Brownsville Pace, Donna North and Harlingen South entered the final day of the regular season in a race to District 32-5A’s final playoff berth.
The three teams were separated by only two points in the standings, with the Chiefs sitting in fourth with 26 points, followed by the Hawks and Vikings with 24 points each.
A win by the Chiefs on Monday would secure the fourth playoff spot without question, with a loss or tie leaving it up the outcome of the other two teams.
Donna North left nothing to chance, however, with Melvin Gomez netting the go-ahead goal to lead the Chiefs past the Brownsville Lopez Lobos 2-1 and secure the final playoff berth.
“From the three teams we were fighting with for fourth place, I feel like we had the toughest opponent,” Sanchez said. “Not to try and say anything negative about any other team but Lopez has been doing really well, so it was a big challenge for us. Our kids stepped it up though, especially after losing our last game in PKs. That game was a big disappointment for us because we could have clinched our spot then. God knows what he does though. The kids stayed together and played a really good game and put the opportunities we had in.”
The path to the postseason wasn’t an easy one for the Chiefs. They found themselves in a five-team race for the final two postseason spots with four games remaining in the regular season.
The problem for Donna North was the opponents left on their schedule. The Chiefs closed out the regular season with games against Brownsville Lopez, Brownsville Porter and Brownsville Veterans, the district’s three other playoff teams.
A win over the Chargers on March 3 put the Chiefs in control of their playoff destiny, but a regulation loss to Brownsville Porter and a penalty shootout loss to Mercedes opened the door for the other two teams.
The Chiefs bounced back Monday, taking down the district’s runner-up to finish 2-1-1 over the four game stretch and secure a spot in the playoffs.
“We closed really strong at the end, which I feel is what matters the most,” Sanchez said. “Our defense played solid and our offense has been able to score. Anything can happen. This district is a very strong district. … For whoever is going to play us, I think we’re going to give them a good game.”
The Chiefs (7-5-6) await the conclusion of Tuesday’s game between Brownsville Veterans and Edcouch-Elsa to find out their final playoff seeding and first-round opponent.
Harlingen South at Weslaco East: At Weslaco, the Hawks did their part in attempting to secure a postseason berth, with Deakon Hernandez netting a pair of goals to secure a 3-1 victory.
The loss marked the ninth straight for the Wildcats, going 0-8-1 during the second round of district play. The rough stretch dropped Weslaco East from playoff contender to ninth place to finish the year, closing with a 4-10-4 district mark.
Despite the win, the Hawks playoff push fell short despite the victory, finishing 6-6-6 in district play with 27 points. They come in fifth in the standings behind Donna North (29), just missing out on the postseason.
Brownsville Pace at Mercedes: At Mercedes, the Tigers played the role of spoiler , nabbing three points and Brownsville Pace’s playoff hopes with the win.
The Vikings entered the contest needing a win and some help in order to make the postseason. Brownsville Pace took care of business during the first half, jumping out to a 2-1 advantage behind goals from Jovany Chavez and Oscar Aldape.
Despite playing just for pride, the Tigers didn’t back off, netting a pair of second half goals to complete the comeback and dash the Vikings playoff dreams.
Mercedes finish tied for seventh with Donna High in District 32-5A, each tallying 18 points. The Vikings end the year with a 7-9-2 district record, coming in sixth in the standings.
DISTRICT 31-5A
Sharyland High 5, Sharyland Pioneer 0: At Mission, the Rattlers secured three points on the road behind a brace from forward Kevin Zepeda.
Sharyland High’s victory earns them a piece of the District 31-5A title, sharing the crown with McAllen High and Valley View. All three teams finished the season with 42 points following a forfeit by Valley View of their final game against McAllen High.
The Rattlers enter the postseason as the district’s No. 1 seed, holding the head-to-head advantage over both the Tigers and Bulldogs. Valley View finishes No. 2 in the standings, with McAllen High finishing third.
Sharyland High is set to take on either Brownsville Veterans or Donna North during the Class 5A bi-district round at a date, time and location to be determined.
PSJA Memorial 5, Edinburg Vela 1: At Alamo, five different PSJA Memorial players found paydirt to help the Wolverines close out the season with a win.
Eleazar Garcia, Jony Macias, Rolando Maldonado, Diego Pina and Michael Torres all scored for the Wolverines, with Irvin Castro netting the lone goal for the SaberCats.
The Wolverines finish the year with a 7-5-6 district record, coming in fifth in the district standings and just missing out on the postseason.
For full scores and box scores from Monday’s action, visit RGVSports.com.
