and Jesus Olvera have actually gained more yardage — 1,608. The touchdown production of 22 is short of Rio Hondo’s, but still very good. The Pirates lead the district in offense (415.5) and trail only the Bobcats in defense (208.5). This is a dangerous team that no longer can be considered a darkhorse.
Port Isabel: For a while it looked like another bad start for the Tarpons after losses to E-E and Raymondville. But PI has rebounded with four straight wins with an explosive offense and the emergence of the revered Seawall Defense, the Tarps are back in playoff mode. Ralph Valdez leads a crushing running game with 818 yards (11.7 per carry) and nine TDs. Nolan Nunez, who’s battled injuries but appears to be ready for district, has 339 yards on just 26 attempts, a stunning 13.0 average per run. Quarterback David Alaniz completes 52 percent of his throws.
La Feria: Once again the Lions will count on their defense to get the job done.
La Feria (4-0) has already had two weeks off, meaning it gets no bye-week during district, like the other teams will.
The Lions currently rank fourth in defense but have only allowed 54 points, second to Rio Hondo. They have impressive wins against 4A schools Mercedes and Weslaco East.
You can always count on a rugged, hard-nosed struggle when you lineup against the Lions. Offensively, the Lions lack the firepower of the other teams. But running back Tomas Tovar can provide game-breaking skills with the best of them. Hard-running Frank Gonzalez and Troy Cox contribute solid backup and quarterback Eleazar Esquivel is getting better every week.
The openers
In Week One of district, La Feria travels to Port Isabel and Rio Hondo hosts Progreso. Hidalgo draws the bye.
Buddy Green
3A notes Valley Morning Star
==============================================
http://epaper.valleystar.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=VMS/2006/10/11/18/Img/Ar0180000.png
On offense we can see how close the top three teams, they are sperated by only 54 yards, or 30.8 yds avg from 1st to 3rd. Defense same thing, between 1st and 3rd, it's only 107 yards, or 17.8 avg yards.
Records:
Rio Hondo 6-0
Hidalgo 4-2
La Feria 4-2
Total Offense
Team G Rush Pass Tot Avg.
Hidalgo 6 1963 530 2493 415.5
Rio Hondo 6 1959 441 2400 400.00
Port Isabel 6 1909 399 2308 384.7
La Feria 4 923 362 1285 321.3
Total Defense
Team G Rush Pass Tot Avg.
Rio Hondo 6 483 684 1167 194.5
Hidalgo 6 775 476 1251 208.5
Port Isabel 6 831 443 1274 212.3
La Feria 4 659 391 1050 262.5
Scoring Leaders
Plyr, team TDs 2xp 1xp FG Total
Mesa, RH 18 1 0 0 110
Olvera, Hid 13 0 0 0 78
Garza, RH 12 0 0 0 72
Valdez, PI 11 0 0 0 66
Perez, Hid 9 0 0 0 54
Tovar, LaFeria 8 1 0 0 50
Rushing Leaders
PLayer c Yds Avg TD
Mesa, RH 103 938 9.1 18
Perez, Hidalgo 113 855 7.6 9
Valdeez, PI 70 818 11.7 9
Olvera, Hidalgo 86 7583 8.8 13
Garza RH 62 600 9.7 12
Tovar, La Feria 66 430 6.5 7
Nunez, PI 26 339 13.0 4
One tough district
Competition at a premium in 32-3A
There are four very good teams in District 32-3A. Three teams advance to the state playoffs. Do the math! That’s right, one good team will be watching the postseason in 2006.
What happens in the next five weeks will determine all that.
The four in the playoff derby are Rio Hondo, La Feria, Hidalgo and Port Isabel.
Progreso would be considered a huge underdog to make a bid.
For years 32-3A has been known as a highly competitive district. It seems this year has set a new standard.
The rundown
Rio Hondo: The defending champ is 6-0 and looks even better than last year.
The big question coming in was defense, since the Bobcats graduated the entire down line.
But this year the strength has been a dynamic linebacking crew led by Eric Gantt.
The Bobcats stop unit leads the league with a 194.5 yield and has allowed just 35 points in six games.
Offensively Robbie Mesa and quarterback Aaron Garza carry the superstar labels.
They have combined for 1,538 yards and 30 touchdowns. Mesa is putting up allstate type numbers with 938 yards and 18 TDs.
It wouldn’t be a total surprise if the Bobcats ran the table again.
Hidalgo: The Pirates have been somewhat overlooked in the overall picture but not anymore.
Their 4-2 record includes losses to Class 4A Mercedes and Edcouch-Elsa. The mighty Yellowjackets beat Hidalgo by a mere three points.
While Mesa and Garza have grabbed the spotlight, the Pirate duo of quarterback Oscar Perez and Jesus Olvera have actually gained more yardage — 1,608. The touchdown production of 22 is short of Rio Hondo’s, but still very good. The Pirates lead the district in offense (415.5) and trail only the Bobcats in defense (208.5). This is a dangerous team that no longer can be considered a darkhorse.
Port Isabel: For a while it looked like another bad start for the Tarpons after losses to E-E and Raymondville. But PI has rebounded with four straight wins with an explosive offense and the emergence of the revered Seawall Defense, the Tarps are back in playoff mode. Ralph Valdez leads a crushing running game with 818 yards (11.7 per carry) and nine TDs. Nolan Nunez, who’s battled injuries but appears to be ready for district, has 339 yards on just 26 attempts, a stunning 13.0 average per run. Quarterback David Alaniz completes 52 percent of his throws.
La Feria: Once again the Lions will count on their defense to get the job done.
La Feria (4-0) has already had two weeks off, meaning it gets no bye-week during district, like the other teams will.
The Lions currently rank fourth in defense but have only allowed 54 points, second to Rio Hondo. They have impressive wins against 4A schools Mercedes and Weslaco East.
You can always count on a rugged, hard-nosed struggle when you lineup against the Lions. Offensively, the Lions lack the firepower of the other teams. But running back Tomas Tovar can provide game-breaking skills with the best of them. Hard-running Frank Gonzalez and Troy Cox contribute solid backup and quarterback Eleazar Esquivel is getting better every week.
The openers
In Week One of district, La Feria travels to Port Isabel and Rio Hondo hosts Progreso. Hidalgo draws the bye.
Buddy Green
3A notes Valley Morning Star
==============================================
http://epaper.valleystar.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=VMS/2006/10/11/18/Img/Ar0180000.png
On offense we can see how close the top three teams, they are sperated by only 54 yards, or 30.8 yds avg from 1st to 3rd. Defense same thing, between 1st and 3rd, it's only 107 yards, or 17.8 avg yards.
Records:
Rio Hondo 6-0
Hidalgo 4-2
La Feria 4-2
Total Offense
Team G Rush Pass Tot Avg.
Hidalgo 6 1963 530 2493 415.5
Rio Hondo 6 1959 441 2400 400.00
Port Isabel 6 1909 399 2308 384.7
La Feria 4 923 362 1285 321.3
Total Defense
Team G Rush Pass Tot Avg.
Rio Hondo 6 483 684 1167 194.5
Hidalgo 6 775 476 1251 208.5
Port Isabel 6 831 443 1274 212.3
La Feria 4 659 391 1050 262.5
Scoring Leaders
Plyr, team TDs 2xp 1xp FG Total
Mesa, RH 18 1 0 0 110
Olvera, Hid 13 0 0 0 78
Garza, RH 12 0 0 0 72
Valdez, PI 11 0 0 0 66
Perez, Hid 9 0 0 0 54
Tovar, LaFeria 8 1 0 0 50
Rushing Leaders
PLayer c Yds Avg TD
Mesa, RH 103 938 9.1 18
Perez, Hidalgo 113 855 7.6 9
Valdeez, PI 70 818 11.7 9
Olvera, Hidalgo 86 7583 8.8 13
Garza RH 62 600 9.7 12
Tovar, La Feria 66 430 6.5 7
Nunez, PI 26 339 13.0 4