Lay down Valley
December 3rd, 2007, 3:17 am · Post a Comment · posted by Armando
Yeah, I like Clapton, so the title is a little play on the hit song with Valley instead of Sally.
OK, enough music talk, let’s talk Valley football.
I was at the RGV doubleheader Saturday in Victoria. It was a half/half deal for me, I guess.
Up in the press box, I sat and literally beamed when Los Fresnos came out like wildfire and went up 14-0 on San Antonio Reagan.
Up in the box, I got questions as to who the Falcons were and who their head coach was. Opposing scouts from Converse Judson and other schools let out collective “oohs” and “ahhs”. Yes indeed, the Falcons came to play, just like head coach Scott Ford said they would.
And when Reagan’s super back Marcus Wright scurried 80 yards to make it 14-6, I still felt that the Falcons were in good shape.
But on a promising drive ended with an interception in the end zone, and as I wrote in the Star, momentum changed and it was mostly Rattlers after that and Wright got loose. Reagan played sound ball, and the rest resulted in a 49-28 defeat for the Falcons.
The Falcons fought hard, no question. And yes, they’re very well coached. Everyone knew it. Los Fresnos (and Weslaco for that matter) showed that the Valley is getting better.
Yeah, I know, I said that last year too. Greatness doesn’t happen overnight. The Valley is catching up, and it’s gonna take time. To have some of the region’s best teams is still quite an accomplishment.
On the other hand, the Santa Rosa-Salado game was a mismatch. End of story. It wasn’t too fun too watch. I’ll say that.
Salado is a huge, fast, quick, tough team. Man, oh man. I’d venture to guess that they’d beat nearly every team in the Valley, including 5As and 4As. They’re that good.
They came out and just manhandled Santa Rosa. They were lighthing-quick and they had some big boys. The Warriors had some injuries in the game, and when tempers flared in the second half, a couple of ejections didn’t help things as a 60-0 result shows.
But the Salado game aside, props to coach Joshua Gonzalez, his staff, and those Warriors. I covered them 3 times this season and they were fun to watch. Very balanced and plenty of big-play ability.
Like he said afterward, both he and his Warriors proved people wrong in 2007. Gonzalez, literally banished from Valley View after one season (0-10 for a first-year varsity school) had a lot to prove when he was hired this summer. And he did. Talk about vindication.
And the Warriors, with talent abound, knew they were better than the 2-8 finish last year. They showed they in fact, were. Congrats to those young men. 11-2 is nothing to be ashamed of.
Of course, I was pleased to see the usual-Valley packed house at both games. Kudos once again Valley-ites. It was a good season and here’s to waiting for 2008 already!
