The playoffs head into the next round
It's November, and that usually means the Los Fresnos Falcons are soaring
After their 70-21 pasting of Edinburg North this past Saturday, the Valley's No. 1 ranked Falcons (11-0) will host surging McAllen Memorial this Saturday night in a matchup of two of the Valley's 10 remaining playoff teams.
Los Fresnos, the 32-5A champs back in the area round for the fourth straight year, will face the upstart Mustangs, the 30-5A winners, who beat Laredo Alexander in bi-district. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.
In other 5A action, the Harlingen Cardinals (9-2), fresh off their 63-14 domination of Weslaco, will duel with Laredo United (7-4) at Alice Memorial Stadium, also at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Cards got their first playoff win since 2005 and the first for head coach Manny Gomez in two tries with the win over the Panthers. United's Longhorns trounced Donna, 46-7.
Two other remaining 31-5A schools, PSJA North (9-2) and PSJA (6-5) are also still alive.
The Raiders, who downed Porter in bi-district, will square off with San Antonio Southwest (8-3) at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus Christi on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.). Southwest topped McHi in overtime.
Coach Mel Rios' Bears, in the playoffs for the fifth time in Rios' seven seasons, will take on Sharyland (9-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sharyland's Rattler Stadium The Rattlers ousted Del Rio last week in bi-district to keep its season going.
In Class 4A, Edcouch-Elsa (11-0) will face Port Lavaca Calhoun (8-1) at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville on Friday night at 7:30. The Jackets took care of Tuloso-Midway in bi-district after a tumultuous week. La Maquina Amarilla is another team in the area round for the fourth consecutive season.
Also, two Class 3A teams are still alive.
District 32-3A champion Rio Hondo (9-2), one more team in the area round for the fourth straight year, will take on the Devine Warhorses (7-2) at Tuloso-Midway's Warrior Stadium. The Bobcats beat Ingleside in bi-district while the Warhorses enjoyed a bye. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Coastal Bend.
La Feria (6-5), back in the playoffs after missing out in 2007, will be the first Valley team to open the area round. The Lions will meet Bandera (7-3) on Thursday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
La Feria bested Robstown 3-0 in a defensive struggle in bi-district.
And last, but certainly not least, the La Villa Cardinals (9-2) are still alive after a wild bi-district win - a 43-42 overtime thriller over Yorktown.
The Cards will square off with 8-3 Junction in Floresville on Saturday afternoon. Game time is 2 p.m.
Armando Garza covers sub-4A football for Valley Freedom Newspapers. He can be reached at armandog@valleystar.com.
