By the Numbers: Thirteen a lucky number

It's regarded by some as an unlucky number.
But for a handful of Valley football teams it represents a pinacle of success.
Four Valley schools have won 13 games in season and that is the focus of the latest installment of the Star's "By The Numbers" series.
Weslaco, Donna, Port Isabel (twice) and Edcouch-Elsa have each notched 13 wins in a season.
The Panthers were the first team to reach the mark in 1995with Bobby Lackey at the helm of the offense.
Lackey guided the Panthers to an undefeated regular season and a 13-1 final record.
The Panthers lost to Hillsboro in Waco that season in the Class 2A state semifinals for their only loss of that super season.
The Panthers defeated Sinton, Floresville and Nederland on their way to the semis that year.
"We had a group of seniors that just wanted to win," Lackey recalled. "Our head coach (Martin Stewart) was in his first year and they did a great job of coaching us too."
The Panthers came close in 1991 when Jim Hite's squad went 12-1.
For the Donna Redskins, 1961 was a very special year.
Not only did the Redskins become the second Valley team to win 13 games, that 13th victory game in the state championship game as Earl Scott's club went 13-2 and remains the only Valley school to win a state title.
It was a small group of Redskins that wrote their names in Valley football history.
Only 18 players suited up for the Redskins by the time Donna took on Quanah in the state title game, which Donna won 28-21 on Dec. 16, 1961, in Austin.
Quanah was 14-0, outscored its opponents 483-56 and held a 21-13 third-quarter lead against Donna. The Redskins surged back and clinched the championship on Fred Edwards' touchdown run. Oscar Avila's interception on Quanah's ensuing possession sealed the win.
During their march to the title game, Donna defeated Refugio 32-0 (bi-district), Devine 12-7 (regional), Sweeney 32-14 (state quarterfinal) and Brady 16-14 (state semifinal).
Donna started the season slowly, losing its first two games, before winning 13 straight.
No Valley team repeated Donna and Weslaco's feat for 20 years.
Enter the 1981 Port Isabel Tarpons and head coach Tommy Roberts.
In Roberts' fourth season as head coach, the Tarpons were establishing themselves as one of the dominant programs in the Valley. During Roberts' tenure in PI, the Tarpons went 47-4-1.
And just like Donna in 1961, the Tarpons won 13 straight.
However, PI lost its 14th game to Cameron Yoe, 25-14, in the state semifinals.
"My senior year we should have won state," PI quarterback and safety Donald Guillot said in 2006. "(Cameron Yoe) was a good team and well-coached. They just capitalized on our mistakes."
In 1994, the Tarpons repeated the 13-win mark and reached the state semifinals for the second time in school history where they lost to eventual state champions Sealy, 34-13.
Among the highlights of that season was the Tarpons eliminating top-ranked Cuero from the playoffs on penetrations after a 20-20 tie.
"That was a special team," said then-Port Isabel coach Tony Villarreal.
Cris Cavazos coached just one season at Edcouch-Elsa, but it was a season to be remembered.
Paced by Chano Alvarado's 1,392 yards rushing and 20 TDs, the Yellow Jackets went 10-0 in the regular season.
The ‘Jackets followed that up with three playoff wins (Kingsville, Pleasanton and Austin Lanier) to bring their win streak to 13 straight before falling to Calallen, 28-7 in the quarterfinals.

Paul Conatzer writes about high school sports for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at paulc@valleystar.com