32-5A Notebook: It's time to rebound for some teams

Forget about it. Move on.

That’s what Hanna and Los Fresnos are collectively saying after each was beaten badly in Week 0.

Hanna, the defending district champions, were never in the game, falling 46-0 at home to Sharyland. The Golden Eagles had just 103 yards of total offense, including negative 11 rushing yards.

It was a tough day all around and even tougher coaching debut for Tom Campos.

"We just didn’t execute the way we wanted to," Campos said after the game. "What we knew we could do well, we did well. We just didn’t do it all the time."

The Falcons didn’t fare any better, falling badly to Austin Del Valle 55-14 in Clint Finley’s first game as coach.

Meanwhile, Lopez committed a turnover on each of its first three plays from scrimmage, taking itself out of contention in its 44-7 loss to Harlingen High.

But after that, they hung with the Cardinals and left coach Valentin Montemayor impressed.

"After the first three plays, we were pretty even," the veteran coach said. "The second half they didn’t score on us with their 1s."

In addition, the Lobos were without starting quarterback Edward Naranjo, who was still nursing a high ankle sprain. Gilbert Vasquez started, and expectedly struggled in his place, but Montemayor said Naranjo could play Friday against PSJA Memorial.

MEANWHILE, AT PACE

Hardly anybody was giving the Vikings a shot in their game against Edinburg North.

"The kids, they take that to heart," coach Rene Medrano said. "They wanted to make a statement … nobody was really giving them credit. I think that helped light the fire a little bit."

A strong defensive effort, fronted by two interceptions by Eric Escamilla, and an especially strong special teams performance gave Pace a convincing 30-13 win over the Cougars.

"The way we work offense and defense, we work (special teams), too," Medrano said. "And it paid off for us that game."

Medrano also continued to work in all three of his quarterbacks — Dustin Hernandez, Pete Valderas and Andrew Soto — in the game. He said he expects the competition to continue.

"I have confidence in all three of them," Medrano said. "Overall, they can all do the job."

RUNNING TO VICTORY

The Panthers attempted just three passes during their dominating 42-6 win over rival Mercedes.

While the one pass was a big one — a 76-yard touchdown pass from Randy Lopez to R.C. Cervantes — Weslaco High racked up 302 yards on the ground in its season-opening win.

John Rojas collected 136 of those yards — led by his 89-yard scamper in the third quarter — and five players had at least five carries in the game. Coach Tony Villarreal said that wasn’t necessarily what the Panthers wanted, it’s just the way game shook out.

"We try to throw the ball more," Villarreal said. "The defense gave us a short field the whole night." 

Todd Orodenker covers District 32-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via e-mail at torodenker@brownsvilleherald.com.