By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — On Friday night, the Harlingen South Hawks used their ground game to overwhelm the Weslaco Panthers and a big part of that was junior running back Steven Rodriguez.
Rodriguez provided a pair of touchdowns including one that thwarted the Weslaco momentum in the second half.
For the South junior, his production was a bit unexpected.
“Weslaco was playing good defense and I got hit a lot. So, I just tried to stay up, keep my ground and just power through,” he said. “I was a little shocked in the beginning, because I didn’t know I was going to score twice. But our offense played well. A lot of people didn’t expect us to win, but our whole team is tough and we gave it our all.”
What made the feat more impressive is that at the end of last season, Rodriguez was a starting outside linebacker for the Hawks as a sophomore and did not know that he’d be one of the primary options at running back following the departure of former feature back Jaedon Taylor.
Rodriguez, however, is no stranger to the position as he was a two-way player and got some carries last year.
Just like on defense, he had a veteran helping him, making the transition smooth.
“Last year our defense was aggressive. I learned from older guys who graduated. When I was on offense last year I had Jaedon Taylor helping me; he was a good role model for me and I learned a lot from him,” Rodriguez explained. “My team motivates me on every play and I worked hard for them because we want to win.”
Rodriguez, despite being a two-way player, did not really expect to really be an almost exclusive player on offense, but the coaching staff decided to give the junior a bigger role.
Rodriguez is humble and not a very big player, but will be the first to admit that he hopes the coaching staff made the right decision.
According to South head football coach Lanny Wilson, it’s a no-brainer.
“Steven [Rodriguez] is as tough and as much of a leader by example as I’ve ever coached. Last year he was a great defensive player for us and this year we haven’t played him much on defense because we’re trying to save him offensively,” Wilson said Wednesday. “He’s a little guy, but he’s always hustling and is always getting at it in practice; he’s as tough as anyone I’ve coached before. He gets every inch that’s given to him and, for a little guy, runs hard.”
Rodriguez and the rest of the Hawks take the field this Friday night at 7:30 p.m., in their home opener against a solid Edinburg Vela defense.