32-5A/32-3A notes: Looking forward to the Battle for District 32-5A

It’s the last regular game of the season and that means that one thing is on football fans’ minds: The playoffs.

In 32-5A, all four playoff teams have been decided.

Weslaco, Los Fresnos, San Benito and Brownsville Pace have all punched their ticket to the postseason.

All that remains to be decided is the 32-5A championship and that will happen when the Panthers and Falcons do battle Friday night.

The game is already spurring reports of a sellout (are you surprised?) and I hear the campers are ready to man their posts for tickets.

Both teams come in with identical 6-0 marks in the district. Los Fresnos won the title last year at Weslaco’s Bobby Lackey Stadium in a thrilling, 42-39 win.

This season, it’s been the Panthers that have steamrolled through the season. The only hiccup, a loss to rival Donna. Weslaco averages more than 506 yards per game on offense and is led by a potent attack led by all-everything tailback Mishak Rivas, who has 2,225 yards on the ground for coach Tony Villarreal.

Los Fresnos, meanwhile, has won six straight after going into district 1-2.

The Falcons are still the defending champs and have done it with a more balanced attack.

Led by running back Danny Mendez, Los Fresnos is second to Weslaco in rushing yards with 2,097. Figure in 1,426 yards through the air and the result has been a Falcon team that’s only gained steam.

Head coach Scott Ford’s team will have the benefit of having the game at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

One thing’s for sure, better get your tickets to this one soon.

In 32-3A, Rio Hondo can wrap up an outright district title with a win over La Feria at home on Friday.

The Bobcats sit at 3-0 in district and 9-0 overall after their 31-20 win over Port Isabel last week.

Both teams are already qualified for the postseason, with one berth up for grabs.

That could be snapped up by Hidalgo, which got arguably its biggest win of the year last week, a 24-0 win over La Feria.

The Pirates now must beat Progreso at home Friday to wrap up the spot. Should Progreso pull the game out, then things get dicey.

La Feria needs to beat Rio Hondo and then have the Red Ants beat Hidalgo by 21 points to force a coin flip.

The likely scenario is there, but in this district, who knows?

GRIDIRON GREATS: Here are the standouts from last week’s games in both districts.

* Port Isabel’s Nolan Nuñez scampered for 222 yards and a touchdown in the Tarpons’ loss to Rio Hondo.

* Joseph Vela garnered VMS Player of the Week honors with his 197 total yards (126 rushing) and three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) as the ’Cats beat PI.

* Shane Eizember had two interceptions and four catches for 45 yards for Rio Hondo in the same game.

* Oscar Perez helped the Pirates get past La Feria to keep Hidalgo’s playoff hopes alive with his 186 yards rushing and two TDs.

* Mishak Rivas combined for 245 yards and four touchdowns in Weslaco’s win over Porter last week. Rivas caught two passes for 108 yards and two TDs.

* His quarterback, Dylan De Leon, went 4-for-8 passing for 153 yards and four TDs.

* Lopez quarterback David Resendez was amazing in defeat, going 29-of-46 passing for 383 yards and two touchdowns. The yardage total is the second highest in the Valley this season.

* Axel Torres caught 18 passes for 242 yards against Pace. The 18 grabs were the second highest single game total in Valley football history. PSJA Memorial’s Rene Garza holds the mark of 20 in a game back in 2000. The monster effort also put Torres in the Valley receptions lead with 61.

* Los Fresnos QB Danny Silva had 208 yards passing and a TD for the Falcons in their win over Rivera.

* San Benito quarterback Abel Aguirre combined for 270 yards (136 passing) in the ’Hounds’ win over Hanna.

* In that same game, San Benito allowed the Golden Eagles only 84 total yards of offense.

* My theory on why the Pace Vikings are in the playoffs? Fumble returns for touchdowns. OK, maybe not, but Julio Almaraz’s 12 yard scoring return was the sixth for Pace this season. Six fumble returns for touchdowns in a season is just amazing.

Armando Garza covers Districts 32-5A and 32-3A for the Valley Morning Star. He can be reached at 956-430-6255 or at armandog@valleystar.com.