Bears ready for cold, rain, Rattlers

True football weather arrived in the Rio Grande Valley on Friday.

"I just hope it doesn't rain," PSJA High coach Mel Rios said.

Fortunately for Rios, it looks as if his Bears team, which takes on Sharyland in Class 5A Division I area-round contest at 7 tonight at Rattler Stadium in Mission, will deal mostly with the cool temps and not so much with the wet stuff. There is a 20 percent chance for rain tonight.

Most Bears fans probably don't want to remember last season's area-round contest played in soggy conditions against La Joya. The Bears turned the ball over eight times, falling 28-14.

"Whether it rains or not, those things do happen," Rios said. "Early in the year we had about seven fumbles against Edinburg High and it was a beautiful night. We just remind the kids we must play an errorless game. We can't make any critical mistakes and give them a short field. We surely don't bring up last year's game."

The Bears (6-5), however, will bring up that they have won five of their last six games and seem to be peaking at the right time. They are hoping to ride the momentum into the next round. The winner takes on San Antonio Clark in the regional quarterfinals next week.

"We start coming together toward the middle of the playoffs and start doing the things that we are capable of and that propels us into the playoffs," Rios said. "At this point our kids have a lot of confidence and they feel they have a chance regardless of who we play."

The Bears take on another confident bunch in Sharyland. The Rattlers (9-2) are coming off an impressive defensive performance last week against Del Rio, limiting the Rams' potent ground game to 154 yards rushing.

Sharyland coach Fred Sanchez did not return repeated calls for comment.