Photo by Stan Martin
In six seasons under Don Hyde, La Vega has been a very consistent playoff team, but had not been in a state title game since 2019. In year seven, Hyde’s ball club seemed to have all the elements to make a deep run, with their eyes on AT&T Stadium.
The Pirates had a loaded pre-district schedule and were dealing with a number of injuries early in the season. They started off the season with a 45-15 win over Kennedale, but then would take two straight losses, a 49-27 loss to eventual 4A-DI state champion Celina, and a 35-27 loss to a West Orange-Stark team that would finish the regular season 9-1 and state-ranked. La Vega evened their record the next week with a 43-0 win over Brownwood, but would finish non-district play 2-3, as one of the 4A-DI state favorites, Stephenville, would take down the Pirates 38-28.
Photo by Ralph Arvesen
That 2-3 record seemed to have no bearing on this La Vega team heading into district play, as they dominated all five of their district opponents, with the closest matchup coming in a 35-22 win over Robinson. Not only were the Pirates on a five-game winning streak and District 12-4A-DII champions, but they were also getting healthy at the right time.
La Vega would start their playoff run with a 56-2 romp over La Grange. That would set up a rematch with West Orange-Stark and the Pirates proved that they were a different team than in week three, as they dominated with a 42-20 win. The Pirates then went through Silsbee 49-21 and Sealy 48-30, sending La Vega to the state semifinals to take on a Wimberly team that is very familiar with playing in December. La Vega was not intimidated, as they scored the most points all year in a 62-35 win.
The Pirates were in the state title game for the first time since 2019, and the opponent was the same one they had five years ago, nine-time state champion, Carthage. La Vega played a hard-nosed game and gave Carthage all it could take but eventually fell 28-14. Although the season did not end with a state title, La Vega showed that once they got healthy, they were one of the most dominant teams in the state.
