(Courtesy photo/Hector Avila)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
The San Benito Greyhounds will once again host a gridiron foe in the friendly confines of Bobby Morrow Stadium on Friday, but this time the stakes are much higher.
San Benito will be competing in games that count as District 32-6A play begins.
The ‘Hounds take on a district opponent in the Brownsville Hanna Eagles, who, akin to themselves, have struggled in the non-district portion of their schedule.
San Benito enters the game at 0-6, while Hanna is 1-5 on the season.
The Greyhounds, however, have competed against arguably some of the best talent the state has to offer as they played and lost to the likes of Austin Westlake (63-7 score) and Carthage, both games hundreds of miles from home.
In fact, San Benito’s last game resulted in a 56-0 loss to Carthage, which was a contest played in Bay City, TX last Friday. The ‘Hounds took on a Carthage team that ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A. San Benito struggled mightily as it could only muster two first downs on offense.
San Benito CISD Athletics Coordinator Ramiro Partida, Jr. said earlier this year it was a challenge to get a full set of non-district games the first six weeks into the 2024 season.
One non-district contest included an opponent based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. It was one of the most entertaining games this year when the ‘Hounds fell late in their homecoming game, 28-21.
District opponents by comparison
San Benito’s district opponents include Los Fresnos (5-1), Brownsville Veterans Memorial (4-2), and Harlingen (4-2).
Only Veterans Memorial and Harlingen played against foes from outside the Valley, which also resulted in losses. Veterans Memorial fell to Laredo Alexander (44-42), and Harlingen lost to Cuero (24-14) last week.
But, it’s Hanna and San Benito who only have losing records going into district play. Hanna’s lone win came two weeks ago against La Joya, 13-3.
Hanna has lost to teams who all hail from the Rio Grande Valley, including McAllen Memorial (37-13), Sharyland (35-14), Edinburg (28-20), Sharyland Pioneer (20-7), and Mission Veterans Memorial (28-7).
Following their game against Hanna, the Greyhounds will then play at Los Fresnos (Oct. 18), host Veterans Memorial (Nov. 1) and play at Harlingen (Nov. 8).
No matter its 0-6 record thus far, if San Benito can finish in the top four in district play, the Greyhounds will qualify for the playoffs in mid-November.
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