Hanna clinches at least share of 32-5A title with victory

For the first time in three seasons, there will be a new District 32-5A football champion.

The Hanna Golden Eagles are one step closer to taking it all for themselves.

Hanna’s offense exploded for 484 yards and the defense forced six turnovers as the Golden Eagles continued their dominance this season, ended Los Fresnos’ reign as district champions and guaranteed themselves at least a share of the 32-5A title by beating the Falcons 52-31 on Saturday night at Leo Aguilar Stadium.

"It feels great, and I think the kids feel great," Hanna coach Tom Chavez said about the victory. "I thought we were in a little bit of trouble going into halftime, giving up the scoring momentum. We’ve played four quarters of football all year and I told them this is no different, and they came through.

Sophomore quarterback Randy Rey threw for a career-high 341yards and connected on first-half touchdown passes to Enrique Saldaña and Mike and Anthony Garza (no relation) to put Hanna up 29-17 at halftime.

The Falcons looked poised to cut into the Golden Eagles’ lead on their opening possession of the second half, driving 65 yards on 11 plays, but Eric Castillo fumbled and Hanna’s Chris Ortiz recovered the ball on the 14-yard line.

Five plays later, Saldaña busted a 54-yard run to give Hanna a 38-17 advantage with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

Saldaña, the Rio Grande Valley’s leading rusher, said the Eagles’ business isn’t finished despite clinching a share of the 32-5A title.

"It feels great to have a community that supports us so much," Saldaña said. "We put an all-around effort offensively and defensively, and our coaches prepared us very well. It was an all-around great experience. We still have one game to go, and we want to win the district title outright. I think with another week of hard work and practices we’ll come out on top."

The Falcons, though weren’t going to let the Golden Eagles g without a fight in the final quarter. tephan Wilson picked off Rey n the end zone and returned it 75 yards to the Hanna 25. Four plays later, Emilio Hernandez punched it in from 2 yards out, cutting the deficit to 45-24 with 5:59 remaining in the game.

Los Fresnos then recovered the onside bloop kick from Daniel Muñiz, and three snaps later Bobby Zepeda caught a 39-yard TD from Hernandez to cut the lead to 45-31 with 4:31 in the game.

Hanna sealed the win eight plays later when Saldaña ran for his third TD of the game from 4 yards out, giving Hanna a 52-31 victory.

"Got to give them all the credit in the world," Falcons coach Scott Ford said. "They were the better football team, and we wish them the best of luck the rest of the way."

Ford added the faster his team heals the wounds from the game, the better off it will be.

"We still have a lot of football left," Ford said. "We just need to put this behind us and get back to work tomorrow at 11 a.m."

Louie Vera covers District 32-5A football for Valley FreedomNewspapers. He can be reached at 956-982-6663 or via e-mail at lvera@brownsvilleherald.com.