2012 HSSM Baseball Preview

www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.net

BASEBALL & SOFTBALLHSSM RANKS TOP

TEAMS TO WATCH IN 2012

STATE BASKETBALLPLAYOFFS RESULTSHSSM TEAM PICKED

TRACK & FIELDHIGHLIGHTS

AND RESULTS

March 15-April 10, 2012

1. SHARYLAND2. PSJA3. WESLACO4. MCALLEN H.S.5. EDINBURG H.S.6. RIO GRANDE CITY7. HARLINGEN SOUTH8. HIDALGO9. RIO HONDO H.S.10. MCALLEN MEMORIAL

BOYSTOP10POLLS

Sharyland AceTres Barrera

Verbally Committs to Texas Longhorns

PREVIEWPREVIEWBASEBALLBASEBALL20122012Rio Grande Valley H.S.

ONE SMALL TWO-TOPPING PIZZA OR ONE MEDIUM CHEESE PIZZA

TWO MEDIUM ONE-TOPPING PIZZAS, HOWIE BREAD ANDDIPPING SAUCE

TWO LARGE ONE-TOPPINGPIZZAS WITH A 2 LITER OF PEPSI®, HOWIE BREAD AND DIPPING SAUCE

THREE

PEPPERONI PLEASER

TRY ANY AND ALL FLAVORS, FREE

ONE LOADED LARGE PEPPERONI PIZZA WITH CHEDDAR, MOZZARELLA

AND PARMESAN CHEESE OR ONE LARGE TWO-TOPPING PIZZA

Edinburg313 S. Sugar Road

956.287.9911

McAllen5000 N. 23rd Street

956.972.1122

We Accept School Purchase Orders!We Deliver to All

High School Sporting Events.

Open Sunday-Thursday11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Friday-Saturday11:00 a.m.-11:00p.m.

Two Locations to Serve You!

Need a TEAM Fundraiser? Call Us Today!Most Credit Cards Accepted

OnTheCoverJunior starting pitcher Tres Barrera leads Sharyland Baseball team in 2012. Com-

mitts to Texas Longhorns Baseball.

HSSM Copyright Protected 2012

National Associationof Hispanic Journalists

Texas Sportswriters Association

Join Our Social Network

Members of the 2011

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINEMARCH 2012 3


October 31-November 30, 2011


$2.00 Issue

UIL 2011 State Football Finals Comingto Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas Dec. 15-17th!

INSIDE:

PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

Pg. 11

UIL

Playoffs!FOOTBALLUIL

Playoffs!FOOTBALLDISTRICTS 29-5A, 30-5A, 31-5A,32-4A, 32-

3A, 31-3A, 16-2A, 16-1ADISTRICTS 29-5A, 30-5A, 31-5A,32-4A, 32-

3A, 31-3A, 16-2A, 16-1A

Pace VikingsSpoil PanthersOutright 32-5ATitle Bid


Missed An Issue? Go to www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.com

4 IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GAME WITH TOUCHDOWN DAVE

12 BASEBALL PLAYOFF RESULTS FROM 2011

16 SOFTBALL TOP TEN POLLS AND MORE

December 25, 2011www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.net

$2.00 Issue

UIL 2012 State Basketball Finals in March! at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas

2011-12 LIKE US ON

FACEBOOK

BASKETBALLPREVIEWRIO GRANDE VALLEY H.S.

32-5A 31-5A 30-5A 32-4A 32-3A 32-2A 32-1A

<Top Ten Polls <District by District<HSSM Predictions


B!s & G"r#s

21 TRACK AND FIELD RESULTS AND MORE

34 BASKETBALL HIGHLIGHTS. HSSM PICKS All-South Texas Teams39 NATIONAL SIGNING FOR MORE PLAYERS

Founded in 1997Publisher & General Manager

David A. Amador

Staff PhotographerMike De La Cruz

Thomas Amador

Website Staff/PhotographerAlec Amador

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

High School Sports Magazine801 Fern Suite 321McAllen, Texas 78504

956.682-3200

RIO GRANDE VALLEYpg.20pg.20

DISTRICT BY DISTRICT

baseballpg.5pg.5

THE PLAYOFFS

basketballpg.29pg.29

DISTRICT BY DISTRICT

tennispg.27pg.27

[email protected]

INSIDEINSIDE

NFL Chicago Bears player, Roberto Garza Jr.is pictured with HSSM’s 32-3A Football Coach of the Year, Rocky James of Rio Hondo at the Roberto Garza Jr. Track and Field Relays. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

Former Rio Hondo Player Giving Back...

......






AND RESULTS



BOYSTOP10POLLS




4 HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE MARCH 2012

Commentary with Tddave

It’s All AboutThe GameOne of the true athletes I ever met was Roberto Garza Jr. from Rio Hondo High School. He appeared on our 1997 HSSM Cover with one discus and shot put in each hand. Ro-berto loved sports back then and at 32 years-old, he contin-ues to love sports. The NFL Chicago Bears of-fensive center enjoys coming

and loves his mother’s au-thentic cooking. “This is home. This is where I grew up,” says Garza.

Chicago to launch his Roberto Garza Jr. Track and Field Re-

lays at his alma mater. He was

A True Champion! Former Rio Hondo H.S. athlete, Roberto Garza Jr., appeared on the covers of the January 2011 issue of Sports Illustrat-ed and Madden En Espanol in 2009. (HSSMImages/Special)

www.HighSchoolSportsMagazine.com

All About Roberto Garza Jr.Chicago Bears11-Year VeteranNFL Player

Signs 2-yr Contract Extension through 2013

Career Highlights

2011 Offensive TeamCaptain

Chicago Bears

2011 USA Today All-Joe Team

2009 Featured on Madden

En Espanol Game Cover

2006-2007NFC Champions

Chicago 13-3 record

2007 Super Bowl XLI

Lost to Indianapolis Colts29-17

2005Signed as free agentby Chicago Bears

2001Drafted by

Atlanta Falcons99th Overall pick

1997Appeared on

High School SportsMagazine Cover

dressed in long shorts, beach sandles, and proudly wear-ing a shirt with his sponsoring

meet. Many students from this region know Roberto. Many student/athletes enjoy talk-ing to Roberto, listening to his stories and success. “I tell these athletes that they can accomplish anything they set their minds too,” added Roberto.

Super Bowl in 2007, playing against Peyton Manning and

the Colts. I also mentioned his appearance on the Mad-den 2009 Cover and his recent cover photo in the 2011 Sports Illustrated January Issue. “That was amazing. Usually, we dream about seeing our-selves on the covers as teens, but this was really cool,” added Garza. As teen athletes approached Garza during our interview, I stepped away and had to watch Roberto smile with his kindness and love that he has for these teenagers and the Rio Grande Valley.

5HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINEMarch 2012

BaseballBaseball Report: Weslaco, Sharyland, McHi Favored

(Weslaco, Texas)-HSSM takes a look at the teams to beat in 2012. Teams already showing signs of improvement are La Joya Palmview (8-2), McAllen Memorial (7-4), Donna (4-6), San Benito (8-2), and Juarez-Lincoln (5-3). All four teams missed the state playoffs in 2011. Many surprises could be instore for 2012 too, but for now, let’s take a look at teams in the line-up. At No.1, the Sharyland Rattlers (11-3)continue to show their dominance in the Rio Grande Valley early on. Head coach Bart Bickerton is beginning to not like the

BEGINS!


polls. “We don’t need to be ranked. It be-comes a distraction. We are young and we need to stay focus,” says Bickerton. The Weslaco Panthers (10-3) and Shary-land Rattlers won their district champion-ship titles in 2011 but both were cut short in the State 5A baseball playoffs after post-ing successful seasons. The Rattlers were ranked as high as No.4 in the state polls but Sharyland head coach Bart Bickerton and Weslaco’s Eddie Serna both under-stand that polls in the state playoffs mean nothing. “We had our chances last year but

we could be much improved in 2012,” says Serna. The Panthers won their 32-5A title with a perfect 14-0 record and kept that streak alive by winning the State 5A Bi-District title with a win over Harlingen South (9-1, 13-12). But, the Rattlers, who went 28-2 overall and also recorded a perfect 14-0

round of the State 5A playoffs to Laredo United in a one game playoff 3-2. That game still stings in the mind of Bickerton. “That was the luck of the draw. We need

Bickerton. For a Rattler team in 2011 that had 20 team homers, 76 doubles, 256 RBIs, and scored 308 runs, including a .414 batting average, these stats mean nothing to Bick-erton once the playoffs come around. The Rattlers again, could make a run at a State 5A title. With one-run losses to Cor-pus Christi Carroll, ranked No.1 in 5A and Calallen, also ranked No.1 in 4A, the Rat-tlers could see much improvement in the state playoffs. Returning are pitchers Eric Gutierrez, Tres Barrera, Francisco Marti-nez, and Joey Esquivel. Against the Edinburg Bobcats in the Sharyland Spring Baseball Tournament, the Bobcats took an early 2-0 lead before Barrera closed out the game with a left-

Top-Ranked Sharyland! Pictured are l-r are Tres Barrera, Eric Gutierrez, Francisco Martinez, and Joey Esquivel. All four players will lead the team on the pitchers mound. (HSSMImages/David A. Amador)

Edible Arrangements® fresh fruit bouquets are perfect for any occasion. Available for pickup or delivery nationwide 7 days a week.

Delicious Fruit Design® in baseball keepsake All stores open 7 days a week©2011 Edible Arrangements, LLC. Containers may vary. Delivery not available in all areas. Available in a variety of sizes. Franchises available; call 1-888-727-4258 or visit eafranchise.com.

O!er valid on select products. Cannot be combined with any other o!ers. O!er code must be used when placing

the order. O!er expires 03/31/12 C ode: rgva0612

SAVE $3on your next order

Hit a home run!

Call or visit the location nearest you:

Happiness is always in season. ®

EdibleArrangements.com

Speak with a Fruit Expert™ at one of our 1,000 stores.

956.428.37701818 West Tyler Ave

Harlingen, Texas 78550

956.668.05555113-A North 10th StMcAllen, Texas 78504

956.350.52004345 North Expressway 77/83

Brownsville, Texas 78520

Austin to play baseball in 2013. To date, the Rattlers have outscored San Antonio Stevens, Lar-edo Cigarroa, Flour Bluff, Nikki Rowe, Edinburg, and Weslaco by a margin of 70-7. Losses to Calallen (2-1) and Carroll (3-2) show that these Rattlers could pose a threat in Region-IV. Calal-len lost to 4A state champions Wichita Falls Rider 6-2 in the

In District 30-5A, the Sharyland Rattlers should run the tables again with McAllen, McAllen Memorial, McAllen Rowe, La

-nal three playoff spots. Memorial is off to a 7-4 start but dropped their district opener to McAllen. That leaves Donna, Palmview,


Got’Cha! PSJA Bears shortstop, Brandon Barrera gets ready to tag Brandon Burns of State 5A No.1 ranked, Cor-pus Christi Carroll. The Bears are the defending 31-5A Dis-trict Champions and will be favored to repeat. Top photo is CC Carroll runner Trey Rodriguez.

coaching changes in the off-season and brought in Carlos Pi-mentel to lead the team. McAllen Memorial has gone through a playoff drought since 1996. That was the year that the Mustangs lost to Victoria 10-0 in the Class 5A Area Championships. Play-ers to watch are Bryan Stites and Garrett Sharp.

baseball moments and head coach Eliseo Pompa knows that

5A tournament. In 2011, the Bulldogs lost to Laredo Alexander

(HSSMImages/Thom

as Amador)

(HSSMImages/David A. Amador)



Fruit Festival ®

with dipped bananas

SAVE $3*on any order

Code: rgva0612

*O!er valid at participating locations. O!er expires 04/30/12. Cannot be combined with any other o!ers. O!er code must be used when placing order. Containers may vary. EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS, the Fruit Basket Logo Design and Fruit Festival are registered trademarks of Edible Arrangements, LLC. ©2012 Edible Arrangements, LLC. All rights reserved. Franchises available; call 1-888-727-4258 or visit eafranchise.com.

To order, please call or visit:


SAME DAY DELIVERY OR PICK-UP

Who says the best things come to those who wait?

956.428.37701818 West Tyler Ave


956.668.05555113-A North 10th StMcAllen, Texas 78504




Defending 32-5A Champs! Weslaco High School junior pitcher Kevin Garza will lead the Panthers on the mound in

2012 with hopes of making the State 5A playoffs. (HSSMImages/David A. Amador)

Defending Class 5A Region IV Area Champs! McAllen High School will be favored to make the playoffs in 2012. Pictured are Michael Rodriguez, Ricky Solis, JC Carrillo, Emilio Guerra, Chris Zuniga, Justin Salinas, Roman Silva, Joey Montoya, Justin Gonzalez, Joey Garza, Junior Garcia, Israel Sanchez, Matt Gomez, Zack Rangel, Ryan

Friedrichs, David Stockton, and Jacob Guzman.

(HSSMImages/David A. Amador)

Bulldogs watched San Antonio Churchill come from behind to beat the Bulldogs in the third game of the Class 5A regional

And in 2008, after beating San Antonio Reagan 6-2 in

two games to eliminate the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs lost in three games in the regional

Carroll in 2007, again, after

Bulldogs won that year, they would have played Harlingen South in the Class 5A Region

The Hawks advanced to the state championship game that season. So many close op-portunities. “We have had our chances and we let them get away,”says Pompa. In District 31-5A, the PSJA Bears got a taste of what it

was to play last year’s State -

ti Carroll at the Sharyland Spring Baseball Classic. The

lead but the Tigers would re-

the third to close out the game 8-3. The Bears are coming off a banner season after winning the 31-5A title and at 9-3, the Bears will be challenged by the Edinburg Bobcats for the title. Both teams are off to 1-0 starts, tied with PSJA North

place. In the State 5A Area play-offs last season, the Bears lost to McAllen in three games 6-3, 3-7, 5-1. The Bobcats won the bi-district title against Browns-ville Hanna and then dropped a heart breaker to Laredo United 1-0 in the area playoffs. Teams struggling are Har-lingen (5-4), Edinburg Econo-medes (4-5), PSJA Memorial (5-5), and Edinburg North (5-5) and all stand at 0-1 in dis-trict play. But, keep in mind that this is still a long season. Chilly weather and rainy conditions have played a role in tournament games the last

10 HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MAGAZINE March 2012

Big Stang! McAllen Memo-rial catcher Garrett Sharp (6’3, 200lbs) leads the team in batting. The Mustangs will be looking to make the playoffs in 2012. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

1. Sharyland H.S.The Rattlers were ousted from the State 5A play-

-ton talks about making it to state every season. One game playoffs have kept these Rattlers home. This could be the year of the Rattlers.

2. PSJA H.S.The Bears won the 31-5A title in 2011 and surprised many teams thorughout the season. This team could become the team to watch in 2012.

3. Weslaco H.S.The Weslaco Panthers won the District 32-5A title with a perfect 14-0 record. Head coach Eddie Serna loves his chances of going four-deep in 2012.

4. McAllen H.S.Under head coach Eliseo Pompa, the Bulldogs ad-

2011 and in 2010, the Bulldogs were one game away

the Bulldogs lost to SA Reagan in three games in the

5. Edinburg H.S.The Bobcats are beginning to show their dominat ways in baseball. Last year, a one-game loss to Lar-edo United 1-0, in the area playoffs could have been different in a three game series?

6. Rio Grande City H.S.

champion, Wichita Falls Rider. Hmmm...

7. Harlingen South H.S.2007 that led this team to the State 5A Champion-ship game.

8. Hidalgo Early Collegenot have to face Corpus Christi Moody early on, the defending Region IV champions in 2010.

9. Rio Hondo H.S.The top 3A team in South Texas are the Bobcats af-

10. McAllen Memorial H.S.The last time the Mustangs made the state playoffs was way back in 1989? Players to watch are Bryan Stites and Garrett Sharp. This year, the Mustangs will look real sharp.


Michael Saenz1518 N. Conway AveMission, Texas 78572

956-655-0460

Delma Ramirez 1939 Owassa Road

Edinburg, Tx 78539

956-502-5496

Octaviano Martinez501 Bicentenial Blvd, Ste B

McAllen, Texas 78501

956-664-9100956-648-8336

Paul Perez1540 Dove Ave


956-687-8940

Rick Villarreal2116 W University

Edinburg, Texas 78539

956-383-7001

Eddie Villarreal506 West University

Edinburg, Texas 78539

956-381-0951

Especially for Teachers As a teacher, you are an member of the community and at Farmers Insurance Group District 42

we want to Reward You with Special Auto Insurance Discounts. It takes a Special kind of person, like you, to work in education and we want to Reward You with Preferred Auto Rates.

Contact your local Farmers agent to learn more.

Auto, Home, Life, and Business.

District 421802 South Expressway 281

Edinburg, Texas 78542956-287-9100

www.farmers.com

Matt Dombi136 South 9th Ste B

Alamo, Texas 78516

[email protected]

www.farmersagent.com/[email protected]

www.farmersagent.com/[email protected]

www.farmersagent.com/evillarreal.com

Rafael Lloren2103 North 10th St


[email protected]

www.farmersagent.com/rlloren

[email protected]/msaenz

[email protected]/pperez [email protected]

www.farmersagent.com/omartinez1

[email protected]/dramirez

(cell)

Find Us on FacebookKeyword: Farmers Insurance District 42


Free Delivery Drive-ThruHome Medical Supplies

We Accept Medicare, Medicaid, & Most Insurances956.580.3500

Penitas Family Pharmacy

Omar Espericueta, Pharmacist

2308 Expressway 83 Suite A Penitas, Texas 78576

Open Mon-Thurs 8a-11p Fri 8a-9p Sat 8a-1p

WeslacoHarlingen South

Eagle Pass WinnLa Joya HS

SharylandLaredo United

EdinburgBrownsville Hanna

PSJALos Fresnos

McAllenEagle Pass

Laredo AlexanderMission HS

Brownsville PacePSJA North

Weslaco(9-1, 13-12)

Eagle Pass Winn(22-3, 9-7)

Laredo United(3-2)

Edinburg HS(0-1, 7-1, 8-7)

PSJA(7-4, 3-4, 9-3)

McAllen(9-4, 3-10, 10-0)

Laredo Alexander(5-2, 7-3)

PSJA North(8-4, 13-6)

Winn(7-0, 4-10, 9-0)

United(1-0)

McAllen HS(6-3, 3-7, 5-1)

Alexander(3-1, 6-2)

Eagle PassWinn(8-3)

LaredoAlexander(1-5, 3-2, 9-8)

2010-2011State 5A ChampionClute Brazoswood

(33-8)defeats

Lubbock Coronado(32-15)

2010-11 Class 5A Region IV Baseball results

RomaCC Flour Bluff

SA SouthsideGregory-Portland

Victoria WestSA Brackenridge

CC MoodyHidalgo

CC CalallenMission Veterans

Victoria EastSA Edison

SA BurbankFloresville

Rio Grande CityAlice

Flour Bluff(3-2, 8-2)

Gregory Portland(3-1, 16-1)

Victoria West(11-0, 11-6)

CC Moody(8-6, 8-3)

Calallen(8-1, 11-1)

Victoria East(22-3, 10-0)

SA Burbank(9-12, 2-0, 13-1)

Rio Grande City(7-2, 7-9, 12-7)

Flour Bluff(7-3, 5-4)

CC Moody(8-6, 8-3)

Calallen(22-4, 11-1)

RioGrande City(4-3, 3-2)

Moody(9-0, 4-1)

Calallen(13-1, 22-4)

2010-2011State 4A ChampionWichita Falls Rider

(39-7)defeats

CC Calallen(39-6)



ZapataBYE

Aransas PassColumbia

SintonBYE

Orange GrovePort Isabel

RobstownBYE

Rockport FultonWharton

SweeneyBYE

Grulla HSCC West Oso

Zapata

Columbia(5-3, 3-1)

Sinton

Orange Grove(8-6, 11-5)

Robstown

RP Fulton(5-2, 1-8, 3-1)

Sweeney

West Oso(14-5)

Columbia(6-0, 7-4)

Sinton(111-1, 4-1)

Robstown(4-5, 8-6, 12-0)

Sweeney(15-5, 14-1)

Columbia(5-6, 16-5, 10-8)

Robstown(7-5, 5-3)

2010-2011State 3A Champion

Kennedale (33-5-1)defeats Robinson(31-6)


BishopBYE

DilleySA Cole

MarionBYE

Santa RosaRefugio

Bishop(3-2, 8-2)

Dilley(12-2, 15-2)

Marion

Santa Rosa(1-7, 17-10, 13-6)

Bishop(7-3, 5-6, 11-1)

Marion(7-4, 21-5)

Moody(9-0, 4-1)

2010-2011State 2A ChampionCameron Yoe(35-7-1)defeats

Nacogdoches Central Heights

(35-7)


2010-11 Class 1A Region IV Baseball resultsBi-District Championships: San Perlita lost to Woodsboro

before losing to Shiner 11-9, 8-10, 12-5;; Benavides lost to Johnson City in Area Championships 9-4, 4-14, 7-2

COUNTRYOMELETTE

“There’s still a Diner you can enjoy”

956.687.6461

Open Monday-Sunday!

2622 North 10th McAllen, Texas



Class 5A Defending Bi-District Champions! Pictured are Edinburg H.S. players (l-r) are Sammy Alvarado, Brandon Perez, Ivan Herrera, Edgar Cordon, Vinnie Zerda, Luis Alaniz, Scott Garza, E.J. Melendez, and Aldo Zamora. (HSSMImages/David A. Amador)

few weeks but that did not stop Edinburg pitcher Sammy Alvarado from shutting out Harlingen 5-0 in a one-hitter in their district opener. Harlingen’s Kevin Ledes-

no-hitter in the seventh inning.Alvarado had 13 strikeouts on the night. Edinburg head coach Robert Valdez is ea-

to mix in with district games in March. “It’s tough playing tournaments and dis-trict games together in one week,” says Valdez. Moving over to District 32-5A, winning the district championships in 2011 with a perfect 14-0 record was very strange and stressful for Weslaco head coach Eddie Serna. “Anytime you are playing for a dis-

trict title is one thing but, to go perfect in one season is stressful.” says Serna. At the Tony Rico Tournament, the Pan-thers shutout McAllen Memorial 9-0 to win the annual event at Weslaco Baseball Field. Panther pitcher Marcus Mendiola’s

wins to up the season to 10-3. Mendiola -

ended the milestone. Against, Edcouch-Elsa, the Panthers won 14-0. Players to watch are Mando Ramos, Kevin Garza, James Farris, and catcher Jorge Bocaneg-ra. “I’m looking forward to what this season brings. It will be fun,” adds Serna. Teams to watch are San Benito (8-2), Browns-

ville Porter (4-6), Brownsville Hanna (8-3), and Brownsville Lopez (3-5). Last season, the Pace Vikings, Los Fresnos Falcons, Hanna, and Weslaco all made the trip to the State 5A Playoffs with only the

Panthers lost to Eagle Pass Winn in three games 7-0, 4-10, and 9-0. “We have better pitching this season. That was the differ-ence last year. Now, we could be in a bet-ter position,” said Serna. In District 32-4A, Roma is the defend-ing champion with Rio Grande City, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, Valley View, Hid-lago Early College, and Valley View all making runs at winning a title too. The Huskies, Tigers, and Pirates are all off to 2-0 starts in district play. The Gladiators


Proud Supporter of Mercedes I.S.D. Athletics!

801 W. 2nd Street Mercedes, Texas801 W. 2nd Street Mercedes, Texas

956.565.6373

Dr. Benjamin A. Salinas, M.D., PA.Dr. Benjamin A. Salinas, M.D., PA.Family MedicineFamily Medicine

Open Monday-Friday 8-5p

Closed Saturdays

We Accept Medicare, Medicaid, & Most Insurances


State Baseball Finalist in 1974 & 1986! Mercedes is the only team from the Rio Grande Valley that has

University Interscholastic League 3A & 4A title games. Can the Tigers do it again in 2012? (HSSMImages/David A. Amador)

are 1-1 and tied with Edcouch-Elsa and Rio Grande City.

ups but made a run a winning a State 4A title. Wins over Alice and San Antonio Burbank made fans wonder if the Rattlers were for real. Against Calallen, the Rat-tlers were swept 13-1, 22-4 in the Class

went on to play in the state championship game against Wichita Falls Rider, losing 6-2 at Dell Diamond Ballpark in Round Rock, Texas last June 11th. Teams to watch in District 32-3A are Rio Hondo, Zapata, and Grulla-Rio Grande City. In District 31-3A, Lyford, Robstown, and Raymondville could make a run at the state title. The Cottonpickers won the 4A title in 1991 & 1992 and al-most did again in 2011 as they lost to Ken-

Finally, in District 32-2A, the Santa Rosa Warriors, Bishop, and Falfurrias could take it a step further in the playoffs. The Jerseys won the State 3A title in 1991 and almost did again in 2006, losing to Liberty Eylau 2-1 in 3A. Since 1948, only two teams from the Rio Grande Valley have played in the state baseball championship game. The Mercedes Tigers advanced to the State 3A championship game against South Grand Prairie in 1974 losing 9-1 and the Tigers

Class 4A against Brenham in 1986, los-ing 6-1. In Class 5A, the Harlingen South Hawks lost to Houston Cy-Fairbanks 6-1 in 2007.



2011 30-5A Defending Champions! The Sharyland Lady Rattlers will be favored to repeat as 30-5A District Champi-ons in 2012. Pictured is Lady Rattler Tiffany Ochoa sliding as home in the Brownsville ISD Softball Festival. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

Top-Ranked Edinburg Leads Polls

San Benito, Edinburg North Closing In

(McAllen, Texasago that the Edinburg Lady Bobcats and San Benito Lady Greyhounds softball teams raced into the State 5A Region-IV Softball Tournament and almost made it through, too. The Lady Bobcats fell to the San Antonio O’Connor Lady Panthers

the Lady Greyhounds broke through by defeating San Antonio Southwest Lady Dragons in a thrilling three-game series winning 3-2, 1-0.

But, in the end, the Lady Panthers proved to be too much for the Lady Greyhounds

game series 16-2, 16-0. O’Connor ad-vanced to the State 5A Finals, before losing to state champions, Conroe The Woodlands 7-5 at last June 4th at Red McCombs Field in Austin, Texas. Could this be the year that a Rio Grande Valley softball team makes it to the state championships? In 2011, six teams from the Valley advanced to the State 5A Area

with San Benito and Edinburg represent-ing their brackets in the regional tourna-ment or Sweet 16. In Class 4A, every team from District 32-4A were eliminated in the bi-district championships. District champions, Ed-couch-Elsa lost to Corpus Christi King 8-2, 8-6 while Weslaco East was shutout

three games (2-3, 14-4, 6-2). Rio Grande

SoftballRace For State


MEDICAL EQUIPMENT CO.& IV INFUSION SERVICESSouth location

1901 S. 1st StMcAllen, Texas956.686.3716

7a.m.-12 midnight

North location5120 N. 10th StMcAllen, Texas956.630-5500

M-F 7a.m-11p.m.Sat 8 a.m.-11 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Visit us at www.LeesPharmacy.com

The Edinburg Lady Bobcats will be led by returning pitcher Myranda Hinojosa with hopes of defending the 31-5A title in 2012. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)


1. Edinburg 2. San Benito 3. Ed-inburg North 4. Edcouch-Elsa 5. McAllen H.S. 6. Brownsville Por-ter 7. Harlingen South 8. McAllen Rowe 9. Weslaco 10. Mercedes

As of March 15, 2012

30-5A Standings1. McAllen2. Rowe3. La Joya4. Mission5. Sharyland6. Donna7. Memorial8. Palmview

31-5A Standings1. Edinburg2. Edinburg North3. Har South4. PSJA North5. PSJA6. Economedes7. Harlingen8. PSJA Mem

32-5A Standings1. San Benito2. Porter3. Weslaco4. Pace5. Los Fresnos6. Hanna7. Rivera8. Lopez

Season Dist11-19-39-49-67-87-84-71-11

12-212-411-210-43-83-108-70-10

11-212-37-54-57-66-43-81-11

1-01-01-01-00-10-10-10-1

2-02-02-01-11-11-10-20-2

1-01-01-01-00-10-10-10-1

32-4A Standings1. Ed-Elsa2. Mercedes3. Hidalgo4. Wes East5. Mission Vets6. Roma7. RGC8. Bro Vets9. Valley View10. Juarez-Lin

32-3A Standings1.Rio Hondo2. Port Isabel3. La Feria4. Grulla5. Zapata6. PSJA SW

31-3A Standings1. Lyford2. Orange Grove3. Robstown4. Raymondville5. West Oso6. CC Miller

Season Dist15-18-59-67-76-64-76-75-86-90-12

7-83-55-73-84-81-5

7-55-45-65-102-61-9

5-04-13-23-23-23-22-32-30-50-5

0-00-00-00-00-00-0

0-00-00-00-00-00-0


801 East Fern Suite 131McAllen, Texas 78501

956.929.4700 cell

High School Sports Magazine.com


$2.00 Issue


2011-12 LIKE US ON

FACEBOOK


32-5A 31-5A 30-5A 32-4A 32-3A 32-2A 32-1A



B!s & G"r#s



$2.00 Issue


INSIDE:

PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

Pg. 11

UIL




3A, 31-3A, 16-2A, 16-1A








AND RESULTS



BOYSTOP10POLLS




Now Hiring! Join Our Team! Positions AvailableSportswriter-Full Time

Sports Photographers-Part TimeAdvertising Sales Executives

Send Resume to: [email protected]

Three Positions Open for Advertising Sales Executives. Earn Up To $40,000. Earn 25% Commissions.

round. In Class 3A, Zapata and Lyford won their bi-district rounds while Port Isabel and Rio Hondo were eliminated in the

Lady Bulldogs lost to Ingleside (14-4) and the Lady Hawks fell to Sweeney. In Class 2A, one team from 32-2A ad-

District champion, Kinsgville Academy lost to Danbury 5-4, 7-2 after knocking off Karnes City, Refugio, and Little River Academy. Riviera Kaufer and Hebbron-

on to win the State 2A title with a win over Nacogdoches Central Heights 9-1. In Class 1A, La Villa lost to Woodsboro

District 32-1A champion, Port Aransas lost to Center Point 4-3 in the area play-offs. With district competition well under way, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks are showing early signs of earning a pos-sible district 31-5A title after scoring 17

Lady Bears at Lady Hawk Field at Dix-ieland. South (12-2 overall, 3-0 District 31-5A), used 12 walks and three errors to get most of their runs tally, with only four base hits coming from the 22 batters. In District 32-5A, the Weslaco Pan-therettes began the District 32-5A season with a 4-1 win over Los Fresnos at home last Monday night. Weslaco head coach Mario Rodriguez said, “we are young this season but starting the district season with a win is good.” In 32-4A, it was a pitchers duel all the way to the end as Ed-Elsa knocked off Mercedes 2-0 in 10 innings. Mercedes loaded the bases with nobody out in the

could not come in the Lady Tigers way. E-E’s Sandy Guerrero struck out 12 and Mercedes’ Stephanie Flores struck out 18 Lady Jackets in 10 innings.


Weslaco Lady Pantherettes Softball team pictured from l-r are Odessa Por-ras, Summer Smith, Christina Lazo, Liliana Rodriguez, Klarysa Abeldano, and Maxine Solis. Back row l-r are Andrea Lopez, Kelsey Sada, Mandy Estevanes, Nyissa Arroyo, Lilliana Salazar, and Ashley Robledo. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

Weslaco East Lady Wildcats Softball team pictured from l-r Sam Rivera, Stephanie Villarreal, Stephanie Bautista, Stefani Garcia, and Ashley Rogers. Back row l-r are Monica Ramirez, Aimee Pedraza, Lisa Lopez, Brainna Gonza-lez, Jackie Rodriguez, Brittany Diaz, Aliza, Longoria, and Ashley Avila. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

Insurance Auto, Home, Life, & More

Save Up To 40% ON YOUR CAR INSURANCE.

Call Your

Agent Today!

Open Monday-Friday Saturdays 9:00a.m.

1529 W. Exp 83 Suite AWeslaco, Texas

78596-4300

www.JulianGarza.net www.RubenSolis.com

DISCOUNTDOUBLE CHECK

FREE

SAVE NOW

Ruben F. Solis Jr. Victor Reyna Julian Garza2211 S. Cage Blvd Ste 104

Pharr, Texas 78577-6850

112 E. Expressway 83La Joya, Texas

78560

New Agent!

956.447.9704 956.584.3333956.702.7020

Christina Salas717 N. Ware Rd. McAllen, Texas

78501

956.994.0007

New Agent!

Bobby Palacios808 S. Jackson Rd.,

McAllen, Texas 78503-1632

956.686.7400

www.BobbyPalacios.com New Location!

Leo Rodriguez2200 W. Trenton Ste 2B


956.682.1345



One More ShotTrack Field Rio Grande City’s

Alex Garza Signs

With University of

Houston

(Rio Grande City, Tx)-Rio Grande City H.S. senior, Alex Garza signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Houston on a

ceremony held at the Joe R. Sanchez Sta-dium. Garza has been competing in the shot put and discus events since his freshmen year at Rio Grande City High School and he would like to end his high school career as a state champion in Class 4A. Since, the Rattlers dropped down from 5A to 4A in the new UIL realignments, Garza

the boys discus event at the Class 4A

Track and Field Champi-onships held at Mike Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas with a throw of 166’05”. In the shot put event, Garza settled for a silver medal with a toss of 59’11.05”. That toss was far below the mark he shot as a sophomore with a 63’0 to win the 5A title. At the University of Houston, Garza would like to continue with the shotput and even try the hammer throw. Head coach Eladio Bermudez was proud of Garza. “This young man has dedicated himself to practice and competition. He will succeed at Houston,” says Bermudez. Garza has already hit 63 feet 5 inches, which makes him a favorite in Region IV to win the shot put and get another shot at the title. With the 2011 UIL State Track and Field Championships set for May 11-12th at Mike A. Myers Stadium in

Austin, Texas, Garza can now concentrate on becom-ing a two-time champion in

-cation and also take aim on

too. “This is my senior year and I would like to give my all,” says Garza.


Rio Grande Valley Track and Field ResultsRio Hondo, Tx-Results from the Inaugu-ral Robert Garza Jr. Relays held on Fri-day at Bobcat Stadium.

Team Results

Girls: 1. San Benito 116; 2. Brownsville Ri-vera 115; 3. HarlingenSouth 92; 4. Harlin-gen 89; 5. PSJA Memorial 79; 6. Port Isabel 55; 7.Brownsville Veterans Memorial 23; 8. Brownsville Pace 17

Boys: 1. PSJA Memorial 133; 2. Harlingen South 98; 3. Rio Hondo 72; 4. Harlingen 69; 5. Brownsville Rivera 54; 6. San Benito 48; 7. Port Isabel 43; 8. Brownsville Hanna 31; 9. La Feria 24; 10. Progreso 15

Individual Results

Girls-Field EventsDiscus: 1, Gonzalez, PSJA Memorial, 138; 2, Ruiz, Pace, 135-11; 3, O’Brien, Rio Hondo, 108; 4, Pulido, Rivera, 99-2; 5, Gonzalez, Veterans, 98-2; 6, Gloria,Harlingen, 96-5

Shot put: 1, Murchison, PI, 34-9½; 2, Martinez, San Benito, 34-8½; 3, Ruiz, Pace, 32-4½; 4, Hartman, San Benito, 32-2¾; 5, Gonzalez, PSJA Memorial, 30-2; 6, Gonzalez, Pace, 30-3¼.

-vera, 5-0; 3, Herrera, South, 4-10; 4, Avila, Ri-vera, 4-10; 5, Reyes, San Benito, 4-8; 6, Cerda, Progreso, 4-6.

-driguez, Rivera, 34-8; 3, Rodriguez, South, 33-10; 4, Perales, PSJA Memorial, 33-6; 5, Cerda, Progreso, 32-11½; 6, Loya, PI, 32-10

La Garza, Porter, 16-3½; 3, Perales, PSJA Memo-

rial, 16-2¼; 4, Herrera, South, 15-7¼; 5, Loya, PI, 15-4½; 6, Garza, veterans, 15-4

Pole vault: 1, Tanego, PI, 9-0; 2, Olerich, South, 8-0; 3, Exinia, La Feria, 7-6; 4,avila, Rivera, 7-0;

7-0.

Running events

3200: 1, Ortegon, PSJA Memorial, 11:49.1; 2, Rivera, Rivera, 12:19.8; 3, Perez, San Benito; 4, Becerra, San Benito, 12:49.8; 5, Villarreal, Vet-erans, 13:46.6; 6, Landrum, Rio Hondo, 14:00.4

400 relay: 1, Rivera 51.34; 2,Harlingen51.83; 3, Harlingen South 52.07; 4, Port Isabel 52.68; 5, Brownsville Veterans 53.32; 6, Rio Hondo 53.81

800: 1, Rodriguez, Rivera, 2:27.4; 2, Abrego, San Benito, 2:29.0; 3, Lopez, san Benito,

-mos, Pace, 2:34.6; 6, Banuelos, San Benito, 2:36.3100 hurdles: 1, Landeros, PSJA Memo-rial, 16.87; 2, Vela, Harlingen, 17.04; 3, Rodriguez, South, 17.15; 4, vasquez, San Benito, 18.16; 5, Salazar, PSJA Memo-rial, 18.31; 6, Gonzalez, PI, 18.53.

100 Dash: 1, Sosa, San Benito, 12.84; 2, Perales, PSJA Memorial, 12.89; 3, Salazar, Rivera, 12.96; 4, Garza, Veter-ans, 12.98; 5, Goldberg, South, 13.13; 6, garza, PI, 13.28

800 relay: 1,Harlingen1:51.8; 2, Har-lingen South 1:51.9; 3,BrownsvilleRivera 1:52.1; 4, Port Isabel 1:52.2; 5, Browns-vlle Veterans 1:52.4; 6, La Feria 1:56.1

400:1 , Divin, Harlingen 59.61; 2, Ban-uelos, San Benito, 62.44; 3, Noyola, South, 62.89; 4, Abrego,San Benito,

64.14; 5,Avila, Rivera, 64.36; 6, Montes, Ri-vera, 66.08

300 hurdles: 1, Vela, Harlingen, 51.13; 2, Rodri-guez, South, 51.3; 3, Landeros, PSJA Memorial, 51.6; 4, vasquez, San Benito, 52.67; 5, Areaga, Veterans, 52.46; 6, Garcia, San Benito

200: 1, Perales, PSJA Memorial, 27.32; 2, Edns-ley, Rivera, 27.43; 3, Herrera, South, 27.68; 4, Hernandez, Rio Hondo, 28.15; 5, Chapa, Ri-vera, 28.44; 6, Cerda, Progreso, 28.44

1600: 1, Ortegon, PSJA Memorial, 5:19.8; 2, Lopez, San Benito, 5:20.1; 3, Rivera, Rivera, 5:42.9; 4, Araiza, South, 5:54.8; 5, Becerra, San Benito, 5:55.1; 6, Hernandez, La Feria, 5:58.4

1600 relay: 1,Harlingen4:16.7; 2,San Beni-to4:21.1; 3,BrownsvilleRivera 4:21.8; 4, Har-lingen South 4:30.7; 5,BrownsvilleVeterans 4:31.5; 6, Port Isabel 4:33.6

Boys-Field EventsDiscus: 1, Galvan, Rivera, 143-3; 2, Zamo-rano, South, 140-11½; 3, Castro,San Benito, 136-10; 4, Longoria,San Benito, 136-4; 5, Hernandez,Harlingen, 131-0; 6, Macias, Pace, 128-11

Shot put: 1, Galvan, Rivera, 47-0; 2,Martinez, PI, 46-0; 3, Benavidez, PI, 43-4¼; 4, Ma-cias, Pace, 42-0¼; 5, Herrera, Hanna, 41-2; 6,

Rivera, 5-10; 3, Mendiola, South, 5-8; 4, Bor-rego, PSJA Memorial, 5-6; 5, valdez, La Feria, 5-6; 6, Antony S., Harlingen, 5-6.

5; 2, Rosales, Progreso, 42-7½; 3, Winton, La Feria, 42-6; 4, O’Brien, Rio Hondo, 40-10½; 5, Godoy, Rivera, 39-11; 6, Flores, PSJA Memo-rial, 39-9

L o n g -

vera, 21-6½; 2, O’Brien, Rio Hondo, 21-5¾; 3, Munoz, Pace, 21-5; 4, Bermea,Harlingen, 21-2¾; 5, Villanueva,Harlingen, 21-2; 6, Rosales, Progreso, 20-1½.

Pole vault: 1, Garza, South, 13-0; 2, Mata, Rio Hondo, 13-0; 3, Barrera, Progreso, 12-6; 4, Gar-cia, PSJA Memorial, 12-0; 5, Flores, Hanna, 11-6; 6, Salazar, Rio Hondo, 11-6.

Running events

3200: 1, Duenes, San Benito, 9:58.7; 2, Guer-rero, PSJA Memorial, 10:06.4; 3, cardenas, Hanna, 10:16.9; 4, Romero, Harlingen, 10:19.2;

10:33.5

400 relay: 1, PSJA Memorial 43.84; 2, Har-lingen South 44.04; 3, Ro Hondo 44.67; 4, Brownsville Rivera 44.74; 5, Port Isabel 44.78; 6,San Benito44.86

800: 1, Rosales, PSJA Memorial, 1:56.9; 2, Fiero, PI, 2:02.6; 3, sanchez, South, 2:02.9; 4, Alvarez, PSJa memorial, 2:06.4; 5, Cavazos, Rivera, 2:07.1; 6, Rodriguez, Harlingen, 2:07.2

100 hurdles: 1, Bermea, Harlingen, 13.84; 2, O’Brien, Rio Hondo, 14.54; 3, Maldonado, PSJA Memorial, 15.07; 4, Guzman, Rio Hondo, 15.12; 5, Hernandez, Harlingen, 15.16; 6, Ro-bles, Hanna, 16.3

100 Dash: 1, Borrego, PSJA Memorial, 10.89; 2, DeLeon, South, 11.04; 3, Barcenas, Porter, 11.08; 4, Holland, PI, 11.11; 5, Gonzalez, Rio Hondo, 11.13; 6, cruz, Harlingen, 11.17

800 relay: 1, Harlingen South 1/l32.1; 2, San Benito 1:32.8; 3, Brownsville Veterans 1:33.9; 4, Harlingen 1:34.3; 5, Rio Hondo 1:34.6; 6, Port Isabel 1:34.9

400:1, Gonzalez, PSJA Memorial, 51.09; 2, Gonzalez, Rio Hondo, 52.71; 3, Sanchez, Har-lingen, 52.72; 4, Winton, La Feria, 53.01; 5, Mendiola, South, 53.11; 6, Gonzalez, Hanna,

53.15.300 hurdles: 1, Bermea, Harlingen, 37.62; 2, Guzman, Rio Hondo, 40.08; 3, Hernandez, Har-lingen, 40.49; 4, O’Brien, Rio Hondo, 41.89; 5, Milligan, La Feria, 43.09; 6, Bennet, PI, 43.4

200: 1, Spears, PSJA Memorial, 22.41; 2, Bor-

22.77; 4, vasquez, South, 22.86; 5, Barcenas, Porter, 22.97; 6, Guerrero, Rio Hondo, 23.46

1600: 1, Fiero, PI, 4:29.3; 2, Guerrero, PSJA Memorial, 4:31.3; 3, Cardenas, Hanna, 4:39.3; 4, Calleras, Hanna, 4:45.1; 5, Romero, Harlin-gen, 4:45.2; 6, Duenes, San Benito, 4:45.3

1600 relay: 1, PSJA Memorial 3:26.8; 2,Har-lingen3:28.6; 3, Harlingen South 3:32.8; 4,San Benito3:39.4; 5, Brownsville Rivera3:39.4; 6,BrownsvilleHanna 3:43.6

Mercedes, Tx-The following are the re-sults from the Knights of Columbus Relays held on Saturday at Billy Gene Pemelton Field at MercedesHigh School.

Team Results

Girls: 1, Mercedes 169; 2, Los Fresnos 111; 3, PSJA 100; 4, Edcouch-Elsa 90; 5, Valley View 46; 6,BrownsvilleHanna 38

Boys: 1, Los Fresnos 146; 2,WeslacoEast 103; 3, Edcouch-Elsa 83; 4, Valley View 68.5; 5, PSJA 54.5; 6, Donna 48Individual ResultsGirls-Field EventsDiscus: 1, Corrina Cox, Los Fresnos, 147-1¼; 2, Keisha Rodriguez, Mercedes, 118-4¼; 3, Jenna Richie, PSJA, 109-2; 4, Perla Yanez, Hanna, 104-10½; 5, Arianna Tanguma, EE, 104-9¼; 6, Lisa Mancillas, PSJA,

98-4

Shot put: 1, Corina Cox, Los Fresnos, 37-6; 2, Nelly Flores, Hidalgo, 35-2½; 3, Melanie Garza, Hidalgo, 33-5½; 4, Keisha Rodriguez, Mercedes, 32-4½; 5, Camille kafka, Raymond-ville, 30-5; 6, Raquel Prado, EE, 29-4

4-10; 2, (tie) Rauqel Mertinez, Merecedes; dan-

Vega, Hanna, 4-8; 5, Kim Espinoza, EE, 4-6; 6, Kendra Garcia, 4-4.

2, Cassie Banda, Mercedes, 32-10; 3, laura Ruiz, EE, 32-7½; 4, Jordan Henry, PSJA, 31-11½; 5, Jaleah Calvillo, Los Fresnos, 31-6; 6, Ruby Bris-eno, Los Fresnos, 31-3

2, Jaleah Calvillo, Los Fresnos, 16-1; 3, Ivonne Alvarez, Mercedes, 15-10½; 4, Kenya Barreto, Valley View, 15-5½; 5, Melanie Gutierrez, EE, 15-5; 6, alyza alaniz, Mercedes, 15-5

Pole vault: 1, Isabel Garza, EE, 9-6; 2, Maya Arrednondo, Hanna, 8-0; 3, Ashley Saenz, Han-na, 7-6; 4, Natalie Serrano, Hanna, 5-6

Running events

3200: 1, Mata, Mercedes, 12:01.52; 2, Gal-lardo, PSJA, 12:42.65; 3, davila, Los Fresnos, 12/l47.26; 4, Garza, Los Fresnos, 13:13.07; 5, Casas, Hidalgo, 12:23.46; 6, Turrubiates, Mer-cedes, 13:36.69

400 relay: 1, Mercedes 51.21; 2, PSJA 51.77; 3, Valley View 51.89; 4, EE 52.66; 5, Los Fresnos 54.13; 6, East 55.15

800: 1, Galarza, Los Fresnos, 2:30.88; 2, Urbis, Los Fresnos, 2:33.32; 3, Garza, PSJA, 2:35.58; 4, Ortiz, Hanna, 2:36.44; 5, Cerda, EE, 2:39.39; 6, Gutierrez, Mercedes, 2:43.63.

100 hurdles: 1, Pena, Mercedes, 17.01; 2, Banda, Mercedes, 17.01; 3, Alaniz, Mercedes, 17.15

100 dash: 1, Mancha, PSJA, 12.64; 2, Alvarado, Mercedes, 12.77; 3, Barroso, Mercedes, 12.82; 4, davila, Raymondville, 13.09; 5, Segura, EE, 13.26; 6, Sustaita, Valley View, 13.33

800 Relay: 1, PSJA 1:51.27; 2, Mercedes 1:51.28; 3, EE 1:52.88; 4, Valley View 1:53.96; 5, East 1:56.97; 6, Los Fresnos 2:00.41

400:1 , Galarza, Los Fresnos, 64.40; 2, Martinez, Hanna, 66.53; 3, Weaver, Raymondville, 67.56; 4, Espinoza, EE, 68.78; 5, Perez, Mercedes, 70.88; 6, Gutierrez, Mercedes, 71.97

300 hurdles: 1, DeLeon, Mercedes, 47.71; 2, espinoza, Valley View, 53.45; 3, Banda, Mercedes, 57.18; 4,martinez,Hidalgo, 57.30; 5,Mata,Hidalgo, 63.75; 6, Janes, Raymondville, no time.

200: 1, Antonio, PSJA, 26.39; 2, Gutierrez, EE, 26.59; 3, Mata, valley View, 27.80; 4, Short, EE, 28.13; 5, Calvillo, 28.42; 6, Ruiz, Los Fresnos, 28.90

1600: 1, Mata, Mercedes, 5:38.31; 2, Gallardo, PSJA, 5:50.27; 3, Urbis, Los Fresnos, 5:53.60; 4, Cerda, EE, 5:58.45; 5, davila, Los Fresnos, 5:58.77; 6, Garza, 6:06.19

1600 relay: 1, Mercedes 4:25.09; 2, Los Fres-nos 4:32.50; 3, EE 4:44.45; 4, Raymondville 4:54.65; 5, East 4:54.76

Boys-Field Events

Discus: 1, Rodriguez, EE, 157-5; 2, Hernandez, EE, 150-9½; 3, Rodriguez, Los fresnos, 150-1; 4, Guerrero, EE, 147-0½; 5, garcia, Mercedes, 127-6½; 6, Rodriguez, Valley View, 125-5½

Shot put: 1, Guerrero, EE, 50-4½; 2, Rodriguez, Weslaco, 44-5½; 3, herandez, EE, 43-11½; 4, Garcia, Mercedes, 42-4½; Flores, Valley View, 41-8½; 6, Aguilar, Mercedes, 40-11½

Los Fresnos, 6-2; 3, Rafac, Los Fres-nos, 5-6; 4, Gutierrez, valley View, 5-4; 5, Henry, PSJA, 5-4; 6, Garza,

Valley View, 5-4.

Toscano, EE, 41-11; 3, Simien, Losfresnos, 41-7½; 4, Vega, Valley View, 41-2; 5, Muniz,

raymondville, 41-1; 6, cantu, raymondville, 40-7

Los Fresnos, 21-2; 3, ramirez, Mercedes, 20-7; 4, Vega, Valley View, 20-3½; 5, Lopez, Los Fresnos, 20-2; 6, Rafac, Los fresnos, 20-1.

Pole vault: 1, Lozoya, Los fresnos, 12-0; 2, Pena, EE, 11-6; 3, Guerra, PSJA, 11-6; 4,Men-doza, raymondville, 11-0; 5, padilla, EE, 11-0; 6, Garcia, Donna, 10-0.

Running events

3200: 1, Delgado, Valley View, 9:09.02; 2, Mora, Donna, 10:04.77; 3, Armendariz, Hidalgo, 10:05.58; 4, Leal, Weslaco, 10:14.16; 5, Granados, PSJA, 10:15.01; 6, Leos, EE, 10:18.75

400 relay: 1, PSJA 44.63; 2, Los Fresnos 44.69; 3, Donna 44.77; 4, Valley View 44.95; 5, Weslaco East 45.09; 6, Ray-mondville 45.65

800: 1, Guillen, Los Fresnos, 2:03.22; 2, Martinez, East, 2:03.96; 3, Gonzalez, Mercedes, 2:04.69; 4, Trevino, Mercedes, 2:05.92; 5, cruz, EE, 2:06.77; 6, Garza, Donna, 2:06.82

100 hurdles: 1, Gutierrez, East, 14.32; 2, Castillo, Donna, 15.14; 3, Bucannon, Ray-mondville, 15.56; 4, Lopez, Los Fresnos, 15.69; 5, Flores, Valley View, 16.85; 6, Rivera, Mercedes, 18.38

100: 1, Rafac, Los Fresnos, 10.81; 2, Diaz,Weslaco, 11.07; 3, Bernal, Mercedes, 11.10; 4, Guzman, Mercedes, 11.18; 5, Hernandez, East, 11.21; 6, Anguiano, East, 11.28

800 relay: 1, Weslaco East 1:31.89; 2, PSJA 1:32.20; 3, Los fresnos 1:34.50; 4, Valley View 1:34.96; 5, Raymondville



Mike Galvan of Brownsville Rivera will be favored in the discus throw

meet. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

Randy Bermea-Harlingen H.S. Bronze Medal 300M Hurdles; Silver Medal 110 hurdles

Zariah Noyola-Harlingen South300-meter hurdles-5th placeRaul Cervantes-Weslaco HS

400 meter dash-7th placeBlake White-Harlingen South H.S.

Pole Vault-8th placeSharyland HS 800-meter relays-8th Place; 400

meter relay 8th placeLeigh Brown-Edinburg Economedes H.S.

100 meter hurdles-9th placeCorina Cox-Los Fresnos H.S.

Discus-7th placeLauren Espinoza-McAllen Memorial H.S.

Shot put-8th place

Alex Garza-Rio Grande CityDiscus 6th Place; Shotput-Silver Medal

Emily Perez-LJ Juarez-Lincoln 3,200 meter run-7th place; 1,600 meters-4th place

Deandra Barroso-Mercedes

Orlando Oviedo-Rio Grande City

Jonas Gutierrez-Weslaco East 110 hurdles 7th place

Andrew Espinoza-Hidalgo400 meter dash-9th place

Daniella Rodriguez-La Feria1,600 meter run-9th place

Armando Fierro-Port Isabel3,200 meter run-Bronze medal

Jose Jaramillo-Rio Hondo800 meter run-7th place

Andres Watson-San Perlita H.S. 800-meter run-Bronze medalKrystal Mata-La Villa H.S.

shot put-4th placeSteven Perez-La Villa H.S.

shot put-8th place

20 11Mike A. Myers Stadium-Austin, Texas

Rio Grande Valley Track and Field Results


Up and Over! High Jumper Aurelia Gracia of Brownsville

Track and Field Relays in Rio Hondo. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

Daniella Murchison of Port Isabel will be favored to win the 32-3A title as a

freshmen. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

(Continue from Page 21)

1:35.89; 6, Mercedes 1:36.46

400:1, Ortiz, EE, 54.40; 2,

Cruz, Los fresnos, 54.69; 4, Trevino, Mercedes, 55.63; 5,Martinez, East, 55.76; 6, Toscano, EE, 56.55

300 hurdles: 1, Castillo, Donna, 41.18; 2, Lopez, Los fresnos, 42.37; 3, LeDesina, Raymondville, 43.26; 4, ramirez, Mercedes, 43.33; 5, Bucannon, Raymondville, 44.09; 6, Medina, Los fres-nos, 44.21

200: 1, Ramirez, Los fres-nos, 22.76; 2, Hernandez, valley View, 22.88; 3, Vega, Valley View, 23.20; 4, Jones, Weslaco, 23.39; 5, Muniz, Raymondville, 23.40; 6, Or-tiz, EE, 23.68

1600: 1, Delgado, Valley View, 4:32.13; 2, Martinez, East, 4:32.31; 3, Guillen, Los fresnos, 4:33.01; 4, Mora, Donna, 4:37.69; 5, Ar-mendariz, Hidalgo, 4:40.41; 6, Granados, PSJA, 4:40.91

1600 relay: 1, Weslaco East 3:32.41; 2, Los Fresnos 3:32.50; 3, Raymondville 3:37.60; 4, PSJA 3:41.26; 6, Edcouch-Elsa 3:47.31



The Roberto Garza Jr. Track and Field Relays at Rio Hondo H.S. Begins! The former Rio Hondo H.S. gradu-ate and current NFL Chicago Bears offensive linemen is pictured with cheerleaders from his alma mater. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

(Rio Hondo, Texas)-One day, Chicago Bears football player, Roberto Garza Jr. will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame

-ney as a Hispanic football player wanting to play football in the NFL. Someday, Garza will be talking about his glory days he played at Rio Hondo High School and how he walked-on to play football for the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelinas. And someday, Garza will talk about how he went to church and

GivingBack...

prayed about making the NFL on draft day back in 2006. But on this day, Garza came to his hometown in Rio Hondo, Texas to start the inaugural Robert Garza Jr. Track and Field Relays at Bobcats Stadium. The 11-year NFL veteran smiled throughout the day as fans approached the 2011 Offensive team captain and the oldest player on the Bears roster at 32 years old after seven years with Chicago. “I will never forget these days playing here at home. I cherish these moments,” Garza told HSSM. Garza was the of-

Garza played in the 2007 Super Bowl XLI against the India-

last week by the Colts. “Playing in the NFL is tough. I have managed to stay conditioned and after 11 years, it’s been great. I’m looking forward to this season,” says the starting center for the Bears.

head coach Israel Gracia are grateful to Garza for sponsoring the event. “He has a big heart and he loves coming back home. Just a few miles down the country road is Arroyo City. That’s

Nineteen schools attended the meet including all six Browns-ville schools, both Harlingen schools and San Benito amongst other Sub-4A schools. On the girls’ side, San Benito took home the team title with 116 points and PSJA Memorial won the boys’ title with 133 points. South was second with 98 and Rio Hondo came in third with 72. Garza won a national champion-

Former Rio Hondo H.S. Graduate and NFL Player Roberto Garza Jr. SponsorsRio Hondo Annual Track and Field Meet



801 East Fern Suite 131McAllen, Texas 78501

956.929.4700 cell

High School Sports Magazine.com


$2.00 Issue


2011-12 LIKE US ON

FACEBOOK


32-5A 31-5A 30-5A 32-4A 32-3A 32-2A 32-1A



B!s & G"r#s



$2.00 Issue


INSIDE:

PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

Pg. 11

UIL




3A, 31-3A, 16-2A, 16-1A








AND RESULTS



BOYSTOP10POLLS




Advertise With HSSM!We Reach More Than 2,000,000 RGV Fans on Facebook

and Our Website Ranks. No.1 in websearches of more than 300,000,000 million!Most importantly, we reach reach 5,000 readers each week.

Target Audience:Teens 13-18Adults 21-49

Educators, Family

Headed to California! Randy Bermea of Harlingen H.S. signed a scholarship to attend the University of

-lingen stand-out long jumps and runs the hurdles. He

(HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

2011-12 Weslaco Panthers

2011-12 Weslaco East Baseball

Head coach Eddie Serna

Oscar Riojas, Weslaco ISD Athletic Directorwww.wisd.us

319 West Fourth Street-Weslaco, Texas 78596

2008-2009 Class 5A Bi-District Champions2008-2009 Class 5A Area Finalists2007-2008 Class 5A Bi-District Finalists2006-2007 Class 5A Bi-District Champions2006-2007 Class 5A Area Champions

Head coach:Ruben Riojas

2010-11 32-5A District Champs 14-02010-11 State 5A Bi-District Champs2010-11 State 5A Area Finalists2009-2010 Class 5A Bi-District Champions2009-2010 Class 5A Area Finalists

32-5A Defending Champions!

Together, A Tradition Continues!

32-4A District Contenders!



Manual Brown of McAllen High School will be compete in the District 30-5A tennis championships. (HSSMImages/David A. Amador)

Harlingen South’s No.1 doubles team Kate Holder and Caitlyn Resendez will be favored to win the 31-5A tennis title in doubles. (HSSMImages/David A. Amador)

(Brownsville, Tx)-At the Brownsville ISD Tennis Tournament re-cently, McAllen High School tennis player, Manual Brown won the Boys Singles A draw with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Harlin-gen South’s Bennett Holder in cool weather and no raindrops on the court. Overall, Harlingen South won the tournament with 144 points, followed by Brownsville Hanna, the tournament host, with 135 points. Harlingen High came in third with 106 points.

McAllen High assistant coach David Reast said he was of Brown’s victory. “He’s a great competitor and loves this game,” added Reast. Fernando Mata of Laredo United won the boys singles B draw 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, by knocking off Rodrigo Torres of McAllen High. In girl’s action, Brownsville Hanna won the singles and dou-bles titles. Hanna’s Sophia Montemayor won the girls singles A draw over Sandra Dawy of Harlingen High 6-1, 6-1, and Oryana Otero of Hanna won the B draw over Stephanie Lillard of South. Doubles twin sisters, Marithe and Carolina Guerra of Hanna won the girls doubles A draw 6-2, 6-2 over Kate Holder and Caitlyn Resendez of Harlingen South. Hanna’s Ashlea Rosenbaum and Jenny Blundell won the B draw 6-1, 6-1 over Kathryn Lewis and Andrea Johnson of South. Harlingen South swept boys doubles, with Devin Kyral and

Joseph Rayner beat Daniel Warner and Noe Moraida of La Feria

McHi’s Brown, Hanna Girls Doubles Team Win Browns-ville Tennis Tourney

www.DonnaISD.net

Advertisement paid for by Donna Independent School District

2011 Donna ISD School BoardAlfredo Lugo-PresidentReynaldo Alegria-VP

Angel Magallanes-SecretaryNick Castillo-Board Member

Efren Ceniceros-Board MemberMichael Flores, M.D.-Board Member

Ernesto Lugo-Board Member

2011 Donna ISD AdministrationSuperintendent of Schools

Roberto F. LoredoDonna HS PrincipalNancy Castillo

Director of Athletics/ConsultantRafael G. Leal

Baseball teamDistrict 30-5A

Girls SoftballDistrict 30-5A

Good Luck To Both Teams!

*O!er valid at participating locations. O!er expires 03/30/12. Cannot be combined with any other o!ers. O!er code must be used when placing order. Containers may vary. EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS, the Fruit Basket Logo Design and Slam Dunk Delight are registered trademarks of Edible Arrangements, LLC. ©2012 Edible Arrangements, LLC. All rights reserved. Franchises available; call 1-888-727-4258 or visit eafranchise.com.

To order, please call or visit:

956.428.37701818 West Tyler Ave



SAVE $3*on any order

Code: rgva0612

Slam Dunk Delight ®

with chocolate dipped strawberries

A SLAM DUNKfor any party

956.668.05555113-A North 10th Street




Sooo...Close!Sooo...Close!

State Girls Basketball Playoffs Highlights

Harlingen Lady Cardinals Magical Season Ends Against Laredo Alexander 52-34Harlingen Lady Cardinals Magical Season Ends Against Laredo Alexander 52-34

(Edinburg, Texas)- The Harlingen Lady Cardinals basketball team watched their hopes of winning a state title come to an end in the UIL Class 5A Regional Quarter-

-ander eliminated the Lady Cards 52-34 at UTPA Fieldhouse.After 700-plus vic-tories for head coach Nora Zamarippa, this victory would be re-corded as a loss. Se-

Harlingen’s Demmee Rodriguez reaches for the ball against Laredo Alexander’s Diana . (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)

Harlingen’s Demmee Rodriguez reaches for the ball against Laredo Alexander’s Diana . (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)



nior Jessica Prieto led Alex-ander with 16 points as they improved to Lady Bulldogs (36-1). Harlingen (32-5) took a 13-8 lead on the No. 7 ranked Lady Bulldogs but that was the only spark the Lady Cards could muster for the rest of the half. Alexander went rampant on a 15-0 run that put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 23-13 and

with a 30-18 lead. Harlingen

second and third periods. Harlingen won the District

31-5A title with a 14-0 record. But, for Zamarippa, she was still proud of her team’s efforts throughout the year. “This was a special season. It was very special. I’m proud of my team. We won the district title, bi-district title, and area titles. This was special,” said Zamar-ippa. At the Edinburg North game, Zamarippa won her 700th game in her coaching career and bursted into tears as she hung her mother who was watching from the stands. “She

thankful she’s here to be part of this,” added Zamarippa.

McAllen Rowe 38Del Rio 53

Class 5A Region IV Reg Qtrs

(San Antonio, Tx)-Del Rio (28-

regional tournament by elimi-nating McAllen Rowe, 53-38, in a Class 5A Region-IV Quar-

High School. The Lady Rams converted six 3-pointers, in-

“We made a lot of mistakes

and they forced us to turnover the ball. We were rattled and

Rowe coach Raul Vega said. Del Rio was led by Valeria Guevara’s 18 points followed by Aneya Torres’ 14 points. Kelsey Green had 10 rebounds to go with three points. Rowe (24-12) was led by Ashley Watson who scored 10 points. The Lady Warriors advanced to third round of the playoffs

-pionship despite a 1-6 start to the season.


Class 5A Area Basketball Champions! McAllen Nikki Rowe girsl basketball team won the 30-5A title along with titles in Bi-District and Area. (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)


GIRLSDISTRICT 32-5A1. LOS FRESNOS**2. WESLACO*3. SAN BENITO*4. BRO RIVERA*5. BRO PACE6. BRO HANNA7. BRO PORTER8. BRO LOPEZ

DISTRICT 31-5A1. HARLINGEN**2. PSJA NORTH*3. EDINBURG NORTH*4. HARLINGEN SOUTH*4. EDINBURG6. PSJA7. ED ECONOMEDES8. PSJA MEMORIAL

DISTRICT 30-5A1. MCALLEN ROWE**2. SHARYLAND*3. MCALLEN*3. MISSION*5. LA JOYA 6. MCALLEN MEMORIAL7. DONNA8. LJ PALMVIEW

DISTRICT 32-4A1. HIDALGO**2. MISSION VETERANS*3. WESLACO EAST*3. ROMA*5. ED-ELSA6. MERCEDES7. VALLEY VIEW HS8. LJ JUAREZ-LINCOLN9. BRO VETERANS10. RIO GRANDE CITY

DISTRICT 32-3A1. LA FERIA**2. ZAPATA*3. RIO HONDO*4. PORT ISABEL5. RGC GRULLA6. PSJA SOUTHWEST7. PROGRESO

Overall30-429-823-1316-219-2510-2010-234-13

30-427-719-1419-1618-1512-229-245-20

22-1122-1118-1720-1020-137-270-05-23

34-227-1020-1618-1618-1514-2114-1911-189-283-27

22-519-622-913-140-08-193-27

District14-012-210-4 6-8 5-9 5-94-100-14

14-012-2 9-5 8-6 7-73-112-121-13

13-111-310-4 8-6 8-63-113-110-14

18-016-212-611-710-87-117-115-133-150-18

11-110-2 9-3 6-6 4-82-100-12

DISTRICT BY DISTRICTBOYSDISTRICT 32-5A1. WESLACO*1. BRO HANNA*1. BRO PORTER*4. LOS FRESNOS*5. BRO RIVERA6. SAN BENITO7. BRO LOPEZ8. BRO PACE

DISTRICT 31-5A1. HARLINGEN SOUTH**2. HARLINGEN**3. EDINBURG NORTH*3. EDINBURG*5. ED ECONOMEDES6. PSJA NORTH7. PSJA MEMORIAL8. PSJA

DISTRICT 30-5A1. SHARYLAND**2. MCA MEMORIAL*2. MCALLEN ROWE*4. LA JOYA PALMVIEW*5. MCALLEN6. LA JOYA7. MISSION8. DONNA

DISTRICT 32-4A1. ROMA**2. HIDALGO*3. BRO VETERANS*4. WESLACO EAST*5. JUAREZ LINCOLN6. MISSION VETS7. ED-ELSA8. RIO GRANDE CITY9. MERCEDES10. VALLEY VIEW

DISTRICT 32-3A1. RIO HONDO**2. PORT ISABEL*3. LA FERIA*4. GRULLA5. ZAPATA6. PROGRESO7. PSJA SOUTHWEST

Overall20-1318-1418-1316-1611-1816-1913-1906-26

26-827-618-1423-1125-716-179-219-24

25-1021-1123-825-715-1411-209-231-13

25-725-720-1217-167-710-816-1516-135-131-21

20-720-522-116-45-215-274-26

District10-410-410-4 9-5 7-7 6-82-121-13

11-311-310-49-59-54-101-131-13

13-110-410-49-56-85-91-131-13

18-015-311-711-710-89-96-125-135-130-18

11-19-39-36-44-82-100-12

HSSM Final Basketball Standings 2011-12

HSSM’s All-South Texas Basketball Team Selections

Most Valuable PlayerAaron Ramirez-Santa Rosa H.S.

Newcomer of the YearJesse Pistokache, Sharyland H.S.

First Team SelectionsJuan “Papito” Gonzalez-McAllen Memorial

Joaquin Pistocache-SharylandNick Garcia-Harlingen South

A.J. Garza-La VillaNoe Espericueta-Edinburg H.S.Lorenzo Garza-Brownsville Hanna

Second Team SelectionsJosh Davies-McAllen MemorialAndrew Espinoza-Edinburg H.S.Ari Fernandez-McAllen Nikki RoweDakota Flores-Port Isabel H.S.Kevin Andrade-Roma H.S.James Kittleman H.S.

Third Team SelectionsGus Martinez-McAllen MemorialLeo Guerra-Hidalgo Early CollegeJustin Gonzalez, PSJA H.S.Charlie Powers-Harlingen H.S.Daniel Ybarra-Harlingen H.S.Lino Alvarez-Roma H.S.

Girls Basketball All-South Selections

Most Valuable PlayerNelly Flores-Hidalgo Early College

Newcomer of the YearAngela VillarrealWeslaco Freshmen

First Team SelectionsLisa Mancillas,PSJA

Vicky Pena, Edinburg NorthJade Jones, Hidalgo Early CollegeDemmee Rodriguez, HarlingenLaura Van Tilburg-Weslaco H.S.

Second Team SelectionsBianka Martinez-Harlingen H.S.Ciaira Briseno-McAllen RoweCassie Aleman-PSJA North

Briana Casas-Mission VeteransMicheline Mercelita-Edinburg H.S.Kassandra Sanchez-San Benito H.S.

Third Team SelectionsAlyza Alaniz-Mercedes H.S.Karla Trevino-La Joya H.S.Arie Guerra-McAllen H.S.Elva Hinojosa-La Joya H.S.

Chanel Ebanks-Texada;; Los Fresnos HSAnikka Garza, San Isidro H.S.

All South Texas Boys Basketball Coach of the Year

Johnny Cipriano, Santa Rosa H.S.

30-5A Coach of the YearDavid Keith-Sharyland H.S.

31-5A Coach of the YearBrian Molina-Harlingen South H.S.

32-5A Coach of the YearGabe Valdez-Weslaco H.S.

32-4A Coach of the YearAbelardo Escobar-Roma H.S.

32-3A Coach of the YearJoe Guzman-Rio Hondo H.S.

32-2A Coach of the YearJohnny Cipriano-Santa Rosa

32-1A Div I Coach of the YearRick Cantu-La Villa H.S.

32-1A Div II Coach of the YearDavid Contreras-LaSara H.S.

All South Texas Girls Basketball Coach of the YearNora Zamarippa, Harlingen H.S.

30-5A Coach of the YearRaul Vega, McAllen Nikki Rowe

31-5A Coach of the YearNora Zamarippa-Harlingen H.S.

32-5A Coach of the YearKim Edquist-Los Fresnos H.S.

32-4A Coach of the YearSaul Arjona-Hidalgo Early College

32-3A Coach of the YearAngel Martinez-La Feria H.S.

32-2A Coach of the YearMartin Gonzalez-Santa Gertrudis Academy

32-1A Div I Coach of the YearRene Duque-La Villa H.S.

32-1A Div II Coach of the YearJessica Garza, LaSara H.S.


Weslaco Lady Panthers Wins Bi-District TitleLady Panthers Defeat Edinburg North 53-47; Almost Upsets Alexander


(Edinburg, Texas)-Head coach Griselda Fino of Weslaco did what

two seniors in the starting lineup. At some point, she only had three freshmen and two sophomores playing on the court this past season. Either way, Fino found a way to make her team

Bi-District Championship title, and one almost area title.

In the Class 5A Bi-District Championships, six-foot-one sopho-more, Laura Van Tilburg had six blocked shots and scored 20 points to lead the Weslaco Lady Pantherettes past the Edinburg North Lady Cougars 53-47 in the Class 5A Bi-District Champi-onships at Edinburg North Gym on Tuesday night. The win was bittersweet for Weslaco head coach, Griselda Fino, who won her

my back. It’s been a long time waiting,” said Fino. Van Tilburg converted 12-of-15 free throws from the line as she would drive to the basket and get fouled by Vicky Pena, Crystal Cantu, and

Dulce Pena throughout the night. At halftime, Weslaco led 27-24 after a three-pointer by Jasmine Garza drew loud cheers from the stands at the buzzer. “We had too many turnovers and missed shots tonight,” said Edinburg North head coach Jenny Rae Gar-cia. In the fourth quarter, the Lady Cougars still had their chances with the game tied at 47-47 with 2:06 left to play but North’s

Vicky Pena aggressive play fouled Van Tilburg on the drive to the basket again. Her extra point attempt was good for one shot to make it 48-47 Weslaco. Freshmen, Angela Villarreal ended the Cougars last hopes as she scored on a fast-break layup to seal the win for Weslaco. Against, state-ranked No.7 Laredo Alexander, the Lady Pan-thers inexperienced showed as they went cold in the second half to lose in the State 5A Area Championships 46-41. “We played a great season. This team played as a team and believed in them-selves. Most of my players are only 14-years old,” added Fino.

Class 5A Bi-District Basketball Champions! Weslaco head coach Griselda Fino shows fans who’s No.1 in their win over Edinburg North. Pictured is Weslaco’s Angela Villarreal scoring against North’s Dulce Pena (34). (HSSMImages/Alec Amador)


Hidalgo Early CollegeRuns Past Alice 83-32Lose to Gregory-Portland in Area Round


(Hidalgo, Texas)-The Hidalgo Early College girls basketball team made an early state-ment in the State 4A playoffs by blasting Alice 83-32. Lady Pirate point guard Nikki San-chez scored 24 points and teammate Nelly Flores had 26 points and 21 rebounds as Hi-dalgo improved to 35-2. The Lady Pirates made 12 three-pointers, eight by San-chez alone. The Lady Pirates led 46-14 halftime. Hidalgo

-ished with 18 points. Sopho-more point guard Lexi Wil-liams had eight points and

Lady Pirates went on to meet Gregory-Portland in the next round. The Lady Pirates will be try-ing to get back to the Class 4A Region IV Tournament af-ter making a run in 2011. The

-ist, Austin LBJ 62-35 in the

Against the Lady Wildcats from Gregory Portland in the Class 4A Area Champion-ships, the Lady Pirates lost 55-34. It was a rematch from last season’s victory over the Lady Wildcats. The season ends the Lady Pirates run for a possible State 4A title.

Here Everything’s Better.Now At Stores-Rio Grande Valley!

FREE! While They Lasts!


$2.00 Issue


2011-12 LIKE US ON

FACEBOOK


32-5A 31-5A 30-5A 32-4A 32-3A 32-2A 32-1A



B!s & G"r#s



$2.00 Issue


INSIDE:

PLAYOFF PAIRINGS

Pg. 11

UIL




3A, 31-3A, 16-2A, 16-1A








AND RESULTS



BOYSTOP10POLLS




Class 5A Bi-District Basketball Champions! Nelly Floresleads team past Alice Lady Coyotes. (HSSMImages/Mike De la Cruz)

Get Your HSSM Copies at...


EndEndPlayoffsPlayoffs

StateState

HSSM Final PollsBoys Rankings1. Santa Rosa2. Harlingen South3. Harlingen4. Edinburg5. Edinburg North6. McAllen Memorial7. Roma8. Brownsville Veterans9. Rio Hondo10. Sharyland

Boys Rankings1. Santa Rosa2. Harlingen South3. Harlingen4. Edinburg5. Edinburg North6. McAllen Memorial7. Roma8. Brownsville Veterans9. Rio Hondo10. Sharyland

HSSM Final Polls

Edinburg Bobcats Fall Short;; Harlingen South Makes Class 5A Region IV Quarters;;Santa Rosa Makes it So Sweet!

Edinburg Bobcats Fall Short;; Harlingen South Makes Class 5A Region IV Quarters;;Santa Rosa Makes it So Sweet!

B Y D A V I D A M A D O RB Y D A V I D A M A D O R

Tough Loss! Edinburg’s Noe Espericuetagrimaces as the Bobcats lost to Laredo United 57-54 in State 5A Region Iv Area Playoffs. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

State Boys Basketball Playoffs Highlights


Laredo United’s Rudy Gon-zalez guards Harlingen South’s Mark Villegas. The Longhorns won 71-59 in the Class 5A Region IV-Quar-

(HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

(McAllen, Texas)-It was a strange playoff season for Rio Grande Valley boys basketball teams as they watched Dis-trict 29-5A or Laredo Schools eliminate Edinburg, Harlin-gen South, McAllen Memo-rial, Nikki Rowe, Sharyland, Harlingen, La Joya Palmview, and Edinburg North all from

second rounds.

(Corpus Christi, Texas)-The Hawks were the only team who went three-deep in the state playoffs under head coach Brian Molina. In the end, the Hawks would lose to Laredo United 71-59 at Calallen High School on Tuesday in a Class

United (22-12) built a 43-25 lead with 2:31 left in the third period but South (28-9) ended the third period on an 8-0 run and opened up the fourth with a 15-4 run to cut United’s lead to 51-49. South senior Mark Villegas led the Hawk’s charge with 10 points during that span. But, United did the same after a timeout called by head coach Archie Ramos. The Longhorns regrouped and went on a 10-0 run to take a 61-49 with 3:10 left in the game. Laredo grabbed 22 total re-bounds and made sure that South’s Nick Garcia was kept short of his 29.5 points per game in the playoffs. He scored 12 points for the night. “We had to stop Nick. He is a strong player,” said Ramos. With the loss, South ends their season winning a share of the District 31-5A title along with bi-district and area cham-pionship titles. “It was a great season with high expectations. We surprised alot of teams this past season. Against the Long-

horns, we came up short,” add-ed Molina.

(Alice, Tx)-Laredo United’s senior point guard, Thomas Johnson helped lead the Long-

horns to a 57-54 victory over Edinburg High in a Class 5A area playoff on Friday at Alice High School. The loss ended the Bobcats hopes of returning back to the state 5A Region-IV Tournament from 2011. The win for the Longhorns was a sweet victory after los-ing to the Bobcats last sea-

son in the same round 67-64. Edinburg High coach Zeke Cuellar was not pleased with the loss after missing oppor-tunities at the right times. The Bobcats ended their season at 25-12. Edinburg High’s se-nior center Noel Espericuerta, scored 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. United’s

Harlingen South 59Laredo United 71

Class 5A Region IV Qtr-Finals

Edinburg 54Laredo United 57

Class 5A Region IV Area Finals


Josh Davies of McAllen Memorial holds on to the ball against Laredo Alexander in the State 5A Bi-District Championships. The Bulldogs won 55-47. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)


four 3-pointers. Longhorn forward Robert Garcia added 14 points and had also had four 3-pointers. The Longhorns made 9 of

to the 5A Region-IV tournament.

(McAllen, Tx)- McAllen Memorial head coach Sam Cortez was hoping that win-

years would be a sign of getting past the

to be, as the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs came from behind to beat the Mustangs 55-47 in the Class 5A Bi-District Champi-onships played at McAllen Memorial H.S. Gym. “We had our chances. Now, our sea-

-ter the Mustangs came out with a 13-2 lead but then whistles started blowing into the loud gym giving the Bulldogs the mo-mentum they needed to make a run. The

to make 12 of 14 from the free throw line to trail 19-17 at the half. The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 15-2 run and played tough man-to-man defense, allowing the Mustangs to score only two points at the end of the third quarter. “This is hard to swallow,” said Mustang point guard Papito Gonza-lez. “I know that we were better than what we played tonight. This is a tough loss.”

the Mustangs have lost to a Laredo school

runner-ups and we will lose two players from our line up. I’m looking forward to next year,” said Cortez.

Brian Swain scored 16 points for the Lar-edo Alexander Bulldogs as they defeated the Harlingen Cardinals 60-58 in the Class 5A Area Championship game. This was the second Rio Grande Valley team the Bulldogs knocked off in the state playoffs. Alexander now takes on Laredo Martin in

Head coach Grey Yates could not get his team back on the groove as the Cardi-

I’m proud of our team and how we fought back,” said Yates of the Cardinals. Laredo Alexander head coach Luis Val-

-

In the end, the Cardinals still had their chances with eight seconds left in the game. Harlingen had a shot to tie the game but Daniel Ybarra could not handle the ball under the rim, forcing a turnover. It was a great season for Harlingen as

with a win over Harlingen South in their

the State 5A Region IV-Tournament in 2011 after beating Brownsville Rivera, Rowe, and Weslaco in three rounds.

McAllen Memorial 47Laredo Alexander 55

Class 5A Region IV Bi-District Finals

Harlingen H.S. 58 Laredo Alexander 60

Class 5A Region IV Area Finals


Brian Swaine of Laredo Alexander gets past Harlingen’s Omar Hunt-er in the Class 5A Region-IV quar-

(HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)


“We Had Our Chances. Now, Our Season Is Over.”

Sam Cortez, McAllen Memorial H.S. Head Basketball Coach

(Brownsville, Tx)-The Edinburg North

under head coach Rudy Garcia, defeating Brownsville Hanna 48-40 at Hanna H.S. Gym. The win for the Cougars was cele-

from Cougar fans. Edinburg North (18-15) trailed 9-0 and managed to overcome their game-start

is amazing. We did it,” said Garcia. “We won a bi-district title.” Hanna’s season came to an end at 18-15. North turned a 17-17 halftime tie into a 30-17 lead. Hanna did make it interest-ing late in the fourth, getting back-to-

back 3-pointers from Chris Alvarado and Victor Aguilar to cut the lead to six. The Eagles wound up as tri-district champions in 32-5A with Weslaco High

third place in 31-5A. Against Laredo Martin, the Cougars were ousted 48-29 in the area champion-ships to end their 2011-12 season. “It was a season to remember,” said Garcia.

Edinburg North 48Brownsville Hanna 40

Class 5A Region IV Bi-District Finals



So Sweet! The Santa Rosa War-riors advanced to the State 2A Re-

Halletsville. Senior Aaron Ramirez led the Warriors to a great season. (HSSMImages/Mike De La Cruz)

(Seguin, Tx)-Senior Aaron Ramirez of Santa Rosa got into early foul trouble to al-low Hallettsville to win 58-47

IV-2A basketball tourney on Friday at Goldie Harris Gym at Seguin High School. Santa Rosa’s year ended at 23-9.

Head coach Johnny Cipriano told HSSM, “we still had our opportunities with Aaron on

make it from the three-point line.” The Warriors converted only 3-of-25 from three-point line on the night. Santa Rosa opened the game with Ramirez

-quarter. Two quick fouls in the

with whistles blowing in from every call from every direc-tion. With a 14-13 lead after

continued, bringing in “boos” from crowd in the stands as Ramirez picked up his third and fourth fouls with 2:58 left in the half with the Warriors up 24-19. The Brahmas took the lead at 28-26 with 1:13 left

Garza would give the Warriors

back the lead right before the half with a 29-28 lead but, that lasted only a few seconds as Dazaun Silguero scored 13 of

half to give the Brahmas a 32-29 advantage. With Ramirez fouled out mid-way through the third quarter, but head coach Cipriano was

for Santa Rosa High School. I will miss him,” said Cipriano.

Santa Rosa H.S. 47 Halletsville 58



National Signing Day!

RGV Players Sign To PlayFootball

Go Army! McAllen Memorial QB Matthew Kaufmann signs a letter of intent to play football for West Point Academy. Pictured are his father, Marcus and mother, Monica along with sister Madeline and best friend Issac DeLeon. Also pictured are McAllen ISD School Boad member, Danny Vela, head coach Bill Littleton, and McAllen ISD School Board member, Debbie Aliseda Crane. (HSSMIMages/David A. Amador)

(McAllen, Tx)-Select football players from across the state of Texas signed football schol-arships last month. At McAl-len Memorial High School, four-year starter, Matthew Kaufmann is headed to West Point Academy, while four Weslaco Panther players will play football at Cisco College and McMurry University. At Memorial High School, hundreds of students packed the school library to watch Kaufmann sign to play football for Army. “I never thought he would play for the U.S. Army. This is awesome. It’s very

-morial football offensive co-ordinator, Marcus Kaufmann. It was a special moment for Dad. “These are my brothers and my family. I have them (football team) to thank and especially, my football coach Bill Littleton,” said the four-year starting quarter. High School Sports Maga-zine’s All-South Texas Offen-sive Player of the Year led the Mustangs to a 12-1 season, including two back-to-back Class 5A Division II Regional

as a varsity player are the most by any football athlete at Memorial. Surrounded by his mother, Monica, his best friend, Issac De Leon; father, Marcus; sister, Madeline, Kaufmann will play for the NCAA Division I U.S. Army Black Knights football team this fall. “This is amazing. I am looking forward to be-coming a Black Knight. I can hardly wait to get there,” add-ed Kaufmann. In his career, he

Signs with Cisco! Weslaco Panther offensive linemen Mike Rodriguez signed a scholarship to play football for Cisco College. Pictured also are head football coach Tony Villarreal and Eloy De Leon. (HSSMIMages/Thomas Amador)

Panthers Sign with McMurry! Weslaco Panther football players Servando Cruz, Ernesto Tafolla, and Jose Montiel signed scholarships to play football for McMurry Univer-sity. The Panthers won back-to-back Class 5A Bi-District titles. Head football coach is Tony Villarreal. “I’m proud of my players to watched them further their education and play football,” said Villarreal. (HSSMIMages/Thomas Amador)

passed for 5,571 yards and 45 touchdowns. He also rushed for 5,164 yards and scored 76 touchdowns. Kaufmann also netted 36 career wins. In 2011, he was named the Chick-Fil-A Player of the Week and also captured All-State Academic honors and named 30-5A Of-fensive At Weslaco, Jose Montiel, High School Sports Maga-zine’s Defensive Player of the Year will be heading to Mc-Murry University along with teammates, Ernesto Tafolla and Servando Cruz. Offen-sive linemen, Mike Rodriguez will play football for Cisco College. “Playing with your teammates in college will be awesome. These guys are my brothers,” added Montiel.


www.chick-!l-a.com

We AcceptSchool Purchase Orders.We Deliver too.

Open 6:30 a.m.Monday through Saturday

7 LocationsMission/Sharyland

2501 E. Expressway 83Mission, Texas 78572

956-682-0055Ted Venecia

McAllenLa Plaza Mall

2200 S. 10th Ste D1956-631-7722

Mike Perez

7340 N. 10th Street956-992-9027Rudy Martinez

1300 E. Jackson Ave956-664-1994

Ben Stover

Harlingen1021 Dixieland Road

956-365-3833Frank Castellanos

Brownsville4325 N. Expressway 77

956-350-9488Alex Aviles

SunRise Mall2370 N. Expressway 77

Ste 1348956-541-4222

Toni Casas2012 CFA Properties, Inc. Chic-!l-A Chick-!l-A Stylized and the Chick-!l-A Cows are registered

trademarks of CFA Properties, Inc.

C

Documents

2012 HSSM Baseball Preview