Handing out some postseason hardware

By ARMANDO GARZA
Valley Morning Star

This is the time of the year I didn't want to face, but it's here. The final team in District 32-5A, and the Valley, the Los Fresnos Falcons fell to Austin Westlake Saturday 45-19. Kudos to the Falcons for a fantastic season.

But now the 2006 edition of Rio Grande Valley high school football is over and done with, and there's a void.

But I can quickly fill the void with this last column about District 32-5A.

Now, although OFFICIAL all-district lists are to be released this week, here is the way I'd fill out my ballot (if I had one) for the district's best.

I tried coming up with a name for these awards, but I didn't come up with anything that didn't sound cheesy. Again, I repeat these are NOT official, but most of them are no-brainers.

Most Valuable Player

No question, this one in my mind goes to Los Fresnos quarterback Jeremy Springer.

In his first year as the starting quarterback for the Falcons, Springer tossed for 3,501 yards and 42 touchdowns, both tops in the Valley, solidifying himself as a solid Division-I college prospect. He also rushed for 627 yards and 15 TDs.

Numerous times Springer willed 12-1 Los Fresnos to victory and did not hesitate to put the team on his back.

The rationale behind this pick? If I was starting a high school football team, or a backyard football team, for that matter, Springer would be my first pick.

Offensive Player of the Year

Another easy pick: Mishak Rivas, running back at Weslaco.

The electrifying Rivas, only a junior, dazzled in 2006 dashing for 2,045 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Every time he touched the ball, fans and coaches held their collective breaths. With his rare combination of speed, vision, quickness and just plain tough running ability, Rivas will go down as one of the great ones in Valley football lore. He has been called the Reggie Bush of the Valley. I can see why.

Above all that, the kid is well grounded and always acknowledges others before himself. A true class act. You can't ask for anything more than that.

Defensive Player of the Year

I had to split this one, because I just could not decide whom to give it to. (You can do this when you're in charge of the awards)

Joey Nuñez, DE, San Benito and Justin Springer, LB, Los Fresnos take it in my book. Both of these players are studs on defense.

Nuñez, a first-team all-state pick a year ago, notched one of the most impressive statlines you'll ever see: 148 solo tackles, 89 assists, 17 quarterback sacks, 58 QB pressures, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries (one for a TD) two batted balls, a blocked punt and a blocked extra point.

Whew! I told you it was impressive. Every game I covered involving the Greyhounds, Nuñez was a factor. He was also in the backfield a lot, too. Don't be surprised to see more accolades going to that young man.

On the other side, Springer was all over the field. A very smart linebacker, Springer had a knack for always being around the football. He's a big, strong athletic player who did not hesitate to lay the lumber, as shown with his world-class hit on Westlake running back Max Minor last week. Though I don't have his official season stats, he had 17 tackles in the Falcons' loss to Westlake.

Like Rivas, Springer (and his brother Jeremy) are both fine young men who should be commended for their conduct off the field as well.

Newcomer of the Year

Another no-brainer, it's got to be Weslaco sophomore quarterback Dylan DeLeon.

You read right: Sophomore.

After transferring to Weslaco High before the season started, few knew who this kid was. After the season, everyone knew.

DeLeon was able to make a difference despite engineering the Valley's best rushing attack.

For the season, the super soph had 1,169 yards passing and 16 touchdown passes running coach Tony Villarreals' Slot-T offense.

On the ground, he added 214 more yards and eight scores.

With Rivas AND De Leon coming back, look out for the Panthers in 2007.

Coach of the Year

Without question, Scott Ford, Los Fresnos. Sure, you could argue that he and the Falcons did what "they were supposed to do" this year by running the table and scoring lots of points.

I don't buy that, however.

Week in and week out, Ford and his team had the others gunning for them and their No. 1 ranking in all three Valley newspapers.

Not only this, but besides him being arguably the best offensive mind south of San Antonio, he took time out of every day to preach life skills to his team. That is something that those boys will take with them after football.

A close runner-up was Weslaco's Villarreal.

Some questioned his hiring at Weslaco, but we all know that Tony Villarreal is a winner. No ifs ands or buts. He did a wonderful job this year and is poised to do it again.

Team of the Year

Los Fresnos. Advancing to the third round of the playoffs in only its third year in Class 5A is certainly something to be proud of.

But besides stats, yards and points, the team always looked out for each other. I know all teams do this, but there definitely was something special about this group at Los Fresnos.

Like I said before, they had the bull's-eye on them the entire season, and they had to go on the road to beat the district's two toughest competitors, Weslaco and San Benito.

This was a great team, and it will be interesting to see how they do next year.

On that note, that's it for District 32-5A in 2006. It's been a heck of a ride this year and once again this district was simply awesome. Everyone's going to get better and it should be a great 2007.

Armando Garza covered District 32-5A for the Valley Morning Star this season. He can be reached at 956-421-9874 or at armandog@valleystar.com

Dec 05, 2006 - 23:39:07 CST