By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — One thing that Harlingen head coach Manny Gomez preaches to his players more than anything is dealing with adversity.
“You never know when adversity will strike,” he says.
After a shutout loss to begin the season last week and the loss of his quarterback Bowie Davis for three to six weeks, it’s safe to say that time is here as they prepare to host the 1-1 McAllen Bulldogs tonight at Boggus Stadium.
With the season still young, Gomez doesn’t look at the early-season loss in a completely negative light.
“Early on you want to experience adversity. Unfortunately we experienced a lot of it with kids getting injured to kids missing assignments in that first game that led to big plays,” Gomez said. “It was a stepping stone. It wasn’t a lose-lose situation, it was a lose-win situation. It was an opportunity to go out there and see what we have and see what we need to work on and get better— that’s the bottom line.”
After getting out gained in total offense, turning the ball over three times and allowing 7.2 yards a carry on the ground to Reagan in a 42-0 loss, things do not get any easier this week as the Cardinals will now deal with well-rounded McAllen team.
Behind a stout offensive line is quarterback Fred Hover and running back Ricky Rodriguez, who both had solid outings in the Bulldog’s 32-6 win over Edinburg and will be important against Gomez’s defense.
While things looked good for the Bulldogs following that bounce-back victory, head coach Kevin Brewer still has some concerns when it comes to the little things.
But, He’ll take a win following their opening-week loss to Odessa Permian and hopes his squad continues to improve Friday against what Brewer feels is going to be a very game Cardinals team.
“We’re hoping to be better this week; that’s our focused. We have had too many penalties and turnovers. The win last week helped heal some wounds from the first game” Brewer said. “We’re expecting a well-coached, disciplined football team in Harlingen and it’s going to be a hard-fought football game.”
Still, the Cardinals are relying on backup quarterback Jesse Castro to come in and run the offense in a big-game situation, so their running back by committee approach will be key in taking the pressure off the young signal caller.
No matter who is under center for Harlingen, the Bulldogs are coming prepared.
“We planned for the starter and we also planned for the back up,” Brewer said. “We have a game plan in place.”
The Cardinals will be tested in all aspects of the game, but they are expecting nothing but a tough matchup in the trenches as they look to stop the Bulldog running game.
The Cards also look to avoid falling victim to the Bulldog defense, but Gomez is excited for the traditional match up.
“They have a big offensive line and they’re going to be physical; they like to run that power. They have a great competitor at quarterback and they got a great defense because they like to fly around and stuff,” Gomez said. “It should be a great game for the community of Harlingen and McAllen.”