Falcons take over No. 1 spot

By ELADIO JAIMEZ
eladioj@valleystar.com
956-430-6285

HARLINGEN - The reign is over.

Edcouch-Elsa's time at the top of the Valley Morning Star's top 10 football poll expired Wednesday when the Los Fresnos Falcons received all five first-place votes.

The first-place tallies were shared the past few weeks with E-E garnering three of them to retain its top spot.

But after the Falcons rallied to beat San Benito last week at the new Bobby Morrow Stadium, the jump to No. 1 on the VMS poll was inevitable. Plus, the Falcons move into the AP's top 10 didn't hurt either.

Los Fresnos now sits in the drivers' seat for the District 32-5A crown. The Falcons still have key games against Brownsville Pace and Weslaco, but outside of that it's pretty much Easy Street for the Falcons.

And Easy Street seems to be a well traveled avenue in Edcouch and Elsa too.

The Yellowjackets are coming off a 58-0 thumping of the Valley View Tigers. E-E faces Mercedes this week in "The Big Game," but other than that, competition will be scarce for La Maquina Amarilla until the postseason.

Los Fresnos and E-E will likely remain undefeated as will No. 3 Rio Hondo. But the Bobcats' road won't be as easily traveled.

Rio Hondo plays at Hidalgo this weekend and still has La Feria and Port Isabel left on the schedule.

No. 4 La Villa also looks primed to remain unbeaten the rest of the way. The Cardinals jumped two spots for their highest ranking this year.

The Harlingen South Hawks - winners of five straight - round out the top half at No. 5. South moved up three spots from last week.

South stumbled out of the gates, dropping its season opener to McAllen. But the Hawks haven't lost since. Instead, the Green Birds have picked up big wins against Harlingen in the annual Bird Bowl and last week against Edinburg.

Like Los Fresnos, South can take front-runner status in the District 31-5A race with a win this week at No. 6 PSJA North.

The Raiders dropped one spot despite staying undefeated but struggled against Edinburg Economedes last week, just wining 7-6

The South-North game could be an instant classic, but more importantly, it could decide the district crown.

The Weslaco Panthers make a return appearance to the VMS poll. Weslaco has also won five straight since a loss to E-E in Week One and are on a collision course with San Benito next week and later Los Fresnos to battle for the 31-5A crown.

McAllen also moved up two spots after defeating previously ranked McAllen Memorial.

The Bulldogs used their salty defense to stop Bradley Stephens and the Mustangs for the win. And with the season starting to wind down, the Bulldogs also situated themselves in good position for the 30-5A title.

San Benito dropped five places following its loss to Los Fresnos, but remained on the elite list.

The Greyhounds - despite their two losses - are among the best in the Valley. San Bene's two losses came to now state-ranked opponents. The Greyhounds dropped a season-opening contest to No. 3 Calallen.

Port Isabel - once a stalwart of the VMS Poll - makes its debut this week. The Mighty Tarpons lost their first two games of the season but have since won five straight.

PI put itself right back in the fight for the 32-3A trophy with a win against previously unbeaten La Feria last week.

The Lions and Memorial Mustangs also received votes in this week's poll.

Following is the Valley Morning Star's Top 10 football poll through Week Six

School Rec. Pnts. Prev.
1. Los Fresnos (5) 6-0 50 2
2. E-E 6-0 45 1
3. Rio Hondo 7-0 39 3
4. La Villa 5-0 26 6
5. Har. South 5-1 24 8
6. PSJA North 6-0 23 5
7. Weslaco 5-1 22 -
8. McAllen 6-1 20 10
9. San Benito 4-2 10 4
10. Port Isabel 5-2 7 -

Also receiving votes: La Feria 6, McAllen Memorial 3

Oct 18, 2006 - 23:41:13 CDT