By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Following heart-breaking losses to San Benito and Los Fresnos last month, the Harlingen Cardinals’ season looked gloom.
Harlingen had dropped two straight district games and lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending foot injury.
However, that seems so long ago as the Cardinals have won two straight games and are on a roll heading into the playoffs.
A big part of it has been their defense. Following those two losses, the Cardinal defense decided they needed to turn things around.
“After we loss to San Benito, we felt like we really didn’t finish that game how we wanted to or how we could’ve. So after that game we just came together, got closer and refocused,” said Harlingen defensive tackle David Cantu. “The main thing we try to do is get the ball back to the offense and if we can, put up points ourselves. We’ve just been clicking lately.”
The Cards then lost on the road at Los Fresnos, making them an underdog heading into their game with Brownsville Vets.
The defense responded and held the Chargers, who have been one of the best offenses in 32-6A this season, to just six points in a 26-6 romp.
For Harlingen, it was a statement.
“We wanted to show everyone we weren’t the same team,” Cantu said. “Everyone was on point and everyone did their part.”
Part of the turnaround was the veteran players stepping up.
Once that came for Harlingen, the underclassmen followed.
According to some, the Cards defense has not reached its full potential.
“The seniors got together and we just wanted to motivate the rest of the team. Since we have a lot of sophomores on our team, we aimed to motivate,” said middle linebacker Adrian Vasquez. “We started to become one and we’re not even at our best yet; we’re still getting stronger.”
While the defense has done its job, head football coach Manny Gomez will be the first to admit that his offense has been just as key in the turn around.
With players coming back from injury on the offensive side of the ball, Gomez has a positive outlook heading into the post season.
“What some should understand is that in order to have a great defense, you need to have a good offense. We’ve been getting some rhythm and some first downs on the offensive side of the ball. It’s kept the defense off the field,” Gomez said. “The defense then gets out there fresh and energized. If anything, you have to give a lot of credit to the offensive side of the ball, too. The kids are determined and we’ve gotten healthy here and there, but the bottom line is their determination.”
In their wins the last two weeks, Harlingen has outscored their opponents 61-24.