BY MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — The stakes are higher this time, if only because of what the future may hold for Sharyland High.
For a third consecutive year, the Rattlers are in the regional quarterfinals, their collision against Cedar Park set for 7:30 tonight at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio. It’s experience that gives Sharyland hope for a game in which many would consider them underdogs.
And it’s that seniority, too, that points to the reality of the circumstance — with 55 seniors on the roster, this could be Sharyland’s best shot at reaching state for a while, considering the glut of underclassmen lost to sister school Sharyland Pioneer.
“We’ve been together since sophomore year. A lot of these guys have been together since elementary. Everyone talks about it every year, about winning a state championship and breaking that barrier,” senior quarterback Diego Chrysler said. “But we’re not going to do that without breaking this (third-round) barrier first.”
There’s a longstanding history to show the regional quarterfinal wall is too tall for Valley teams to climb. Recently, Harlingen High and Port Isabel have advanced to the regional semifinals.
Generally, though, the Valley bows out of the third round, including Sharyland, which has lost to San Antonio Madison the past two years after 10-0 regular seasons.
This year’s test will be their toughest yet — a Cedar Park team that packs an offensive punch coupled with state-championship experience as recently as two years ago.
“We told our boys, if we expect to reach our goal of winning a state championship, these are the teams that we’re going to face. Not only face, but going to have to beat,” Sharyland coach Ron Adame said.
Though they finished 5-2 in district, the Timberwolves (9-3) are loaded with depth, churning out an average of 300 ground yards per game. Sharyland (11-1) enters the contest having knocked off another traditionally competitive program in Calallen (7-5), which ran the ball at an effective rate this season.
The Rattlers stymied that attack, rendering their offense ineffective in a 28-0 win. It adds hope to a Sharyland defense that has shut out three consecutive opponents.
“We know they’re a good team and we know they’re ranked pretty high, but I don’t think we’re going into this nervous. We’ve already beaten a team outside the Valley,” senior middle linebacker Rudy Tornero said. “We’re just going to take it as any other team and just play the way we’ve been playing this year.”
Adame hesitated to describe the third round as a “mental barrier,” saying his group is confident heading into tonight’s game.
“It’s not going to be easy, but we do have a great opportunity to move on,” he said. “It’s going to take everyone’s effort.”
In the regular season, Sharyland’s senior crop has been near-perfect. As freshmen, they went 10-0 on the JV team.
The past two years on varsity, they were undefeated. And this year against Laredo Alexander, they endured a 36-35 non-district loss — a hiccup in their combined 39-1 record.
The postseason, however, tells a different story, that of back-to-back third-round exits. Senior Sean Landez said it was “a lot of the little things that we didn’t do during the season” that ultimately hindered the Rattlers in 2012, from staying disciplined to being physical on defense. Last year, it was turnovers.
“All those things add up and it showed against Madison,” he said. “Now I feel like we’re ready as a team, as a unit. The chemistry’s jelling and we’re ready.”
Given its success, Adame wasn’t ready to eulogize Sharyland. Almost all year, his Rattlers were the No. 1 team in the RGVSports.com top 10 poll. They’re one of only four Valley teams remaining in the postseason, and by far the most experienced. And they entered tonight’s game as ready as they’re ever going to be, perhaps for the unforeseeable future.
“It probably is (Sharyland’s best shot at state), being that next year we’re going to feel that split (with Pioneer) a lot more than we did this year,” Adame said. “We just have to take advantage of this opportunity and the senior group that we have.”
“They’re not done,” he added. “They still have some unfinished business.”