By ANDREW CRUM
Staff Writer
With several key players lost to graduation, the Hanna Golden Eagles infused a lot of youth into their defense this season.
Four senior starters return, but one has stood out and taken over the responsibility of the leadership role.
Safety and two-year starter Jorge Flores has gladly accepted the task because he understands what the team needed after losing many talented players from last year’s squad.
“Leadership overshadows everything,” he said. “Being the safety of the team, I see everything, everything is in front of me. I have to make sure the linebackers are in check, that the calls are right.”
Hanna coach Rene Medrano has noticed the difference Flores makes, as a player and as a defensive captain.
“Jorge is like 5-foot-5, but he plays like he’s 6-2,” Medrano said. “He really plays with a lot of heart. He wanted to step up and be a leader, and I think he’s doing a good job.”
Medrano said it’s Flores’ work ethic that makes him such a dynamic player.
“He’s a blue-collar worker, wants to come to work, do his job and get better every day,” he said. “I think that in its self brings a lot to the table.”
Flores uses that drive to do whatever his team needs him to do. He said he would do anything to help motivate his teammates — giving a fiery speech, showing it on the field, it doesn’t matter to him. Flores also is the one who breaks the team huddle after each practice and before every game.
Flores is particularly fond of a quote the team uses when talking about the Eagles’ defense.
“Failure to prepare is preparing to fail,” he said. “That’s something we enforce a lot on our defense. We’ve lost some people, but we need to step it up.”
In other words, no excuses for the younger players, but especially for Flores and the other seniors on defense — linebacker Steven Solis, cornerback Javier Ochoa and safety Freddy Mercado.
Medrano credits Eagles defensive coordinator Danny Pardo for putting together a good defense but also the players for buying into the program. Medrano said his players are learning “a little bit of a lot of things in the system.”
Medrano emphasized the importance of Flores to make adjustments when needed, especially when crowd noise drowns out the coaches’ instructions.
“He’s our on the field manager out there, he has to manage the game,” Medrano said.
Like the rest of his senior teammates, Flores stays motivated by what Hanna hasn’t done in the past two years: made the postseason.
“We’re not many, but we’re hungry,” he said. “We’re fighting, and we have that desire. We’ve been short the last two years. We have that weight on our shoulders, that’s our motivation.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.