And then there was one. Of the five Big 7 football teams that qualified for the UIL state playoffs, the Pioneer Diamondbacks are the only team to emerge victorious from their Bi-district round game. That’s because the Sharyland Rattlers, the Mission Eagles, the Mission Veterans Patriots and the Palmview Lobos all came up short against their respective Bi-district round opponents.
Before we take a look at tonight’s Pioneer vs C.C. Miller Area round game, let’s take a quick look back at last week’s results.
The 4-3 (6-4 overall) Mission Eagles traveled to Cabaniss Stadium in Corpus Christi last Friday last Friday to take on the 7-1 (8-2 overall) Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial Eagles. In this game, Veterans Memorial jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 31-7 lead at the intermission. Some may have thought that the game was pretty much over at this point, but the Mission Eagles were not at all ready to concede anything. Coach Danny Longoria’s squad came out strong in the second half and outscored Veterans Memorial 28-14. Unfortunately it was too little too late as Veterans Memorial brought Mission’s season to an end by a final score of 45-35.
At PSJA Stadium last Friday, the 4-3 (7-3 overall) Palmview Lobos took on the 7-1 (9-1 overall) PSJA North Raiders. Unfortunately for the Lobos’ faithful, the Raiders jumped out to an early lead in this game and never took their foot off the gas. They scored 14 points in the first quarter, 14 more in the second quarter and 15 in the third quarter. All while holding the Lobos to only three points, which they scored with a field goal with one minute remaining in the third quarter. That made the final score 43-3 in favor of the Raiders.
At Benny Layton Memorial Stadium in Edcouch Elsa last Friday, the 1-3 (2-8 overall) Mission Veterans Patriots took on the 5-0 (8-2 overall) Edcouch Elsa Yellowjackets. Having won only two games all season the Patriots were hoping to make the most of the clean slate the postseason offers by adding another gold ball to their trophy case with a Bi-district championship. Unfortunately for head coach David Gilpin and his Patriots, that was not meant to be as they fell to the Yellowjackets by a score of 15-7.
At Tiger Stadium in Mercedes last Friday, the 2-2 (5-5 overall) Sharyland Rattlers took on the 4-1 (7-3 overall) Mercedes Tigers. The Tigers scored early and often as they led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, 21-14 at the intermission, 28-14 at the end of the third quarter and 45-20 at the final buzzer. The Rattlers scored on a three yard rushing touchdown by Angel Ramirez and a 10 yard touchdown pass from Calvin Harris to Bruno Cavazos, both in the second quarter, and with an 80 yard touchdown run by Francisco Gomez in the fourth quarter.
At Richard Thompson Stadium last Friday night, the 3-1 (8-3 overall) Pioneer Diamondbacks defeated the Brownsville Lopez Lobos by a score of 35-21 to be the only Big 7 team to advance into the Area round of the UIL state playoffs.
Pioneer head coach Eddie Galindo shared what that victory meant to him, his players and the community when he said, “It’s something special. We’ve worked very hard all season and we’ve had some injuries but we’ve been able to push through and have some success and win a Bi-district championship. It’s just amazing for our kids, amazing for our community and our administrative staff because it takes everyone to put this together. It’s a total team effort and I’m just ecstatic for our kids.”
Coming into the season, the Diamondbacks were pretty much overlooked as a top contender due to their youth. However, Galindo credits his experienced defense, an improved offense and hard work for his team’s success.
“We lost a lot of key players and we were going to have a young team but we had a defense that was going to be experienced and we had a lot of guys coming in on defense so they’ve really helped carry our team this year,” Galindo said. “On offense we continued to get better week by week so it’s come to fruition thanks to the hard work that we’ve put in this year.”
Next up for the Diamondbacks is an Area round matchup against the 5-0 (9-2 overall) Corpus Christi Miller Buccaneers tonight at Buccaneer Stadium in Corpus. Galindo knows his team has its work cut out for it tonight, but he is not ready to concede anything.
“They’re a solid ball club,” Galindo said about the Buccaneers. “They have some tremendous athletes, including a couple of Division 1 athletes, and I think they’re ranked #5 in the state so it’s going to be a tough task. But believing is achieving so we’re going up there to compete and play hard and give them all they can handle. We’re just going to go out there and do the little things right and hopefully it’s enough to come back home with a victory.”
So what is Galindo telling his players to motivate them as they prepare to go up against their toughest opponent this season?
“I’m telling them (his players) to protect the football and to go out there and compete,” Galindo said. “Go out there and earn respect. Go out there and play hard. And we’ll see where the chips lie, you know. They’re talented, no doubt, but we’ve just got to go out there and earn respect. Go out there and play hard in the end and try to win plays and try to chip away at the task at hand. It’s a big task but you’ve just got to go out there and compete.”
According to MaxPreps, the Buccaneers offense has compiled 3,047 passing yards and 2.119 rushing yards so far this season. They’ve also outscored their opponents by a margin of 569 – 198. However, in their previous six games, including last week’s Bi-district round win over Kerrville Tivy, Miller has outscored their opponents by a margin of 379 – 84. That’s an average score of 63 – 14 over the past six games.
When asked what this says about the Buccaneers, Galindo said, “They do a little bit of everything. They’re a solid ball club. They pass, they throw, they have run/pass combinations. They do it all well. So they’re a good football team.”
One thing Galindo hopes will help his Diamondbacks pull off a win tonight, is fan support. That’s why he’s hoping the Diamondbacks’ faithful will make the drive to Corpus and fill up the visitors’ side bleachers.
“I’m hoping, I’m hoping,” Galindo said. “It’s the end of the school holiday thing so they let out school on Friday so I’m hoping. We have a great community and great parents that support our program so I’m hoping they come out and support our kids and support our school and hopefully we’ll go out there and compete and do a good job.”
The Diamondbacks have overachieved all season, so while they have a real challenge ahead of them tonight, who’s to say they won’t add another gold ball to their trophy case by upsetting one of the top teams in the state and earning an Area round championship? After all, as recent history has proven, anything is possible when it comes to the 2024 Diamondbacks. Kickoff for tonight’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.