The Valley View Tigers were the last team standing during last year’s boys soccer season. The Tigers advanced all the way to the Class 5A state finals before falling to Kingwood Park 5-4.
This year, the Tigers have picked up where they left off, cruising through District 31-5A competition to a 5-0-0 mark thus far, while outscoring opponents 25-4. Last season, then-junior Pablo Torre accounted for a majority of the Tigers’ offense during district play, scoring 37 of his team’s 69 goals. This season, however, the Tigers have deployed a more balanced offensive attack, with four players netting at least four goals through their first five district contests.
Ever Arredondo, Peter Yanez and Torre have each found paydirt seven times during district play, tied for the district lead in goals scored. Diego Ontiveros has chipped in four goals, giving the Tigers a four-headed scoring machine.
“We knew they were not going to let Pablo take over the games,” Valley View head coach Gerardo Salazar said. “We’ve seen the double teams and triple teams. We just had to
get the other guys going. The thing is, the other kids know how to do it too. That’s a big plus. We’re still not exactly where we want, but we have the pieces there.”
Torre’s ability to defer to his teammates has been a key to the Tigers’ offensive success, Salazar said, with defenses keying in on the star senior more than years past.
Still, Torre has shown he can only be contained for so long, scoring in four of the Tigers’ five district contests, including a hat trick during an 11-0 victory over McAllen Memorial on Friday.
“That’s what he does,” Salazar said. “He moves around a lot. He doesn’t stay still so it’s very tough for two or three players to stay on him. He knows that he needs to move a lot. I think that’s why Pablo is Pablo. He’s probably one of the best players we’ve ever had, and he knows it. … He’s probably one of the best strikers there is in the Valley.”
Valley View hosts PSJA Southwest (3-2-0) at 6 p.m. Tuesday before wrapping up the first half of their district schedule on the road against McAllen High (2-2-1) at 6 p.m. Friday.
RETURN OF THE RED ANTS
Led by then-head coach Margarito Jimenez, the Red Ants dominated the Class 4A competition over the past decade, advancing to the state tournament three straight years (2016-2018), including a state runner-up finish in 2016.
Last year put a pause to the Red Ants dominant run, however, with Progreso opting out of the 2021 season. Additionally, Jimenez decided to leave the program after 28 years, announcing his resignation June 30, 2021.
The Red Ants are back on the pitch this season, with newly appointed head coach Gerardo Alanis taking over after serving as an assistant to Jimenez.
Despite the near-twoyear
hiatus and a new head coach, the Red Ants are off to a promising start during district play, opening with wins in four of their five district contests.
As the district season reaches its midway point, Progreso (4-1-0) and Hidalgo (4-0-0) are tied atop the standings at 12 points each, with the Pirates holding the tiebreaker with their headto- head victory over the Red Ants.
DISTRICT CHASE
Tuesday marks the end of round 1 of district play for several Valley teams, with several pivotal matchups on the schedule.
District 31-6A leader La Joya Juarez-Lincoln hosts third place Edinburg North at 8 p.m. The Huskies lead the Cougars by three points in the standings. A Cougars’ victory could vault them into a tie for first with the Huskies, while a Juarez-Lincoln win would send them into the midway point as the outright district leader.
Elsewhere, Brownsville Rivera, who is in second place in District 32-6A, hosts fourth-place Donna North to wrap up the first round of district play. The Chiefs could overtake the Raiders for second place with a victory, trailing Brownsville Rivera by two points in the standings.
Brownsville Lopez, Brownsville Porter and Brownsville Veterans are deadlocked for first in District 32-5A, each tallying 15 points with 5-1-0 marks. The Cowboys and Lobos square off at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, with the top spot in the district on the line. Weslaco East holds the No. four seed in the district with nine points.
