Sports

    The Cobras went on the road this past Friday to face the Hempstead Bobcats. Both teams went into Friday looking for a win. For the Cobras, a win meant a playoff seat.
    Athletic Director Kensey Allen said the coaches are very proud of the team. “We cut down on a lot of mistakes we’d made in the past. Our offense is really starting to click thanks to the hard work and attitude of the kids,” he said. “They are really playing selfish football and that’s what it takes to be a great team.”
    Hempstead won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Cobras kicked a return on the field to begin the first half of play. #30 Ethan Brown received the kickoff and was stopped on  the Cobra 27-yard line. A catch by #10 Brock Werckle led to a first down, and a few plays later #28 Avery Milner rushed down field for a 48-yard touchdown, and #83 Alberto Pineda’s point after attempt was good.

By Millie Diaz
Sports Writer
    This season the Edna Cowboys (4-3, 2-0) had been winning most of their games with only a few points difference at the final buzzer. In their game against Rice Consolidated on Friday they changed their tune a bit and made sure to clinch their victory early with a 56-28 final score.
    “We felt like early on we had been running the ball in recent weeks so we felt we needed to run the ball a bit this time,” said Athletic Director Huey Chancellor. “We blocked well when passing and made some good plays, I think Landon O’Connor threw the ball well.”
    "We wanted to involve our passing game more and change the tempo offensively to keep them on their heads," said Defensive Coach Craig Nairn. "Defensively the guys played their best game all year so far, we hit their quarterback a lot and had nine pressures and eight sacks total."

Edna won out against Rice Consolidated, 56-28.

Industrial gets their second win in a row by beating Hempstead with a score of 28-22.

Ganado lost to Shiner, 28-7.

    The Indians suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Flatonia Bulldogs 17-14 in their district opener on Oct. 9.
    High School principal and assistant coach Andy Bridges said they couldn’t have asked more from the boys in terms of effort. “We made some mistakes that we just couldn’t overcome,” he said, “We have to learn from our mistakes and move on.”
    Representing the captains at the toss were junior co-quarterbacks #11 Matt Bridges and #7 Michael-Douglas Maresh, senior wide-receiver #1 Caleb Thedford, and senior tight-end #85 Mark Macha. The Bulldogs won the toss and opted to receive in the second half.
    Thedford received the ball on the kick-off and ran it to the Indians’ own 47-yard line. Maresh started as quarterback and began the run with two hand-offs to junior running back #4 Matthew Sterling; however, an incomplete pass to Macha forced a punt.

    The Industrial Cobras started district play at Cobra stadium this past Friday night against the Palacios Sharks. The entire game was shown to be a battle for the Cobras, but in the end they broke a long losing streak by beating the Sharks with a final score of 23-6.
    The captains took the field for the opening coin toss, Palacios won and deferred to the Cobras. The first quarter of play was a great defensive showing by both teams. The Cobras opening drive showed promise as the Cobras marched down field but then were forced to punt. The Cobras and Sharks traded blows until late in the first quarter when #29 Jay Sandoval broke through the Palacios defense  and headed up field for a 76-yard touchdown with the point after attempt good. The first quarter came to an end with the Cobras 7, Sharks 0.

    The Edna Cowboys opened district play with a huge win Friday as they hosted the Hitchcock Bulldogs, 36-34.
    #9 senior running back Braveon Terrell said, "I feel it was very important to get this first district win." He added, "I think if we just keep practicing hard, executing like we have been, get rid of the little mistakes, and we will be alright."
    #18 junior quarterback Landon O'Connor said, "I feel that our offense is clicking and rolling smoothly now." He added, "I feel there are less mistakes now and everyone is giving effort, but there is always room for improvement."
    Hitchcock won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Cowboy offense took the field first and put together a ball control ground attack drive capped off by a touchdown run by #9 Terrell with 7:06 left in the first. The extra point was good by #11 junior Cade Orsak, Edna 7, Hitchcock 0.

Industrial won against Palacios, 23-6.

Edna won against Hitchcock, 36-34.

Ganado lost to Flatonia, 14-17.

    On a wall in the Ganado ISD administration building is a quote that says "Every student counts...Every moment matters." Naturally there are students that leave a mark more indelible than others. Seventh grader Charlie Hardwick is leaving her mark in a way that has brought together not only Ganado's athletic program, but quite possibly the whole school.
    Charlie has Apert's Syndrome, a genetic mutation that causes abnormal development of the skull and other bones. The defective gene allows the bones to fuse together prematurely, so while the brain continues to grow it puts pressure on the skull and face. In Charlie's case, Apert's has effected her legs, elbows, feet and hands.

    This year the Industrial Cobra cross-country boys squad has a great chance of going to state this year with the coaching style of Robert Elkins and the help of brothers Leo and Kevin Baez. In the meets leading up until now, the brothers have been placing in the top five in nearly every meet, and helping the Cobra team place first or second as a whole.
    "This is the best group of kids I’ve had in about five years, it feels awesome, it's great," said Elkins. "The biggest thing we work on before a meet is just the mental game and just making sure they're relaxed. We joke around and try to stay loose so the tension doesn’t get to them so bad. Once they’re running they’re thinking about keeping their pace and what they do, but before the race they actually have to think about it and it can be nervewracking at times. We talk about everything but running," he smiled.

     Tuesday night, the Edna Cowgirls won in three against their rivals, Industrial Cobras, with final scores of 25-16, 25-19 and 25-13. It was clear both teams came prepared for the fight with every point they earned, and both teams moved well among the court.

     Cowgirl Bailey Brown said she's been swinging away her hardest with her spikes and working through the blocks. It's clear her work has been paying off. "We have improved so so much, our back row  defense is amazing, our front row hits have been out of the world," she said. "We put up big blocks on a strong team and we are fighting." She added the team will continue building and work together to push through and finish games for district.