The race for the District 32-5A title has run through Brownsville the past decade. Since 2013, seven of the district’s nine champions have come from Brownsville ISD, with Brownsville Porter, Brownsville Veterans and Brownsville Lopez each claiming it twice, and Brownsville Hanna, now a Class 6A school, winning it once.
Brownsville ISD also has had a stranglehold on the district’s four available playoff spots during that span, with 28 of the possible 36 berths going to schools from their area.
This season provides a new challenge, however, with former 6A powerhouses Donna North and Harlingen South joining the mix after dropping to Class 5A following realignment over the summer.
The addition of the two teams set up a rigorous 18-game schedule for the district, with a total of 10 teams fighting for one of four available playoff berths.
“We have former state champions, regional qualifiers and area finalists in this district,” Harlingen South head coach Julian Robles said. “Donna North was a playoff team last year. We were an area finalist a few years ago. Then with the four Brownsville schools and teams like Weslaco East playing great, you can’t take anybody for granted in this district, honestly. It is going to be tough. It doesn’t matter who you play, they’ll be really tough to beat at home.”
Both the Chiefs and Hawks open the season ranked in the Rio Grande Valley Soccer Coaches Organization’s Class 5A top 10 poll, with the Chiefs opening at No. 8 and the Hawks at No. 10.
Donna North joins the mix after a four-year stint in Class 6A, making the playoffs each season and claiming the District 31-6A title in 2018-19.
The Chiefs return key offensive pieces in junior forward Melvin Gomez and senior midfield Christopher De Leon, both of whom earned 32-6A first-team honors last year.
Defensively, senior Azael Ibarra anchors the Chiefs’ back line, returning after earning 32-6A first-team honors last season.
Harlingen South spent the past eight years in District 32-6A, making the postseason three times, including a regional quarterfinal appearance in 2019.
The Hawks field a roster mixed with experience and new faces. One of the biggest returners is senior goalkeeper Ricardo Montoya, who earned District 32-6A first-teams honors last year.
He is joined by sophomores Omar Galan and Gabino Sanchez, both of whom saw playing time as freshmen last year. Sanchez earned District 32-6A Newcomer of the Year honors.
“We’re very young right now, honestly,” Robles said. “We got a group of quite a few sophomores, some juniors and some seniors. We’re trying to just mesh together. I think we’ve gotten some solid results considering. We’re looking forward to district the most. It is going to be a tough district, but the young ones want to compete at this level. They want to show they can compete against the Brownsville schools or those schools like Donna North or Weslaco East.”
While new contenders join the ranks, expect no dropoff from the Brownsville-area schools, with 2022 playoff qualifiers Brownsville Lopez, Brownsville Pace and Brownsville Veterans all reloading for another run.
The Lobos join the Chiefs and Hawks in the top 10 poll, sitting fifth. They return several key players from last year’s team, including District 32-5A’s leading scorer, Aaron Martinez.
Still, the road to a district title runs through reigning District 32-5A champion Brownsville Porter. The Cowboys are ranked No. 1 in the RGVSCO Class 5A top 10 poll heading into the start of district play, returning several key players from last year’s regional semifinals squad.
Among those are superstar forward Alessandro Lara and reigning District 32-5A defensive player of the year Ricardo Leal.
The duo looked to be in midseason form during last weekend’s BISD soccer tournament, with Lara netting a team-high seven goals in six games and Leal anchoring the Cowboys’ stout defense, which allowed just one goal en route to the tournament championship.
“All those little things, you have to use them to your advantage in a positive way,” Brownsville Porter head coach Jose Espitia said following the championship win at the 40th annual BISD Soccer Tournament. “Porter is Porter. Someone is always going to step it up. We might lose some important players, but when they start saying that someone else has to step it up. It is extra pressure for our kids, and they have to be able to handle it. The expectation is always there. Not just for us, but for all RGV teams. The goal is to make it to state. We play with that pressure annually.”
District 32-5A gets the ball rolling on league play at 5:30 p.m. Friday, with each of the district’s 10 teams taking the field.
