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High Flyin’ Falcons
- Updated: December 17, 2021
By Ruben Rodriguez
Los Fresnos News
The Los Fresnos Falcons took part in the 10th annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic on December 2nd through the 4th. Heading into the 24-team tournament, the Falcons were drawn into Pool C alongside The IDEA Weslaco Colts and the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets.
To kick off Pool Play, The Falcons faced off against the Colts of IDEA Weslaco. The Falcons got to work offensively and defensively to out-score the Colts by nine points in the first quarter. Los Fresnos relied on a fast pace offense and a great defense to take control of the game. The Falcons’ defense had a great game, limiting the Colts to less than 12 points per quarter. Los Fresnos would maintain control to capture the win 72 to 28. JJ Salazar led the scoring with 25 points. Luis Ramirez followed with 16 points and Roger Capetillo with 14 points.
Los Fresnos’ next opponent in Pool Play was Edcouch-Elsa, a team known to also have a fast-paced style of play both offensively and defensively. Both teams exploded out of the gate on defense, limiting each other to less than 10 points at the end of the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets took control offensively and were dominant on defense, limiting the Falcons to less than 15 points at the end of the first half. Edcouch-Elsa led 21 to 12 at the half. After some adjustments on defense, Los Fresnos picked up the pace on offense, putting up 10 points in the third quarter and limited Edcouch-Elsa to only seven points scored. The fourth quarter proved to be the turning point for the Falcons as again they only allowed seven points and out-scored the Yellow Jackets by nine points to come back and win 38 to 35. JJ Salazar again led the scoring with 13 points, Darius Garcia and Luis Ramirez also combined for 16 points.
Now 2-0, the Falcons faced off against Los Potros de Reynosa. A close first quarter ending with a score of 14 to 11, Los Fresnos quickly turned on the jets offensively as they limited Potros de Reynosa to only nine points in the second quarter with the Falcons scoring 18. Los Fresnos’ offense would take flight as Luis Ramirez put up 23 points to lead the Falcons to a win over Potros de Reynosa 64 to 35. With the win, The Falcons punched their ticket into the Elite Eight where they faced off against Dickinson out of Houston.
In the Elite Eight, the Falcons were put to the test against the Dickinson Gators, a team ranked number 17 in Texas in the 6A classification. The Gators exploded on offense from the start as they tacked on 37 points to lead 37 to 17 at the end of the first quarter. Dickinson’s defense outlasted the Falcons’ offensive attack, limiting Los Fresnos to less than 15 points per quarter. The Falcons’ defense began to take a toll as they managed to gradually decrease Dickinson’s points per quarter. But Dickinson held on to win 88 to 47. Key players such as Ramirez, Salazar, Capetillo, and Galvan were limited to less than 15 points per player.
In the Falcons’ last match in tournament play, they were squared up against Eagle Pass. In what was Los Fresnos’ closest matchup of the Tournament, both teams put up high numbers in the first quarter to kick off what was a high octane game. Los Fresnos led 15 to 14 at the end of the first. Eagle Pass took control in the second to out-score the Falcons by one to make it a brand new game with a score of 26 to 26 at the half. Los Fresnos took control offensively in a continuously close game, out-scoring the Eagles by just three points to make it 45 to 42 at the end of the third. In the fourth quarter, defense was the dominant factor as both teams were both limited to less than eight points, with the Falcons only limited to four points. Eagle Pass had forced overtime by out-scoring Los Fresnos by three. In Overtime, the defense continued aggressively as both teams were limited to single-digit scoring. Los Fresnos would hold on to win 55 to 51.
The Falcons finished off the 2021 Hidalgo Pirate Classic with a record of 4-1. JJ Salazar, who had an exceptional performance throughout the tournament, finished off with a total of 88 points scored overall. Luis Ramriez finished with 64 points. Roger Capetillo finished with 43 points. The Falcons are scheduled for two more tournaments before kicking off district play on New Years’ Eve vs Brownsville Rivera.
